It has been almost six weeks since we returned from our MAGICAL cruise. The reason it took so long to post this trip report is because of the letdown after our return. We just booked our next cruise through Dreams Unlimited for September 2002. Let the planning begin!!! The tips we got from these boards were invaluable. I don't know what we would have done without them. THANKS to everyone for the GREAT information.
We arrived in Orlando Friday afternoon (10/6), got our rental car from AVIS and headed over to Port Canaveral. We checked in at the Radisson (a tip from this board) and headed over to Ron Jon's Surf Shop. I had always seen the billboards and just had to see this place. After Ron Jon's it was dinner at McDonalds and back to the hotel. The Radisson was a nice hotel. The only complaint was the bugs at night. We went out to swim in the evening and had to go back to our room because the bugs were so bad. They were eating us alive.
In the morning we returned our rental car (AVIS return is at the Radisson) and took the free shuttle to the terminal. This was our 1st cruise and we couldn't believe the size of the Magic as we approached. It looked awesome!!! It was around 10:30 and when we got off the shuttle there was someone waiting to take our bags. We went into the terminal and just soaked it all in. This is a BEATIFUL place. We were shocked when they started checking people in around 11:30 and letting people on the boat around 12:30. We were the 5th family on the boat. This is when the mad dash started. After they announced our arrival (this is cool!) we headed to our stateroom. We were in a family suite (category 4) on deck eight. It was awesome!!! Our luggage was already there, the gifts we purchased for the kids from Magical Memories(?), and a bottle of champagne from Disney. We just looked around then headed to Topsider's for lunch. The food was GREAT the entire week. If you don't believe me I can prove it. My DW and I both gained 8 pounds during the week. As my daughter said when we got home, "My dad brought home a little of the Magic with him." Next it was to the Oceaneers club/lab to sign up our 7 year old DD and 4 year old DS. Our kids loved the clubs. Sometimes when we went to get them they didn't want to leave. The do a GREAT job!!! Our 14 year old enjoyed the teen area also. He made friends quickly. We didn't see any of the negative things we had read about on the boards. After this my DW and I split up to make our reservations at Palo's and the spa. I made spa reservations for a Surial Bath, Seaweed Wrap, and a manicure for my DW. At Palo's it was reservations for dinner and the champagne brunch. Time to relax and enjoy the bonvage deck party, which was great. We had our bubbles (another tip from the boards) and enjoyed the music and fun. At dinner we met our servers, Ben & Barry. The were TERRIFIC. The spoiled all of us feel the entire week. They went out of their way to make our kids feel special. After dinner it was off to the show. We went to all the shows and they were FANTASTIC. The best was the variety show the 1st night and Disney Dreams the last night.
If I do this for all 7 days it's going to be too long. Here are some highlights from the rest of the week:
- Champagne brunch at Palo's was OK. We decided to cancel our dinner at Palo's later in the week and eat with our kids in the restaurants. We liked the food better in the dining rooms.
- Wine tasting was GREAT. This was a very relaxing way to spend a couple of hours and learn about wine.
- Spa treatments. My DW loved the Seaweed Wrap and we enjoyed the Surial Bath. We only wish we had more time. The 45 minutes goes real fast. Everyone should try this once!
- All of the dining rooms and the food was 1st class. We didn't have a bad meal the entire week. As posted earlier, my DW and I brought home a combined 16 pounds of Magic.
- Excursions: See & Sea at St Marten. We enjoyed this! At St Thomas we took a taxi to Magens Bay. This was a nice, relaxing morning. A beautiful place. When we go back we want to go to Trunk Bay.
- Shows: They were all good. When we go back we will skip some shows and spend more time just relaxing.
- Formal Nights: We went for the tuxes and thought they were great. We got pictures of a lifetime with my DS's (14, 4) and myself in tuxes. What a GREAT family portrait with all of us dressed up with Captain Mickey. We rented the tuxes the company Disney suggested and they fit just fine. No complaints.
- Room Service: We had coffee delivered every morning. We also had a cheese plate one night that we enjoyed on the veranda with a glass of wine. The kids had numerous things delivered. The staff was very friendly. $2 bills worked great for tips to room service (another tip from the boards).
Things we learned from the boards that came in handy:
- Fan for the room. I would have died without it.
- Travel iron.
- Clock radio alarm clock (not one in the room).
- Plastic shoe hanger (15 slots) from Walmart for the bathroom door to put toiletries in. This was a lifesaver.
- Highlighters for the Navigators. We planned our day over coffee on the veranda.
- Small hairdryer and extension cord. The hairdryer in the bathroom didn't work very well and the extension cord gave my DW some mobility.
- Extra hangers.
- I can't remember them all!
After disembarkation we took the AVIS shuttle to the Radisson and picked up a car for our return trip to Orlando. The rental car back and forth was much cheaper than the Disney buses and much more convient. It gave us some freedom. We went to the BWV and spent the day.
When we go again 9/02 we will take a slower pace. No more rushing around on the 1st day. More time just hanging out by the pool and enjoying the beauty. See some of the movies onboard. Spend a few days at WDW after returning. Before we left I thought this would be our 1st and last cruise. I wasn't very excited about it. As you can tell it's in our blood now. We will go back as often as we can afford to. THANKS to everyone who added to our enjoyment through the tips on this board.
Only 22 months until our next 7 day Disney cruise followed by 6 nights at BWV. We LOVE Disney!!!
