Magic Spring Break 2012 Eastern Caribbean cruise - Trip Report - Before we event left

[sauterelledesiles]

I wrote this trip report, mostly for my kids and to go along the hundreds of pictures we took on the cruise, so it is not your usual trip report. Feel free to ask questions if you have any, I'll do my best to answer them.

Well, here goes nothing! We just got back from our eastern Caribbean cruise 3 days ago and although I thought about writing a trip report before we left and knew I would need to take notes, I have not, partly because of a rough start to the cruise. So, this trip report will have some info, but not as much as there could have been.

Introductions: Sailing with me, DW, was DH, DS1, DS2 and DS3. We are in our early 40’s and the boys are 11, 9 and 5.

Experience: This was our first Disney cruise, but DH and I’s 2nd cruise. Our first had been with Carnival over 10 years ago and was only 4 days in the Bahamas.

Setting: We sailed on the Magic for 7 nights from March 10th through March 17th 2012 with an Eastern Caribbean itinerary.

Stateroom: Because there was 5 of us, we booked two connecting staterooms on deck two. We had “deluxe inside stateroom”.

Pre-trip:
We booked our cruise on August 7th 2011. We had planned on cruising two years ago, but because of DH’s job, had to change plans and ended up postponing our cruise until this year. When we decided on booking this cruise, we didn’t contact any travel agent or make extensive research. We basically looked online on the DCL’s website at the available cruises during the boys’ spring break and then picked up the phone and called DCL. We booked everything (air, airport to port transportation and cruise) through DCL.

I read as much as I could on the Disboards. I read about the eastern Caribbean itinerary. I read about the Magic. I took notes and felt I was as prepared as I would ever be.

DH travels quite a lot for his work, and of course, the week right before the cruise, he was out of town, leaving most of the packing up to me. He did fly back on Thursday to insure we would all be able to fly out of Houston together early Saturday morning.

Because we booked through DCL, we didn’t get to choose which airline we were flying with, nor at what time the flights were. We ended up flying with Delta, with a connection in Atlanta. Delta charges $25 per checked bag for whoever is not a frequent flyer with a lot of miles. Since we didn’t want to pay for 3 bags, we made the decision to check only one suitcase and me, DH, DS1 and DS2 would each have a carry on, plus one back pack. DS3 also had a small carry on.

For the whole week before the cruise, I had all the suitcases lined up in my room and filled them up a little at a time each day. My goal was to try to fit as much as I could in the carry-ons, just in case our checked suitcase didn’t make it to the ship in time. We had a 50-minute connection in Atlanta. For those who have gone through that airport, you can all understand that 50 minutes is cutting it close. So, in our carry-ons, I packed 2 days worth of clothes, plus swimsuits and formal wear (excluding DH’s jacket).

We also signed up to participate in the Fish Extender (FE) exchange through the Disboards, so I packed some of our gifts in the carry-ons, and some went in the checked suitcase.

Another thing I added in the suitcase were 3 white photo mats. I brought those to be signed by the characters and then be used to frame a souvenir picture from our cruise for each of the boys.

Friday – March 9th

The kids were in school and DH was working from home, which allowed him to pack his suitcase before he officially started working and during his lunch time. We were successful in having only one checked bag and fit everything else in carry-ons!!!

We live about 50 minutes from the airport and since our flight was very early (5:55am) on Saturday, we splurged and booked two rooms at the Marriot Hotel at the airport for Friday night. That was a wise decision.

We left the house at around 6:30pm for the airport. We checked in the hotel, unloaded our suitcases and then DH drove the car to the long term parking lot, riding the shuttle back to the airport. As soon as we got into our rooms, we got into our PJs and got ready for bed.

 

[sauterelledesiles]

Saturday – March 10th

The alarm clock went off at 4:14am. I got ready then woke the boys up and got them ready. We were out of our rooms before 5am, which was our goal. Checking in with Delta went smoothly and the line for security was minimal. Once through security, we grabbed some Starbucks and had breakfast, fruit bars and granola bars we had brought from home, while waiting at our gate. Our first flight from Houston to Atlanta left on time and we ended up landing more than 30 minutes early.

Once in Atlanta, we made our way to our gate and DH bought some snacks for us to eat on our 2nd segment of our trip. Again, we left on time and landed in Orlando as scheduled.

On our previous trips to the world where we used the Magical Express, we always traveled with Continental (United) and knew where to go at the Orlando airport. This time, we had to pay more attention to the directions and signs. But, without any incidents, we made our way to the lower level of the airport where Disney has its Magical Express counters.

