Live from the Magic, 2/4 to 2/11/2006

[MarcyIn Florida]

After a couple of very chilly days on the eastern, today is looking up and the weather is bee-u-tiful, even for a Floridian!

We had an amazing DIS get together thanks to BillinAZ, and a great brunch for 9 of us at Palo yesterday.

My shorts are already too tight, and I think I'll be pulling out the elastic waistbands soon!

 

[lbgraves]

Glad that it has warmed up for you! Hope the great weather continues.

 

[maminnie]

So glad to hear that the weather is warming up.

We are going on the eastern in a few weeks and the packing has been far more difficult than April cruising as it sounds like you can encounter cool days this time of year. I keep telling the people we are travellling with that they need to be prepared for just about anything except snow! It's making me crazy as I don't like to take too much and I'm not one for doing wash on a cruise.

How cool and/or windy was it during your day at sea yesterday (Sunday)? Was it warm enough to be out on the pool and upper decks? How were the seas? Was it cold in PC and during the sail away party?

Hoping you continue having warm weather and calm seas.

Happy cruising and thanks so much for posting and for your help,

maminnie

 

[disneylover5]

We sailed last week and we were sooooooooooooooooooooo lucky to have perfect weather. We even swam when we were in Port Can. I hope you cruise is as awesome as ours was!!
Lisa

 

[disneylady]

We were on the Magic. The weather could not have been better. The seas were rough our first night. We handled it well with Bonine, but others in our party waited a little late to medicate and they felt pretty lousy.

The temperatures in every port were perfect. Had it been any warmer, we would have miserable.

On the decks, if you sit in the shade, you might get chilly. But if you sit in the sun, you'll warm up nicely. I was pale as a ghost and now my face is so tan that I don't need foundation and the tops of my feet are so pretty and brown. The great part is that it's not hot enought to break out in a sweat, which is the part I hate.

Castaway Cay was windy, overcast, and slightly chilly in the morning. But as the day went on, it was heavenly. I snorkeled and had a great time. Once you step into the water, it's chilly, but as another DIS member said, you will get used to it. I think it's just our bodies being in shock that we're standing in an ocean in January.

 

[ddavis860]

We were on the Magic last week...

Hope that things warm up and you have calm seas and a wonderful rest of your cruise!!!

 

[budwmn]

Thanks for the trip report. Hope the weather continues to be warm and sunny!

 

[allears]

marcy, great to read that you're back on board the ship. We wish you a very awesome trip.

 

[MarcyIn Florida]

We are going on the eastern in a few weeks and the packing has been far more difficult than April cruising as it sounds like you can encounter cool days this time of year. I keep telling the people we are travellling with that they need to be prepared for just about anything except snow! It's making me crazy as I don't like to take too much and I'm not one for doing wash on a cruise.

How cool and/or windy was it during your day at sea yesterday (Sunday)? Was it warm enough to be out on the pool and upper decks? How were the seas? Was it cold in PC and during the sail away party?

I wouldn't fret over packing -- I think regular cruise wear plus a fleece works just fine, even for my kids, who have never been in non-Florida weather before.

It was windy on deck at sea, but not so cold to stop my kids from swimming.

It WAS very cold at 6 am on deck 9 when my daughter woke up and wanted to run . . . but that's why coffee and hot chocolate are free.

It was not particularly cold at the sail away party, especially with the crowds! And, quite frankly, we were on the Magic, so we weren't paying much attention tothe weather!

 

[MarcyIn Florida]

Day 5

Funny how I have no interest in being ont he internet while on the Magic! We all swore we'd do trip reports, but no one seems to be doing them. Hmmmmm.

Went to St. Maarten yesterday -- one of the few islands I've never visited. The weather was off and on -- we had some beautiful weather in the morning, then it was rainy for a good portion of the day. We didn't do excursions (dd3 isn't old enough for most of them), but we bought all day water taxi bands, which is a great bargain for anyone who wants to see the island in a casual way.

We wanted to do an out of the way trip, but had some difficultygetting a taxi, oddly enough. We read that as karma and decided to go back to the boat for lunch and a nap. That ended up being a good bet because it allowed the kids to stay up for the pirate party, which was as high energy as a Wiggles concert. (I'd say a Stones concert, but I'd be lying if I said I've been to a real concert in years.) The pirate party is a must-go, especially with kids, which was surprising to me. Oh, and my husband would mention the very attractive women in pirate wench outfits, but as a family board, I'll stop there.

Today is St. Thomas and the morning customs check. I thought I'd be smart and work out beforehand (at 5), but the fitness club doesn't open until 6:30. (Of course, this proves that I haven't been there yet.) I don't know if I'll ever recover from our binging if I don't work out today. As Mark told Sasha during our Palo brunch: "You know what I like about you? You make gluttony acceptable."


