7-Night Western Caribbean Cruise July 25 - August 1, 2009

[meresandwillsmom]

Just booked! We are so excited! This is our first 7day cruise and our 1st on the Magic! It will be me, my DH, DD13 and DS 11. Me and the kids have sailed twice on the Wonder and my DH once. I haven't even looked at excursions, better get on the ball. See you there!

[wideeyedwonder]

Originally Posted by meresandwillsmom

Just booked! We are so excited!

Woohoo! Welcome, this will be a fun cruise, I can feel it!

[wideeyedwonder]

Originally Posted by NikkiLovesWDW!

does everyone do formal and semi-formal night?? We're thinking that we really don't want to get totally dressed up and would rather eat somewhere more relaxed on those nights.

Topsiders looks like a good option, and we may even go there for a few of the dinners, just to break out of the formality of the main dining rooms:

http://www.disboards.com/showthread....psiders+dinner

http://www.disboards.com/showthread....psiders+dinner

Examples:

Originally Posted by gssmks

On my first cruise, we ate at Topsiders Sun-Thurs. I did not have a reservation. It is correct that Topsiders is not open on first or last night. I was told it is so everyone can meet their servers and then hand out tips. Each night, Topsiders had a limited menu pulled from one of the formal restaurants. You did not have all the same selections. I don't know how they decided which menu to pull from or if there is set pattern of how they do it. One night, a couple wanted something being served in one of the restaurants that was not on the Topsider's menu and one of the servers went and got it for them. I don't know if they will do this all the time or if they just made an exception for this couple. The food was always very good. The meals are much less formal. We wore our shorts and so did everyone else that in there when we were there. It was so much quieter because there were never over 10-15 people there when were there. And the best part as far as I'm concerned is that it the entire meal took 30-45 minutes instead of two hours.

We are going on our second cruise, leaving Oct 11th, and I plan to eat all my meals there again.

Originally Posted by Otimon

Dinner at Topsiders is great and it's where we eat during our cruises, with the exception of first and last nights when it isn't serving and whatever night we reserve Palo's.

There is a self-serve salad bar down back and the rest is table service. I usually have the chicken entree while my husband has some sort of fish and our daughter loves the steak. I would say they offer maybe 5-7 different entrees in all. There is a variety of desserts as well as coffee, drinks, etc.

Topsiders was open from 6:30-8:30PM. No reservations necessary. Service was quick and all the waiters/waitresses we encountered were most pleasant.

Enjoy!

Originally Posted by EeyoreJMH

We ate at Topsiders on Pirate night-- we had late seating and didn't want to miss the start of the show. It was one of the best meals we had-- our server, Mike, was way better than our regular dining rooms servers. We had the same pirate menu that the regular dining room had (or so our tablemates told us). Everything was delicious and the meal paced perfectly (one hour compared to two hours in our regular dining room). The head waiter was very gracious and made it a point to talk with each table-- she personalized each conversation and really made you feel special.

It was a nice extra treat for DH and me to dine alone-- our regular dining table was a table for 8, which was a large group for us. We had a great seat by the window and really relaxed for this meal.

[NikkiLovesWDW!]

Great, thanks for those links!! I think we'll definitely be in the dining room most nights, just good to know there is somewhere else to go if we decide against formal and semi-formal night.

[DLRPfan.be]

Originally Posted by meresandwillsmom

Just booked! We are so excited! This is our first 7day cruise and our 1st on the Magic! It will be me, my DH, DD13 and DS 11. Me and the kids have sailed twice on the Wonder and my DH once. I haven't even looked at excursions, better get on the ball. See you there!

Hi and welcome! We also have a DD who will be 14...

[DLRPfan.be]

Originally Posted by Dmom&dad

where do you find the cabana massage? Is that on the water, I saw somewhere and of course now I can't find it but there was a cabana on the water for a massage!? Will we still go to coz. with this crazy flu stuff going on???

It's on Castaway Key, with cabana's overlookin' the beach...

[wideeyedwonder]

Originally Posted by Dmom&dad

Will we still go to coz. with this crazy flu stuff going on???

Totally unknown; however we are still almost 3 months out from our sailing, so anything can happen...with the outbreaks happening in the rest of the world, and the fact (?) that getting medical attention early *seems* to mitigate the "deadly" nature, we might have a good chance.

Plus, if it spreads, it may be safer in Coz than "back home"! (I have not heard of any known cases or suspected cases on Coz).

[TxPrinceCharmingDad]

Well, this is all new for us.

The low down on us...

Me, DW (39), DS (11) and DD (8) when we cruise. This is our first cruise period including on DCL.

Been reading the thread...

Ready to go today!

Any words of wisdom for the new family?

[wideeyedwonder]

Originally Posted by TxPrinceCharmingDad

Any words of wisdom for the new family?

Hi! Words of wisdom, for a new family? Easy...don't stress the details you find here, you can drive yourself crazy trying to over prepare!

Some easy basics...make sure you fill out your forms on-line before the cruise (but if you don't, it's not the end of the world)...make sure you book your excursions on-line, starting at the 60-day mark (but if you don't, it's not the end of the world)...book a night at Palo (and a brunch, if you can swing it) for the two of you, while the kids have fun in the kids' clubs...