Once downstairs, we headed to the ME counters. Because both DH and I are Canadians and have Canadian passports, we were directed to a different line (concierge) and were helped without any wait. After giving the agent our little booklets, she stapled a piece of paper with the picture of Ariel in each of them. She then told us to go over where the chairs were and wait until another agent called for Ariel. When we got to the waiting area, they were boarding the Chip and Dale passengers and the following one would be Ariel. It took less than 20 minutes and Ariel was being called. We waited shortly in line and then made our way outside to board the ME.

We were among the first ones on board and chose our seats according to the locations of the TV monitors. The ride to Port Canaveral was about 45 minutes. During the ride, we saw a video of the characters getting ready for their cruise and riding the ME to the port. They also showed some cartoons and Disney trivia. Pay attention to the Mickey trivia on the ME, it could be very helpful if you participate in some of the trivia/game shows on board the ship!

As we made our way on the causeway, our driver directed our attention to where the Magic was docked. It was our first sight of the ship. As we got closer and closer, I got more and more excited, and so did the kids. As we approached the terminal, our driver explained a few things regarding security for the ME buses (not very important for the passengers). We then finally pulled into a parking spot for the ME at the terminal! One of the Disney employees came on board and explained what our next few steps were going to be. If I remember correctly, she told the group who had been given their Key To The World (KTTW) that they were free to board the ship once they had cleared security, and then she told whoever didn’t receive their KTTW to see her outside the bus. That was us.

As we exited the ME, we walked to the employee and told her we didn’t have our KTTW. She told us we would need to go check in at the counter once inside the terminal. We made our way to the terminal and through security. We walked through the metal detector real easily and our bags and carry-ons were x-rayed and then we were directed to the escalators leading to the main floor of the terminal.

Because it was close to 1pm, the boarding had already started and the terminal was not crowded at all. As we got to the main floor, other employees asked if we needed help. We said we didn’t have our KTTW. They then directed us to a small kiosk with disclosure papers to be filled. We had to fill out and sign a paper that said we didn’t have any symptoms of the flu as we were boarding the ship. We then made our way to a line, waiting to be given our KTTW. That little kiosk is also where we got our first copies of the Personal Navigator (PN).

At the counter, we were asked for our booklets, our passports, our green cards and the papers we had printed and signed at home for credit card charges and kids’ check-out privileges. After reviewing all the papers, the agent took pictures of us. Turns out those pictures show up on monitors when we exit and board the ship at ports of call. We were finally issued our KTTW and told we could board the ship!!!!

We could have gone to the other side of the terminal to get the Mickey tags for the kids (bracelets with RFID to keep track of the kids’ coming and going at the Oceaneer Lab and Club), but we were told we could also do this on board. We opted to wait and do it on board.


DW with DS1, 2 and 3 getting ready to board the ship

We made our way to the Mickey shaped entrance to the ship. Once passed the entrance, another employee swiped each of our KTTW before we were allowed to continue. Right after that is where we had our “coming on board” professional picture taken. The photographers refused to use our camera to take a picture, but said we could ask someone right before or after us to do it.

Once the picture was taken, we walked over the gangway and onto the ship. Just before we entered the atrium, a crew member stopped us and asked our last name. We were then welcomed on the Magic. As you might have read on other posts, there are no lines of crew members greeting you and clapping. Instead, once we walked on the ship, one crew member walked toward us and asked if we knew where our stateroom was. She gave us directions and reminded us of the mandatory muster drill.

We entered the atrium on deck 3 and our staterooms were on deck 2, so we went down one story and came face to face with The Edge, the tween club where DS1 would be heading soon. We then walked down the hallway to our staterooms. In the hallway of our stateroom, we met Rocio, our stateroom host from Peru. She was very nice and ready to please.

After unpacking a little, we tried to catch up with the 2pm walking ship tour. We were to meet on deck 10, but by the time we made it there, the group had already left. So, instead, we decided to walk around the ship by ourselves. Around 2:30, we ended up catching up with the tour in front of the Buena Vista Theater. We joined the group for a short while, until we got to the Oceaneer club. At that point, it was around 2:45 and I wanted to get the kids’ their Mickey tags, but I also knew I wanted to meet with the Disboards group at 3pm in the Promenade lounge.

The kids got their tags, and we rushed to the Promenade lounge on deck 3 for the meet. Some of the other dissers were already there and were chatting. Someone (apologies to all who provided things, I can’t remember who) provided nametags, someone else had put together an icebreaker game for the kids. This icebreaker was GREAT! The kids got a head start getting to know each other before they met again in the Oceaneer lab/club. Hubby chatted with 3Goofy’s DH, whom we ended up seeing quite often during the cruise… but not as often as Janette311!!! I also remember meeting DundasDad, mtambrino, finishline413, papertraveller, Son3disfan and MSGrandma. And I thought I had not met a lot of the people at the meet. I now realize it wasn’t so. I ended the meet helping DS3 with the icebreaker. Since he is only 5 and cannot really read, I had to read the questions for him. But he had fun, and that was important!