We're on for Palo dinner tonight -- we may have to bribe my dd3 to stay in the Club for 2 hours, but what's a Minnie doll in exchange for 2 hours of Sasha?

Peace,
Marcy

 

[maminnie]

Marcyinflorida:

Glad to hear you're having a great cruise. I can't wait to get on that ship!!

Thanks for your hints about packing. I have officially given up trying to add and eliminate!! Whatever we have, we have!!

Hoping the weather is good for you the rest of your trip.

Thanks for taking the time to post.

Enjoy Palo tonight. A night in Palo is even worth having to buy a Mickey doll too!

maminnie

 

[BuzzBoyMom]

As Mark told Sasha during our Palo brunch: "You know what I like about you? You make gluttony acceptable."

I love that!!!!

 

[dlf246]

We are going on the eastern in a few weeks and the packing has been far more difficult than April cruising as it sounds like you can encounter cool days this time of year. I keep telling the people we are travellling with that they need to be prepared for just about anything except snow! It's making me crazy as I don't like to take too much and I'm not one for doing wash on a cruise.
maminnie

layers, layers, layers IMHO is best way to pack for cruise!

 

[Johnna_Story]

Marcy - thanks for starting this thread!!! I wanted too, but like you, had no interest in being on line while on board. Not to mention, when would I have had the time?!

For whoever is interested, here is the first report from the Story Family while it's still fresh in my mind...

Saturday - woke up at the Radisson in pouring rain. Ate breakfast in Radisson in pouring rain. Mark returned rental car and returned to hotel in pouring rain. Boarded Radisson shuttle in pouring rain (okay, okay - you get it?) Thought the shuttle process would be more difficult since about half the hotel was headed to port on Saturday morning, but we were fine. (Honey, you were right!)

Arrived at terminal around 10:30 - (still raining, but not as much) and got the KTTW card. Then waited to board ship. DS took pix with Goofy and Pluto in front of ship model. Started charging to KTTW card IN TERMINAL (so much for our budget! ) okay - it was only diet coke and chips, but still...

Boarded ship (group 2 - about 12:00) and I took kids to Parrot Cay for lunch while DH rushed to change Palo Dinner ressies and Flounders ressies (which we didn't need - more on that later). DD (almost 3) fell asleep at lunch table! Poor thing - she had a cold so the medicine was knocking her out. Went to the room about 1:40. The plan was for DS (5 1/2) to swim, but while the rain let up a bit, it wasn't enough. So he and DH went to the Dis Meet party in BillinAz's suite (THANKS BILL - hope you had a great birthday! ) while DD and I joined later after her nap. Was finally able to meet in person some of our new on-line friends!!

Hurry to lifeboat drill - here's a tip: don't let the kids blow the whistles on the lifejacket. Not only is it annoying, but they don't get sanitized...

Finally it stopped raining so we went off to the sail away party on Deck 9!!! DS LOVED it!!! I taught him the Cha Cha Slide, and he loved the dance they did with the "I wanna know if you'll be my girl" song. As we sailed, DH got video of the CM's on the dock waving with the big Mickey Hands - good thing he did since I was busy dancing with my boy!

Bags arrived soon before dinner, but we just went in our jeans and matching t-shirts. (Don't even think about flaming us for not changing!) Got the LAP rotation. Loved our servers - Pairoj from Thailand, and Anina from South Africa. They were wonderful with the children. Can't wait to email Anina pictures of her with my little ones. They loved her back. No way I can tell you what I ate, but it was good. I do remember the cheesecake for dessert, and of course, polishing off DD's Mickey Bar!! I've been looking forward to that since last March.

Back to room to unpack, and unwind!!!! Went to the opening night show with Rich Pupura and a puppeteer/marionette guy (gimme a break - I haven't unpacked the Navigators yet! ) Then off to bed. Way too tired to do anything else.

Okay - let me unpack my navigators, Passporters, notes, etc. and get some sleep so I can more accurately report the rest of the week.

Here's a preview: Superbowl on the Dive-In screen, rainy St. Maarten, sick in St. Thomas, great brunch and dinner at Palo, and beautiful sunny Castaway Cay. Stay tuned...

 

[cruisecrzy]

Johnna Story,

When you get your Navigator's unpack can you tell me what day(s) the princess meet and greet is on the Western. We are going on the Eastern in March and wanted to do Palo Brunch on Monday, but the Navigator that is posted shows it is only on Monday. It was multiple days on our Nov. 7 day last year.

Thanks.

 

[TigerB]

I can't believe we are back home. (Just in time for a blizzard here in NY.)

What a wonderful cruise. what a wonderful ship. what a wonderful experience.