And most important, prepare to relax, and let the winds of fate carry you where they will take you...after all, we will be on island time, mon.

[TxPrinceCharmingDad]

Originally Posted by wideeyedwonder

Hi! Words of wisdom, for a new family? Easy...don't stress the details you find here, you can drive yourself crazy trying to over prepare!

Some easy basics...make sure you fill out your forms on-line before the cruise (but if you don't, it's not the end of the world)...make sure you book your excursions on-line, starting at the 60-day mark (but if you don't, it's not the end of the world)...book a night at Palo (and a brunch, if you can swing it) for the two of you, while the kids have fun in the kids' clubs...

And most important, prepare to relax, and let the winds of fate carry you where they will take you...after all, we will be on island time, mon.

Thanks so much for the heads up.

So, if I may impose another question here...

My DW and I are a little curious whether the DS (11) will like the kids' clubs. He is bigger than little Prince, but not quite a full fledged Prince Charming yet. Think Simba...

[wideeyedwonder]

Originally Posted by TxPrinceCharmingDad

My DW and I are a little curious whether the DS (11) will like the kids' clubs. He is bigger than little Prince, but not quite a full fledged Prince Charming yet. Think Simba...

Truthfully, I've found that MOST kids like the kids clubs, but not always, or all the time, or for all activities.

The counselors tend to be great (from my limited experience with 1 Disney cruise!), but part of it depends on what activity they are doing at the moment, and what the "chemistry" is with the other kids (ie the mix, personalities, and ages of the other kids).

There were some activities that my kids just were not into...others, we had to drag them out of the kids club to force them to spend "family time".

Get "Simba" checked into the kids club at the port, and later that day, take him down (ok, *up*) to the kid's club, and have him meet with the counselors, and tour the facilities. If he's engaged enough during the visit, you might want to let him stay an hour or so to see how he likes it.

After that, during the cruise, you will receive the daily Navigator, outlining the events for that day. Each morning, go over that day's kids' club activities schedule with him, and see if there are activities he might be interested in (especially on sea days).

Again, it all seems based on the chemistry with the counselors, the mix of other kids, and the activities, so on some days he may be excited to go, others he may say "no way".

Honestly, my girls love doing late night kids' club because it gives them an excuse to stay up late (and my wife and I some time with other adults!)

If we had a magic wand, we would like the girls to use the kids' clubs during the late evenings, during our Palo reservations, and part of the sea days (so we can do wine tasting, etc.) However, the reality is that things will never go exactly as planned, so the trick to cruising is to not be wed too much to a set plan.

That being said, they ARE going to kids club during our Palo reservations. The End.

[DLRPfan.be]

Anybody already seen this ? :

Western Caribbean Itinerary Update


May 2, 2009

We continue to evaluate and monitor reports regarding cases of swine influenza in Mexico and the United States, as well as other regions around the globe.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) have recently recommended that travelers avoid non-essential travel to Mexico.

As a result of this recommendation, Disney Cruise Line has modified the May 2, 2009 Western Caribbean voyage of the Disney Magic to include a stop in Nassau, The Bahamas, instead of Cozumel, Mexico. Our itinerary will be as follows:

Saturday - Depart Port Canaveral
Sunday - Key West, Florida
Monday - Day At Sea
Tuesday - Grand Cayman, Cayman Islands (tender ashore)
Wednesday - Day at Sea
Thursday - Nassau, The Bahamas
Friday - Disney's Castaway Cay, The Bahamas
Saturday - Arrive Port Canaveral

At this time, no itinerary changes have been made to future Western Caribbean voyages. We will continue to monitor and evaluate the situation in Mexico and make future modifications as needed.

Additional information about swine influenza can be found at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention website at www.cdc.gov.

[NikkiLovesWDW!]

I did see that. It sucks for the people who've planned for the Cozumel port but I'm not even going to worry about it right now. It looks like they are taking it cruise by cruise so why stress about the itinerary if we won't even know anything until much closer to the time. I haven't booked my excursion yet (next Monday!) but I will take this into consideration when decided what I'm doing in each port.

[wideeyedwonder]

Originally Posted by NikkiLovesWDW!

It sucks for the people who've planned for the Cozumel port but I'm not even going to worry about it right now.

I'm still thinking that this will be "over" (Mexico travel advisory, I mean) by the time we sail...and if not, we've never tried the Atlantis excursion in Nassau (using the comfort suites 'discount'). If we can't do the 4-elements in Mexico, water slides in Nassau would be a fine replacement.

Originally Posted by Susan C

We used our 2008 and some of our 2009 DVC points to pay for it. Susan C New Jersey

Susan, do they have any DVC events (get togethers, etc.) on the cruise? If so, do you know what day or time is typical? (We just recently bought into DVC). Thanks!

[NikkiLovesWDW!]

I just e-mailed my TA to put the remaining balance of the cruise on my credit card!! It's both exciting and terrifying at the same time! (I hate having a cc bill that I can't pay off at once.)

Sooooo, now I will spend the next 6 days picking and changing and going back and forth between excursions a hundred times over....