The meet lasted about 30-40 minutes and around 3:45, we made our way back to our stateroom to change and continue unpacking. Not long after that, there was an announcement on the PA to tell us that there was going to be a Boat Drill at 4pm. The message also explained what the alarm would sound like, that we didn’t need our life vests and that it was mandatory for all to show up on deck 4. Soon after, the alarm went off and we made our way to deck 4, section H. The crewmembers wrote down our cabin number while we lined up, per family, shortest in the front, facing the water. We were soon dismissed and could continue our activities.

We stopped by the atrium and took a picture with Mickey at the helm (bronze statue) and then slowly made our way to deck 9 for the Adventures Away party. DH and I both got the drink of the day: Bay Breeze. It wasn’t memorable since I don’t remember what it tasted like, but we wanted those plastic hurricane cups they came in!!! We were also given streamers to party with Tisa, our Club Host, and the Disney Characters. The streamers were fun, but the twist tie used to keep them wrapped nicely until used stained our fingers yellow. It took several hand washing with soap to get rid of it all.

The party was high energy and it was fun to see the characters on stage. We danced and jumped and celebrated the departure without even noticing that we had left the dock. First thing I noticed is that we were moving and almost out of Port Canaveral. We stayed on deck 9 until a little past 5pm. Our dinner was scheduled for 5:45pm at Parrot Cay. We went back to our cabins to change and unpack the checked suitcase that had been delivered to our room. Tonight’s attire was cruise casual so the kids wore their jeans but put on polo-type shirts. DH put on khakis and a polo-type shirt and I had a skort with a polo-type shirt as well. While back in the room, I also put up my Fish Extender and started decorating our doors.


DW and her Fish Extender - and the magnets on our door - this was on Pirates IN the caribbean night

Speaking of cabin, let me share with you the great addition DCL did to the Magic a few months ago… they added 2 Wave phones per cabin. Those phones are wireless phones with text messaging possibility. With having 2 cabins, we had 4 phones. DS1 had one so that he could keep us informed of his whereabouts and DH and I each had one so that the Lab/Club could contact us if one of the kids needed to be checked out or to simply communicate with each other. It was very handy when we were looking for each other or wanting to know who was checking the kids out after getting a message. The phones only vibrate, they do not ring. At first, I thought it was weird, but then I thought about the fact that a lot of phones could have rung at the same time or even disturbed meals because most people would probably forget to put them to vibrate when entering the dining rooms.

As we were heading to the stairs to go to dinner, we saw a few officers standing and greeting passengers. I particularly noticed one of the names: Frédéric, spelled with a C, not CK. I started pointing it to DH when I realized that he was from France, which explained the French spelling of it. We said Hi, but that was about it. Later during the cruise we ran into Frédéric a few times, including on Thursday when we were having coffee at Cove Café and he chatted with us a little more. He was telling us he and his wife were both working on this ship. She was pregnant and would finish her contract, but would not be able to renew, so they were looking into buying a house in Charlevoix, QC, since she was from Quebec. Her immediate family was now living in Ontario, but she had relatives in the greater Quebec City area and they liked it there. It was really nice to have established some sort of relationship with Frédéric.

Then, as we were heading up the stairs to our restaurant, we saw that Sailor Mickey was taking pictures in the atrium. We decided to have our picture taken with Mickey!

Our first dinner was at Parrot Cay. We were assigned to table 38, in the far left corner of the room. We met our server Cyprian Fernandez, from India, and our assistant server, Peter Gaspard from Hungary. We also got a chance to meet our table mates, a very nice and fun couple, and their tween daughter, from Texas. I don’t know how DCL assigns the tables, but this match was perfect. We never ran out of things to talk about and the B family had already cruised a few times with DCL before, including on the Dream last year, and was willing to share their experience with us. Our meeting the B family that evening was brief. They just stopped by to introduce themselves to us and our servers before heading up to Palo for Dinner. Dinner at Parrot Cay had an Island theme. DS2 had his first of many Mickey Mouse shaped ice cream sandwiches! We also met our maitre D, Luis from Portugal. Luis actually spoke some French. I don’t know if he visited each table as much as he did ours over the cruise, but we saw him every evening. He came over to talk with Mrs. B who had special dietary needs and who needed to order her dinner the night before to allow time for the Chefs to tweak the menu accordingly.

