I LOVE Comedians with Guitars......You didn't tell me that part...

jenseib

Mommy to Claire
Joined
Oct 28, 2006
Hello and welcome to my latest trip report. I had the wonderful opportunity to sail the Magic out of Galveston for her inaugural sailing Sept 22.

Who am I? Well I am Jennifer .....jenseib here on the boards. I love writing Trip Reports and sometimes I am a little Whacky.

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I am a Mom of 3 children, Michael, who is 23, Paige, who is 20, and Claire who is 7. I am married to Skip. If you have read any of my past TRs and/or PTRs you will know he is a fun loving guy, but a vacation resistor. This trip was no different.

This past May I started planning a trip I had won. It was NOT a Disney cruise .......but one on another very nice line. The thing is, I had to wait for dates to be released for the time of year I wanted to go .....Sept. Since this was kind of a contest type won cruise, I couldnt just pick anything; I had to go with what was offered.
From the start, I knew Skip would not go on this trip. I wanted Sept. for several reasons. Well actually I would've loved to have gone over the summer, but all of the summer dates released were during other scheduled events here at home that could not be changed. I would've liked to have brought along Claire, but she will be missing almost 2 weeks of school in Nov for a family trip on the Dream and to WDW, so there was just no way I could let her miss that much more school.
I asked Skip if he would mind if I asked my friend Lisa to join me and he was fine with that.
I texted Lisa and she responded with a yes.

Lisa has been my friend for years. Back in our single days we used to hit the local bar scene every weekend. We have traveled together a few times and I knew we were compatible that way. We have no problems going off on our own if we want to.
Sadly over the years we have drifted apart. We both got married, and I had my 3rd child, Claire. We only see each a few times a year at most. We usually have no troubles picking up right where we left off, but this could be different. We hadnt spent a long time together in over 10 years. Secretly, I did wonder if we would hate each other by the end of the trip. LOL! OK, not hate each other, but be annoyed with each other.

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Well no worries. We had a blast together and it was just like we have seen each other every week since we got married.

All summer long I waited for the dates to be released and it just wasnt happening. Finally the next batch was released and they totally skipped the month of Sept. WHAT? I was crushed. How could this be? Fate stepped in and crushed my dreams .....or so I thought. I told Lisa right away. I felt so awful. She had even applied for a passport just for this trip.
But Fate had other plans for us. Later that day, another cruise presented itself to me at a price i could actually afford. This one was for the Disney Magic. Sept 22 worked best for me, so I quickly called Lisa and she said yes.
We booked immediately.

Long story short, my DH, who had known about this since May decided to be a big baby about it and we spent a few days not talking. I will not back down and if he doesnt want to talk to me, I sure can handle that. Sometimes he talks way too much, so a few days of peace and quiet is fine. LOL. Eventually he got over it and I just chose not to talk to him about the trip. He really has no interest in where I was going, he only asked when about 2 weeks before I left.


I booked this trip in early Aug. I believe around Aug 9th. That meant not much time for planning. Soon I learned that 2 of the girls I had met last summer at WDW were going. It would be exciting to see Mary and Carolyn again. Not long after that, one of my friends, Brook .....brookelizabeth on Dis ....decided she wanted to go as well. She booked a cabin for herself, while Carolyn had 2 friends coming and Mary had 3. Brook and I were roommates last year at a program we both attended, and it was going to be really nice to see her again.

The planning got started as much as we could and for the most part we were going to do a lot of winging it. We only pre-booked a couple of things.
We did make matching t-shirts though&we are geeky that way.

How I came up with the name of this TR will be revealed later. Lisa and I always seem to have some sort of funny saying at some point in a trip together that makes us laugh and then we repeat it over and over ......and this happened to be one of those lines.

Please join me as I relive one of the greatest vacations I have ever had. It was very different than ones with my family, but in a good way. I still love traveling with my family, dont get me wrong, but it was really nice to do a girls only trip this time around.

I will forewarn you now. I have a very busy month ahead of me as well as a long trip (Nov. 2- 14) to WDW and on the Disney Dream. This TR will be slow going, but I will finish it. It will just take some time.
 
Sept, 20, 2012 Thursday
Getting packed and ready

Sept, 21, 2012, Friday..Officially Day 1
Road trip/ plane trip
Arriving at the Marriott
The creepy alley
Dinner with Brook


Sept. 22, 2012, Saturday, Day 2
Heading to the port
Exploring the Terminal
Boarding the ship
Touring the room
Lunch at Parrot Cay
Vista Spa Tour 1
Gym Tour
Vista Spa Tour 2
Flounders Nursery
Oceaneers club and lab
Oceaneers Club and Lab 2
Beat Street
The Edge
Shop Windows
Muster Drill
Sailaway Party 1
Sailaway Party 2
Sailing Away
A Little More Exploring
Dinner at Lumiere's
The Ship at Night
A Little bit more Exploring
A Late Night Walk