Mom's surprise trip went off without a hitch the whole time...she cried and cried when she realized the first part at GF at WDW for the week prior to the ship. Then she thought it was over and she was going to see her in-laws for a week and me and DH were going home...but the limo driver distracted her with a DVD in the car and she never realized we drove right past the airport...and started crying all over again when we pulled up to the boat and we told her we were going on it.

What a trip.

Question for you guys though: we didn't go to any of the rebooking sessions...and now regret it. (We want to rebook!) Can we do it now back home - even if not mentioning to the staff on board that we might want to rebook? How long do we have? What kind of deals are there? Are they better than booking through Dreams Unlimited? (We went this time on DVC points but don't have any left!) Oh, and how far out can you book?

Also, when will we get our Castaway Club member information? I would love to go to that part of the DCL website but we don't have our # yet.

Cruising is totally in our blood now. We had a cat 11 standard inside stateroom and would totally take that room again! We loved it. Maybe it helped that we didn't shower but ONCE in the room...we were in the rainforest room every day and THAT was worth it. Phew we loved it. That's where we showered everyday...so the room was perfect for us.

I think that's all I can write now. I am still in shock we are home.

Johnna - great meeting you at Palo breakfast! i am STILL loosening my pants from that.

 

[arica480]

I'm new to the DIS boards! I just came off the same cruise as Marcy. It was my second cruise with the Disney Magic and I had an absolute blast. The cruise staff were amazing, especially the BINGO people. A few friends and I are looking into booking a cruise for 2007 in March.

 

[Johnna_Story]

Johnna Story,

When you get your Navigator's unpack can you tell me what day(s) the princess meet and greet is on the Western. We are going on the Eastern in March and wanted to do Palo Brunch on Monday, but the Navigator that is posted shows it is only on Monday. It was multiple days on our Nov. 7 day last year.

Thanks.

Didn't unpack them yet, but I remember that the princess meet and greet was on Thursday late morning (11ish?). We also met the princesses separately on various nights in the evenings when they were posing for pix and just "roaming" the ship. They are so great - asking the kids how their day was, listening to them, really engaging. And they love when the girls have their princess dresses on!

 

[Johnna_Story]

Stacy: it was so nice to meet you, Tim, your mom and Peter at brunch too. My kids totally loved their autograph book - you were so sweet to do that. Thanks so much.

How much snow have you gotten? We're up to a foot, and it's supposed to snow 1-4 more inches by 10:00 a.m. Quite a shock to leave Castaway Cay on Friday and have over a foot of snow today.

 

[Johnna_Story]

Time change - one hour AHEAD! Lost an hour of sleep that was sorely needed! Ordered room service for pre-breakfast - how nice to sip coffee on the verandah while we wait for some sun to break through the clouds. Didn't come during coffee time.

Our Dis Meet brunch was today, but alas, only DH and Uncle could go, since DD hadn't yet been approved to enter Oceaneer Club yet. They had a great time and Sasha as their server. DH loved Sasha so much that he requested him for our dinner on Friday night (more details on the Friday report!) So I took kids to Topsiders (I love the oatmeal - I know it's ), saw Chicken Little in the Buena Vista, and then we went to the Mickey pool. DS jumped right in, but DD thought it was a little too cold. DH met us there and I was off to the spa!!

I love the spa!! Got the well being massage/facial combo - and man, did I need it!!! Don't remember her name, but my massage therapist really worked my neck and shoulders. It hurt, but she was great. Did I have to go back to the kids??

Took Topsiders food back to room for lunch (made to order pasta - yummy!) and DD took her nap. DS went to OC where they had "So you want to be a Pirate?" with a visit from DS's favorite - Captain Hook! He came back with his face painted. Had a great time. Had some downtime before dinner.

After dinner at Animator's Palate (our favorite restaurant, and a great show) DD's cold was catching up to her again (and spreading to me!) so we were headed back to the room, DS went to OC and DH and Uncle could go watch the superbowl on the Dive-In screen. Interruped by some rain, they went to Diversions and then back upstairs to see the World Champion Steelers reign. So happy for Steve and Tonya - the big Steeler's fans.

There is so much we didn't (or couldn't) take advantage of - just a sampling of activities today that we didn't do:
Mickey 200 - make a car out of vegetables and race it
Family Shuffleboard
Art of Entertaining - visiting chef from AK prepares Scallops and Bacon
Paper Plane Making
Sports Trivia Quiz
Mr. Toads Wild Race
Wine tasting
Ping Pong and Foosball Tournaments
Family Magic Quest scavenger hunt
BINGO - (every day)
Movies every day - Chicken Little, Glory Road, Flight Plan, Annapolis, and Cinderella on the Dive-In (aka Dumbotron!)

And the list goes on - this doesn't even touch on the evening activities. So anyone reading this that hasn't yet been on a cruise or has to convince DH or another family member who thinks they will be "stuck on a ship with nothing to do" has another think coming. We WISH we could have done more.