After dinner, we caught the end of Mickey Mania in Studio Sea. It was a fun game show. DH and I then decided to go see the show. DS2 and DS3 went to the oceaneer lab/club and DS1 came with us to the Walt Disney Theater to watch the show: All Aboard: let the magic begin. The show included some of the characters, plus two one-act sample of Paul Aldrich (music and comedy) and Bronkar Lee (High energy comedy beatbox juggler). Both of these acts were presented on Sunday and Monday at different venues. I have to say I laughed a lot at Paul’s jokes and I was terribly impressed with Bronkar’s talent. The guy was able to do a beat box while humming a melody!

After the show, we picked up DS3 from the oceaneer club, but DS2 didn’t want to leave the oceaneer lab just yet. He was in the middle of a Piston Cup competition. The kids had worked in team and carved out a “car” from a soap bar, then added wheels and raced them down a racetrack. The winning team’s car was placed in the display case for the week and the members had bragging rights! While waiting for DS2, we were able to catch Goofy for pictures in the atrium. We then picked up DS2 from the Lab. Since we had been up since very early that morning, we picked up the boys and went back to our stateroom for the night.

Before I go on, I want to share another something we experienced before every meal. DCL is very serious about keeping any wide spread illness off the ship. At the entrance of every restaurant and buffet, crewmembers were waiting for us with industrial size antibacterial wipe containers and were distributing them to each and every individual. As a mom, I really appreciated that. It meant that at least my kids would have “cleaner” hands for their meal.

 

[sauterelledesiles]

Sunday, March 11 – Day at sea

I woke up very early this morning. DS1 was also up early and wanted to go for breakfast. We could feel the rocking of the ship. I was sort of queasy, but I was hoping that eating something would help. So, DS1 and I got dressed and went on a discovery tour of the ship.

On our way up from deck 2, we stopped on deck 4. I was hoping we could walk around the promenade deck. Forget about it! There was so much mist/water from the rough seas that it felt as if it was raining very hard. Even though it was dark, I could tell it wasn’t raining. So, after that failed try, we kept on going up to head to deck 9 where the buffet was and some other quick food counters. Unfortunately, there wasn’t much open at that time of day. We went to Goofy’s galley where I was able to get a banana and then to the self serve beverage station to get coffee for me and water for DS1. We sat down on deck 9 and watched a bit of the cartoons playing on the funnel vision. The funnel vision is a humongous screen showing movies and cartoons during the day. Sitting down wasn’t agreeing with me, so we started walking again and made our way to deck 10. That was a scary experience. The winds were very strong and I felt like I was going to get blown off the ship, so we went straight back inside and back down to our stateroom since I wasn’t feeling any better.

I went back to sleep and woke up a little later, with the rest of the family. We all went to have breakfast at Topsider’s buffet. I had my first Mickey waffles of the week! Couldn’t resist getting them!!! The buffet had a good variety of food. There was also a second section where omelets were made to order and a third section with yogourt and cereals and milk.

After breakfast, DS2 and DS3 wanted to attend their respective oceaneer lab/club, so we signed them in. DS1 wanted to go to the edge, which was also fine with us. DS2 made flubber and played gaga ball (shrunk down version of dodgeball) in the lab and DS3 made a Peter Pan hat and telescope in the Club.

Before going to my scheduled activities, I stopped by Guest services to drop off my photo mats. I had also crocheted a little bag in Mickey’s colors and put lifesavers in it to give at the same time. I had read on Disboards that the crewmembers were appreciative of candies. I was told the mats would be brought back to our room Friday.

At 10am, I went to the Animator’s Palate for Animation: Mickey. One of the crewmember (Brittany, from Canada) was teaching me (since I was the only one who showed up) how to draw Mickey Mouse. Unfortunately, the rocking of the ship due to bad weather was more than I could handle and I had to leave before I was done with drawing Mickey. She was going to tackle Goofy after, which I had planned on trying too, but it wasn’t meant. There was another session later in the afternoon for the whole family and I was hoping to be able to make it to that one.

During that time, DH tried the gym.

I have to admit, I don’t remember much of the early afternoon, I slept! I was really queasy. I took a Dramamine tablet and put on the sea bands I had purchased for sea sickness and spent much of the afternoon resting. DH came back to the stateroom after his workout. He then went to lunch; don’t remember where, or with whom!

I remember DH went to the wine tasting activity at sessions where he bumped into 3goofy’s DH. He also went to the matinee showing of Twice Charmed in the Walt Disney Theater.

Captain John did come on the PA system to let us know that the seas were really rough and that the winds were blowing at 50 miles per hour. Even some of the (used) crewmembers were affected by the movement of the ship.

Somehow, I started feeling much better around late afternoon and I was able to have dinner with the family at Lumière’s. Tonight was our formal dinner. We all got dressed up real nice. The boys had long sleeve shirts and ties, DH had a suite and I had a cocktail dress. There was a lot of opportunity to take pictures in the lobby. We didn’t want to wait, so we asked a crewmember to take a picture of us with the iPhone…. Big mistake. The crewmembers don’t necessarily know how to work the different devices and almost all of the pictures they took came back blurry, which was really frustrating since you only know once you’ve left the character/location and realize it’s too late to do a retake. We learned that it was better to ask a teenager to take our pictures!