Sept. 23, 2012, Sunday, Day 3
Breakfast
Deck 4, the Titanic Deck
Lunch
Wasting Time
Beauties and Beasts
Tuxedo Mickey
Getting ready for Dinner
Dinner at Animators Palate


Sept. 24, 2012, Monday, Day 4
Rise and Shine
Character Breakfast
More Characters and Drawing Class
Another Room Tour
Lunch, Brave and Quiet Cove Cafe
A Little Roaming and More Quiet Cove Cafe
Dinner at Parrot Cay


Sept. 25, 2012, Tuesday, Day 5
Room Service and Sunrises
Pulling up to Grand Cayman
Time to Tender
A Quick Walk Through Grand Cayman
Time to Snorkel
Under the Sea
Pretty Fish
Shipwreck
Tendering Back
Margaritaville
Finding the Bus
Bus Tour
A Little Shopping and Snacks
A Pirates Dinner
Pirate Party 1
Pirate Party 2 with Fireworks
Pirate Buffet

Sept. 26, 2012, Wednesday, Day 6
Early Morning Sunrise
Early Morning Atrium
Early Morning Shop Windows
More Atrium Shots
Beat Street
A Magical Moment
Magical Moment 2
Lisa's Magical Moment
Arriving at Costa Maya
Docking at Costa Maya
Looking for Lisa
Costa Maya Plaza
Costa Maya Junk
Costa Maya Coast
Hair Braiding
Back to the Ship
I Love Comedians with Guitars
Dinner at AP
Dinner at AP2
Dinner Show
Night Shots

Sept. 27, 2012, Thursday, Day 7
Arriving in Cozumel
Time to Explore Cozumel
Cozumel
Off to the Mayan Ruins
Hidden Mayan Mickey
The Mayan Calendar
Finishing up with the Ruins
Tequila
A ride through Cozumel
Heaven on Earth
Beautiful Beach
A Little More Heaven
A last look of Heaven and on to El Cedral
Back to Town
Back to the Ship for Lunch
Pool Time
Time For Palo
Palo
Chocolate Souffle

Sept. 28, 2012, Friday, Day 8
Lazing around the ship
Towel Folding Class
Pictures around the ship
More Pictures around the ship
Ship Tour 1
Ship Tour 2
End of Ship Tour
Dinner
Till We meet Again 1
Till We Meet Again 2
Till We Meet Again 3

Sept. 29, 2012, Saturday, Day 9
Early Morning to Port
Carnival Triumph
Time to Go Home
 


Here!!!! :) Sounds like fun!!!

You're lucky to have a friend like that whom you've stayed in touch with all these years!!! :) Can't wait to hear all about your journey!!!
 
Can't wait to hear all about it. Take your time, I'll be away for the next 10 days. :)

Jill in CO
 


:wave2: I have read ALL of your trip reports. You take such beautiful pictures and give such detailed reports, I decided to finally quit lurking! :blush:
 
I'm here! I can't wait for all the pictures!

I love your pic you posted it looks like you were having the best time!
 
I might just make the first page ............ :woohoo:

I am in, Jen! Can't wait to read all about it.
 
WOO HOO! I'm in! :cool1:

You look adorable!

I knew I had to send you a message first.

Subbing! Can't wait!

:cool1:

Here!!!! :) Sounds like fun!!!

You're lucky to have a friend like that whom you've stayed in touch with all these years!!! :) Can't wait to hear all about your journey!!!

Yes. I was vry happy that our friendship has survived all these years and we had such a good time together. She has thanked me over and over for bringing her along and even has sent me texts since we've been home thanking me again.

I am in! I love a little wackiness in my life. Thanks for sharing.

My whole life is a little whacky at times! Thanks for joinng in!

Can't wait to hear all about it. Take your time, I'll be away for the next 10 days. :)

Jill in CO

You will have plenty of time to catch back up when I am gone in Nov. I can't beleive how fast that trip is now approaching.

Jumping aboard another trip report!

Welcome Lisa!!!!! :cheer2:

I'm so here!!:wave2:

Love your 1st picture! Must have been having too much of that fun!

Thats my sexy pose.....because you know me...I'm all about being sexy. :rotfl2:
We did have a great time. I wish it didn't have to end...and we really want to try and do this yearly or at least every 2 years. It was just really nice to get away.

Excellent! Can't wait to hear about your trip!

Welcome! I hope to get a bit more posted today!

I'm here! Can't wait to hear all about it!! :)

Welcome! It was such a nice time. Adult time is really good.

:wave2: I have read ALL of your trip reports. You take such beautiful pictures and give such detailed reports, I decided to finally quit lurking! :blush:

I am so glad you came out of lurkdom. Thanks. I really love to take pictures...good and bad ones.

I'm here! I can't wait for all the pictures!

I love your pic you posted it looks like you were having the best time!

Hi Kathy! We sure did have some fun. We are not a bunch of wild girls, but we have fun in our own geeky way.