DVC Member 10/99
2/94 DL - 4 nights, 10/94 PO - 7 nights
10/95 PO - 7 nights, 10/99 Cont & BC - 11 nights
5/00 DL,VB & OKW - 8 nights,
10/00 DISNEY MAGIC - 7 nights
1/01 BWV - 4 nights, 10/01 VB & BWV - 14 nights
We arrived in Orlando Friday afternoon (10/6), got our rental car from AVIS and headed over to Port Canaveral. We checked in at the Radisson (a tip from this board) and headed over to Ron Jon's Surf Shop. I had always seen the billboards and just had to see this place. After Ron Jon's it was dinner at McDonalds and back to the hotel. The Radisson was a nice hotel. The only complaint was the bugs at night. We went out to swim in the evening and had to go back to our room because the bugs were so bad. They were eating us alive.
In the morning we returned our rental car (AVIS return is at the Radisson) and took the free shuttle to the terminal. This was our 1st cruise and we couldn't believe the size of the Magic as we approached. It looked awesome!!! It was around 10:30 and when we got off the shuttle there was someone waiting to take our bags. We went into the terminal and just soaked it all in. This is a BEATIFUL place. We were shocked when they started checking people in around 11:30 and letting people on the boat around 12:30. We were the 5th family on the boat. This is when the mad dash started. After they announced our arrival (this is cool!) we headed to our stateroom. We were in a family suite (category 4) on deck eight. It was awesome!!! Our luggage was already there, the gifts we purchased for the kids from Magical Memories(?), and a bottle of champagne from Disney. We just looked around then headed to Topsider's for lunch. The food was GREAT the entire week. If you don't believe me I can prove it. My DW and I both gained 8 pounds during the week. As my daughter said when we got home, "My dad brought home a little of the Magic with him." Next it was to the Oceaneers club/lab to sign up our 7 year old DD and 4 year old DS. Our kids loved the clubs. Sometimes when we went to get them they didn't want to leave. The do a GREAT job!!! Our 14 year old enjoyed the teen area also. He made friends quickly. We didn't see any of the negative things we had read about on the boards. After this my DW and I split up to make our reservations at Palo's and the spa. I made spa reservations for a Surial Bath, Seaweed Wrap, and a manicure for my DW. At Palo's it was reservations for dinner and the champagne brunch. Time to relax and enjoy the bonvage deck party, which was great. We had our bubbles (another tip from the boards) and enjoyed the music and fun. At dinner we met our servers, Ben & Barry. The were TERRIFIC. The spoiled all of us feel the entire week. They went out of their way to make our kids feel special. After dinner it was off to the show. We went to all the shows and they were FANTASTIC. The best was the variety show the 1st night and Disney Dreams the last night.
If I do this for all 7 days it's going to be too long. Here are some highlights from the rest of the week:
- Champagne brunch at Palo's was OK. We decided to cancel our dinner at Palo's later in the week and eat with our kids in the restaurants. We liked the food better in the dining rooms.
- Wine tasting was GREAT. This was a very relaxing way to spend a couple of hours and learn about wine.
- Spa treatments. My DW loved the Seaweed Wrap and we enjoyed the Surial Bath. We only wish we had more time. The 45 minutes goes real fast. Everyone should try this once!
- All of the dining rooms and the food was 1st class. We didn't have a bad meal the entire week. As posted earlier, my DW and I brought home a combined 16 pounds of Magic.
- Excursions: See & Sea at St Marten. We enjoyed this! At St Thomas we took a taxi to Magens Bay. This was a nice, relaxing morning. A beautiful place. When we go back we want to go to Trunk Bay.
- Shows: They were all good. When we go back we will skip some shows and spend more time just relaxing.
- Formal Nights: We went for the tuxes and thought they were great. We got pictures of a lifetime with my DS's (14, 4) and myself in tuxes. What a GREAT family portrait with all of us dressed up with Captain Mickey. We rented the tuxes the company Disney suggested and they fit just fine. No complaints.
- Room Service: We had coffee delivered every morning. We also had a cheese plate one night that we enjoyed on the veranda with a glass of wine. The kids had numerous things delivered. The staff was very friendly. $2 bills worked great for tips to room service (another tip from the boards).
Things we learned from the boards that came in handy:
- Fan for the room. I would have died without it.
- Travel iron.
- Clock radio alarm clock (not one in the room).
- Plastic shoe hanger (15 slots) from Walmart for the bathroom door to put toiletries in. This was a lifesaver.
- Highlighters for the Navigators. We planned our day over coffee on the veranda.
- Small hairdryer and extension cord. The hairdryer in the bathroom didn't work very well and the extension cord gave my DW some mobility.
- Extra hangers.
- I can't remember them all!
After disembarkation we took the AVIS shuttle to the Radisson and picked up a car for our return trip to Orlando. The rental car back and forth was much cheaper than the Disney buses and much more convient. It gave us some freedom. We went to the BWV and spent the day.
When we go again 9/02 we will take a slower pace. No more rushing around on the 1st day. More time just hanging out by the pool and enjoying the beauty. See some of the movies onboard. Spend a few days at WDW after returning. Before we left I thought this would be our 1st and last cruise. I wasn't very excited about it. As you can tell it's in our blood now. We will go back as often as we can afford to. THANKS to everyone who added to our enjoyment through the tips on this board.
Only 22 months until our next 7 day Disney cruise followed by 6 nights at BWV. We LOVE Disney!!!
DVC Member 10/99
2/94 DL - 4 nights, 10/94 PO - 7 nights
10/95 PO - 7 nights, 10/99 Cont & BC - 11 nights
5/00 DL,VB & OKW - 8 nights,
10/00 DISNEY MAGIC - 7 nights
1/01 BWV - 4 nights, 10/01 VB & BWV - 14 nights
I agree, next time we can take it slow and relax more. We felt that we had so much to see and such little time to do it in that we spent our time flying around. I see that you enjoyed it as much as we did though.