We had a very good dinner, as usual and excellent service from Cyprian and Peter. This was our first real conversation with the B family. It was really enjoyable. Mrs. B always had something to talk about and Mr. B was funny. Miss B was very smart and in some ways reminded me of DS1.

After dinner, we decided to go see The Muppets’ movie. It was fun, but was interrupted by DS3 fidgeting around 9:15. Since it was getting late, I offered him to go back to the cabin and go to bed. I was actually looking forward to going to bed too. Unfortunately, when we got back to our stateroom, the bunk bed and the couch had not been turned down and DS3 couldn’t go to bed until that was done. I had to call guess services twice. The first time, another host came and got the upper bunk ready, but had trouble with the couch: it wouldn’t open flat and we couldn’t find the ladder for the upper bunk. The host said another person would come to fix the couch in 5 minutes. Well it was taking longer and longer and the movie was already over (10:15) and the couch still had not been fixed. So that’s when I made my second call. Someone finally came and pushed down on the couch and somewhat fixed it. The next day, after lifting the couch, we realized that that’s where the ladder was, under the couch, which explained why the couch wouldn’t open flat!

We also learned the next day that the reason our room hadn’t been turned down correctly was because our stateroom host had also been affected by the rough seas and someone else had to cover for her.

 

[sauterelledesiles]

Monday, March 12 – Day at sea

I woke up feeling better and happy to see that the seas were calmer. We had breakfast at Topsider’s buffet and ate outside. It really was a gorgeous day.

That morning, I wanted to go draw Donald and Pluto and DH and kids played shuffle board. Since the Shuffle board started before my activity, I took the opportunity to deliver some of my FE gifts.


some of the Fish Extender goodies we gave to fellow cruisers.

At lunch time, we picked up DS2 and DS3 from their respective Lab/Club and headed for lunch. DS1 had pizza from Pinocchio’s Pizzeria that he brought back to the Edge (the tween club). I think we had lunch at Topsider’s buffet, but I can’t remember for sure. What I remember for sure is sort of getting lost!!! Yep! We were on deck 9, DS2, DS3 and I and we wanted to go to deck 5. I knew there were stairs right there next to the patio part of Topsider’s buffet, so we used those to get to deck 8. From deck 8, the stairs were leading toward the aft of the ship and we found this hidden gem… a quiet tanning deck at the aft of the ship on deck 7. We were still looking for deck 5, so from 7, we easily made our way to deck 6, but after that, we somehow got into a section that was for crewmembers only, but I swear, we never saw any signs that said so. How we realized this is when we opened a door that led to Animator’s Palate and we ended up in the middle of an Animation class! We apologized and exited the restaurant. We were then on deck 4…. We had missed deck 5! So we went back up to deck 5 and I signed the kids in the Lab.

DH and I had planned on going to go see Villains Tonight!... what a waste of time. The story was not very coherent and since it was right after lunch, it was siesta time! DH did snooze a few minutes during the show and I too closed my eyes and rested my eyelids!

After the show, we picked up DS2 from the Lab and he came to deliver more FE gifts with us. It was really fun, and as another disser mentioned, it makes you discover the ship. I’m really glad we decided to participate in the exchange. I strongly recommend it… As we did our tour of the ship, DS2 and I showed DH the hidden gem on deck 7.


DH and DW on the deck 7 little hidden treasure

A little later that afternoon, we met at Palo (Adult only restaurant) for the Art of the Theme Ship Tour. Brittany (from Canada) was our guide. She explained that the restaurant was named Palo, meaning pole in Italian, because it was built in Venice, Italy where there are a lot of poles in the canals to anchor the gondolas. A lot of the design at Palo reminds us of that. She also mentioned that the wood used at Palo is strong but light in weight, and that the glass is also light in weight. The reason for that is that Palo is on deck 10 (high) and the architects had to be careful in putting too much weight high on the ship. They didn’t want it to be top-heavy. There were also beautiful hand-painted masks from the Carnival of Venice. We then made our way to deck 5, while counting how many different types of carpets we had encountered. I don’t remember the answer. What I remember is that Brittany said that when there were dolphins on the carpet, it meant that that deck was mostly used for staterooms, anchors meant activities. Since we were on deck 5, Brittany had us noticed how much lower the ceiling was. This was meant to make the kids in the Lab, Club and nursery feel less lost. It was also to allow more room for deck 4 with the Walt Disney Theater. We were also told that there is a hidden Mickey on the Nursery’s sign. We were told the theme of the oceaneer Club was Peter Pan and the oceaneer Lab was Buzz lightyear. From deck 5, we moved to deck 4 on the promenade deck. The wood used on the deck is especially water resistant. At that point, Brittany pointed to us the birthmark of the ship. Because the Magic was built at two different shipyards, the stern was built in one and the bow in another one, the engineers left a relief of where the two parts were assembled together. Finally, with the tour, we made our way to the atrium to talk about the massive sculpture hanging from the ceiling. It is from an Italian glass blower named Chihuly. Since this much glass would not be safe on a ship, it is made of a special acrylic he developed just for this. There are more than 500 flutes and trumpets and we saw the hidden Mickey that is visible when you stand right under it.