Love that first pic Jen! :p:thumbsup2:goodvibes

Thanks Cass! It was such a nioce trip. I am so glad I got to see the Magic for myself. Sadly, I am becoming addicted to crusing with DCL.

I might just make the first page ............ :woohoo:

I am in, Jen! Can't wait to read all about it.

You made it! You are so good too. I am still not caught up on your TR since I got back. Where does the time go each day. I already put an hour of work in and it doesn't seem like I got much done. And I need to start working on the FE's for my next cruise.

Cool! I didn't know you were going to sail from Galveston:thumbsup2! I'm here, too!:flower3:

It was really last minute. It was booked about 6 weeks out. I had "thought" we would most likely be taking a New England cruise on the "other" line. But when that didn't come through, this was such a great opprotunity to see the Magic and a new port too. I would normally never even consider Galveston. I now can say the port was nice (not Port Canaveral nice, but still nice) and Texas was very friendly and happy to have Disney.
 
I knew I had to send you a message first.

And you know I have no life and don't get more than 10 feet from my computer these days? :lmao:

Actually, someone on the November ADR cancellation thread was letting 3 BOG ADRs go and I was camped out trying to get one. No.... no..... stop laughing. I don't want or need another one. But I have a friend going that week who got the word ADRs started at noon that day and didn't get my email about he 7 AM switch until it was too late. I wanted to get one then release it to her, but failed miserably. What a waste of a perfectly good hour! :rotfl:

But the silver lining?..............

Jen started her trip report! :dance3:
 
And you know I have no life and don't get more than 10 feet from my computer these days? :lmao:

Actually, someone on the November ADR cancellation thread was letting 3 BOG ADRs go and I was camped out trying to get one. No.... no..... stop laughing. I don't want or need another one. But I have a friend going that week who got the word ADRs started at noon that day and didn't get my email about he 7 AM switch until it was too late. I wanted to get one then release it to her, but failed miserably. What a waste of a perfectly good hour! :rotfl:

But the silver lining?..............

Jen started her trip report! :dance3:

Too funny. I am usually not too far from a computer either. Actually it was the ardest part of the cruise...not being able to check emails whenever i felt like it.
 
This post will not have pictures…but I promise there will be MANY coming up soon.

The week prior to sailing, Lisa and I started phoning each other a bit more. She was very nervous and not sure what to pack. I went over some of the list of things she should have and things I was bringing that she wouldn’t need to have, like a blow dryer and bonine, etc.

Sept 20 (Thursday) rolls around. The night before our departure day.…..It was a busy one for me. I had to be sure I had things packed for Claire. She was going to be going back and forth between her Grandmas’s, so I had to have 2 suitcases packed for her. 1 Grandma lives right next door, so if anything was forgotten, she could run over and get it (and evidently that means toys…as many seemed to make their way over to MIL’s while I was gone). My Mom doesn’t live too far away and it’s an easy stop here to pick up anything if it was forgotten as well.
After school we took everything over to MIL’s house and gave her Claire’s planning itinerary. Yes, I made one for Claire’s grandmas and a friend who would be picking up Claire a couple of the days after school. I wanted to try and make it go smoothly and to give everyone each other’s phone numbers, etc.
It was also Family Fun night at Claire’s school. I made an early dinner, since Claire rarely eats at events like this, and I wanted to be sure she got something in her stomach that wasn’t junk, and then we headed off for a night of fun activities at the school.
They had a DJ and all the kids had such a great time. Normally I would take pictures, but with all the rushing and getting ready, I didn’t even think about bringing a camera this night.
Towards the end of the night, Lisa called one last time. She was on her way to Meijer and picking up the last things she needed. We chatted a bit and I told her my goal would be to be at her house around 5:30 AM. YIKES…that sounded so early! I was going to get up at 4:30, but she was getting up at 3:30. She wanted to get up and have her body adjust to the early hour.
The dance ended and Claire and I headed off to my Moms. Claire was dropped off and we gave big hugs and kisses, but she was practically kicking me out the door. Her cousin was going to be arriving soon to spend the night as well, (neither had school on Friday and my Mom took the day off of work to keep them both) and she had no interest in me hanging around. PLUS, my Mom had made a treasure hunt, so as soon as Cousin Alexis (Who will be sailing with us in Nov.) arrived, they could get started on that fun.

I went home, finished packing the last minute things items and loaded suitcases in the car.
Skip was in the house…and of course bothering me. He thinks it’s funny to ask many questions while I am busy. He did, however give me some cash to take. He gave me his wallet and told me to take what I needed…Um…not a wise thing to do. I told him to give me what he wanted to give me. I didn’t want to hear later that I took too much. He gave me $200. I was good with that.
Then he continued to tell me to take more because we would be “laying” in the bars all the time. That is so not us. And he knows it, but it was funny. I did end up taking $20 more just to make him happy.
 

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