DH left before the end of the tour to go get DS2 and DS3 from the Lab and go change before dinner. I finished the tour, but rushed out of there to go get ready for dinner. That night, we were having dinner at Animator’s Palate, it was the show dinner. The show dinner at Animator’s palate means the whole décor starts as black and white and the server’s vests are also black and white. Then, colors begin to appear on different drawings. At one point, all the servers disappear and come back dressed with colored vests along with Sorcerer Mickey. It was really a fun dinner, certainly not to be missed.


DS2 with his 2 Mickey Mouse shaped ice cream sandwiches

That evening, for dessert, DS2 asked for a Mickey shaped ice cream sandwich and DS3 asked for ice cream. There was a misunderstanding and Cyprian brought DS3 an ice cream sandwich as well. But, he corrected himself and brought DS3 regular ice cream and DS2 got DS3’s Mickey-shaped ice cream sandwich. Miss B said she wanted nothing for dessert… Cyprian brought her a plate with a plate cover. When she lifted the cover, the word “Nothing” was written on the plate with chocolate syrup. We all got a good laugh out of this.

After dinner, we caught the end of the beatbox juggler show at Rockin’ bar D. The boys were OK with it, but since we were just watching from the doorway, they couldn’t get the whole experience like we did the other night with the preview act.

Later that night, while the boys were at the Lab/Club/Edge, we went to Sessions to listen to Andy Johnson, a piano man. We were the only couple in there, along with our table mates! We could request the songs we wanted since it was just us. The bloke, being from England, played a few songs the four of us didn’t know at all. In the end, it was fun. At one point, Mrs. B asked for “Don’t stop believing” from Journey, but Andy mentioned the key was too high for him to be singing it at that time of night. Then, he decided to transpose it to a lower key and sing it anyway. It takes a lot of talent to be able to do that out of the blue. I was really impressed. Not long after, we picked up the kids and went back to our cabin for the night.

There was still a lot going on that night that we could have attended, but it was already 10:15 and we didn’t want to push the envelope with the kids.

 

[sauterelledesiles]

Tuesday March 13 – St-Maarten

Today we woke up docked in St-Maarten. We had not scheduled any port excursions, mostly because of price and age restrictions. DS3 being 5, some were not appropriate for him, and of those that were, most were expensive when having to pay for 5.

We had breakfast at Topsider’s buffet (once more!) and enjoyed the view of the port and mountains of St-Maarten. There were 7 ships in port that day. The Magic was one of 6 actually docked, and there was a 7th one anchored in the port who had to tender.

After breakfast, we wanted to get off the ship and offered the boys if they wanted to come, but they all declined, preferring to go to their respective clubs. So DH and I grabbed our picture IDs (required to get back on the ship) and KTTW and got off the ship. We were getting off after most excursions had left, so it didn’t seem very crowded. We just visited the shops at Harbour Point Village Shopping. It was a mix of souvenir shops with t-shirts, bags, caps, mugs, Liquor stores and jewelry stores. There were nice items in the jewelry stores but too expensive for our means. We stayed on shore about one hour. We also walked down the pier to take a look at the other ships and take a few pictures of the bow of the Magic. While walking on the pier, we saw the Magic’s crewmembers doing a drill with the lifeboats. We counted at least 6 that had been lowered to the water. It was reassuring to see that they were brought down on a regular basis and that, should something happen, those lowering mechanism were in working order!

After getting back on the ship, we walked around and took a few pictures of the ship and the surroundings. For lunch, we went to Lumière’s. We had a very nice lunch just DH and me. The kids wanted to eat in the Club/Lab and DS1 was feeling queasy and was back in our room napping and watching movies. On our cruise, he got to watch The Artist, Jack and Jill, the Adventures of Tintin and Thor.

At lunch, our server showed DH how to fold the napkin in a tuxedo manner. He has now mastered it! Before the cruise, we bought a wine package that included 7 bottles of wine. On Monday night, we did not finish the bottle and we asked Peter if we could ask for it the next day at lunch, and he said yes. Well, getting our bottle of wine was complicated. They asked us where we ate the previous night, at what table, who our server was, the name of the wine we drank. 5 minutes later, they came back to ask for the cabin number, our name and again the name of the wine! Finally, after another 5-10 minutes, the bottle was brought to our table!

Because the ship was docked, there weren’t that many activities scheduled during the docking time (8am – 6:30pm).

Not long after lunch, we checked the boys out of the Lab (because DS3 had discovered the Lab and preferred it to the Club) and took them for a swim. They actually ended up sliding down Mickey’s water slide pretty much all the time. It wasn’t very crowded and the kids had a blast. DH and I just watched them and shared their happiness!

After a while, we decided it was enough sliding. The boys were fine with it. We went back to our cabin so the boys could change. DS2 and DS3 decided they wanted to go back to the Lab and DH thought it would be a perfect time to go workout at the gym. Me, I ended up on a lounging chair on the adult side, on deck 9, and read some then snoozed for a little.

Tuesday’s dinner theme was our pirate night. We needed to check the kids out of the Lab and get them dressed in their pirate gears before dinner. Since we knew we were going to cruise and need pirate outfits around Halloween time, I made sure I got some costumes for all of us. On our way to our stateroom, we were always going by the atrium, where most of the character meets were. This time was no different…. The boys got to meet Captain Hook and Mr. Smee from Peter Pan. And the whole family was able to get a picture with Minnie Mouse dressed in a wench outfit.

We had our dinner at Parrot Cay. The B family joined us, but they did not dress up as pirates. We had a fun dinner, including a limbo line with all the servers.

After dinner, we were able to meet with Chip and Dale dressed in their pirate gears. Not long after that, DS1 wasn’t feeling well enough and decided to go back to our cabin and rest. DS2 and DS3 wanted to go to the Lab for a little while, until the party. We scoped places and while DH went to check on DS1 I checked DS2 and DS3 from the Lab so they could experience the Pirate IN the Caribbean party on deck 9. DS2 wasn’t very happy with having to wait, but DS3 was his usual happy go lucky.

SPOILER ALERT - Before the party began, some of the crewmembers had games for the little ones. The boys participated, but it was more like controlled chaos! When the party started, Minnie Mouse, Goofy and Chip and Dale did some entertaining. Then, the pirates came along with Captain Hook and Mr. Smee. And, finally, Mickey Mouse came zip lining between the two chimneys (smokestacks) and chased the villains away. That’s when the fireworks begin. From what we experienced, it seems best to be standing on port side rather than starboard to view the fireworks.

After the fireworks, DS2 wanted to stay for the next song they were playing because he liked it, but then, he was done. He was ready to go back to our cabin, which we all did.

 

[sauterelledesiles]

Wednesday, March 14 – St-Thomas

This morning, we woke up in the St-Thomas, USVI port. The Magic wasn’t docked, we were using a tender service to get on shore. Because of that, we decided we were not going to go on shore. It seemed a little more complicated than just walking off the ship.

We had breakfast at Topsider’s buffet, again! I cannot get tired of the Mickey waffles! DS1 had picked a spot outside, but, because of the smell of the diesel and the heat, I was starting to feel queasy so we moved inside for breakfast.

Again, because we were at a port of call, there weren’t many activities on the ship during the day (from 8am – 3:45pm). In the morning, we risked using our cell phone. We still don’t know at this point if we were in roaming or not, but we had AT&T service. We sent a few pictures taken so far and also called our parents. They were happy to hear we were having a great time, of course!

We didn’t do much that morning, I cannot even remember! DS1 was still feeling queasy and spent most of the day in the cabin and skipped lunch.

DS3 wanted to have lunch at the Lab, but DS2 wanted to have lunch with us. We checked him out of the Lab and went to have lunch at Lumière’s. This time, finding our leftover bottle of wine didn’t take as long.

After lunch, DS2 went back to the Lab. DH went to the gym and I walked around the ship a little and caught the end of the Muppet movie I had not been able to see a few nights before. But, of course, having kids means you are at their mercy. Not long after I sat to watch the end of the movie, I got a text message on my Wave phone from the Lab saying DS2 wanted to be checked out. When I got to the Lab, he had moved to the Club. It turned out that DS2 had the possibility of checking himself out of the Lab/Club because we had allowed it for the Out and About Youth Activities. I went to the Club to check on him and he said he wanted to stay. I went back to my movie. I finally saw the end of it!

When the movie finished, it was close to dinner time. DS1 had finally accepted to wear the sea bands to help with his queasiness. He was ready to go have dinner. We collected the boys and, on our way to Lumière’s, we stopped to take a picture with Max and Goofy. Goofy being DS1’s favorite character, we stop to say Hi as often as possible!

Tonight’s dinner was French. We had escargots and French onion soup. Dinner was very good.

On any given night, DS1 would choose from the adult menu while DS2 and DS3 would choose from the kids menu. Their favorite pick was Mac & Cheese. It must have been very good because out of 14 total dinners between the two of them, they must have eaten it 10 times! DS3, who likes fruits and veggies would enjoy the kids’ appetizer which was either a fruit salad, or fruit slices. DS2, who doesn’t really care for healthy things, accepted to be a little bit more adventurous and would order an appetizer from the adult menu. He chose things such as beef prosciutto or chicken noodle soup. Some he liked some he didn’t. That was fine!

After dinner, DS2 and DS3 went back to the Lab. Sadly, I don’t remember what DS1 and DH did. As for myself, I ended up making the Queen of Heart mad! I was on deck 4 while she was on deck 3. There was nobody waiting to meet her, so I called for her. She looked up and showed me an angry fist. She tried to come for me at first, but the grand staircase was blocked off, she quickly visited Lumière’s and then took it upon herself to undo the cords at the bottom and top of the stairs and came for me. The crewmember assisting her came upstairs as well and offered to take a picture. That was one of the few ones that turned out good. Not long after, I got a chance to meet with the White Rabbit from Alice in Wonderland. When I got close to him, I started saying “I’m late, I’m late for a very important date. No time to say Hello, Goodbye. I’m late, I’m late, I’m late”. The white rabbit grabbed me by the hand and started running out of the atrium! We then turned around and went back for pictures. Unfortunately, those did not turn out well at all.


DW and white rabbit - see how "nice" the pictures taken by DCL people most of the time turn out

We went to bed somewhat early because Thursday morning was our character breakfast at Parrot Cay.

 

[sauterelledesiles]

Thursday, March 15 – Day at sea

We woke up with enough time to get ready before having breakfast with the characters. This was a really fun encounter. We met with Minnie, Mickey, Goofy and Pluto. Cyprian and Peter had a blast making us napkin hats while we waited for the characters to make it to our table. DS1 ended up with two hats, one of Peter Pan and the other looked like Pluto’s ears. DS2 didn’t get one because he was wearing his Mickey cap, which he wanted Mickey to sign. DS3 got a Pluto’s ears too. DH got a Goofy hat and I got a Genie hat. It was very funny. Our table mates had different hats. Miss B looked like she had a big bow on her head, like Minnie. Mrs. B had what looked like dreadlocks. And I think Mr. B had the funniest of them all. He had a trunk and two metal plate covers for ears. He had a Dumbo hat. Two of the funniest things were that he said he heard better with the plate covers! The other was when, at another table, we saw a kid, about 3 years old, bang his spoon on his dad’s metal Dumbo ears. We all laughed at that one.

All boys got autographs from each character in their book.

Because we had a full day at sea, there were a lot of activities to choose from. As usual, DS2 and DS3 went to the Lab. DS1 and DH played shuffle board while I attended and Animation class. That day, I learned how to draw Dumbo and Stitch. I attended the family session at Animator’s Palate, but there was also an adult session later on that day.

DH attended a Disney’s Art of Entertaining class that morning at Studio Sea. The Pastry chef demonstrated a chocolate mousse. Right after that, he headed to the gym while I also went to Studio Sea for Napkin Folding.

That day, I dropped off a second bag of lifesavers to the Lab’s crewmembers. They had told me they had been fighting to see who would keep it and I had planned on giving one to the Club’s crewmembers and one to the Lab’s crewmembers, but since DS2 didn’t spend a whole lot of time at the Club, the Lab’s crewmembers got both.

Lunch that day at Topsider’s buffet was seafood so it was obvious with DH’s allergies that we were not going to eat there, but we still walked through. Turned out that they had sushi at the omelet counter and I ended up eating sushi for lunch. DH went to Goofy’s Galley and had healthy rolls and wraps. We had dessert from Topsider’s buffet.

DS1, DH and I attended the matinee showing of the Disney Dreams at Walt Disney Theater. It was a nice show that I wouldn’t mind seeing again. After the show, we stopped in the shops to look at what was available. DGM and DGD had given the boys money for Christmas with the specification that it was for them to by a souvenir on the cruise. DS1 scoped out a Sailor Goofy but opted to wait after we had been at Castaway Cay to check out what they had too. He had heard me say that there are things you can only find on Castaway Cay.

After shopping, DS1 went to the Edge while DH and I had coffee at Cove Café, the adult only coffee shop. Actually, DH had a tea and I went to the bar and got the drink of the day. I realized that when you go to the bar next to the family pool to get the drink of the day, it is already all mixed in a large dispenser. It seemed to me it wasn’t as strong as if it had been mixed just for me. Later, we went to the ‘80s/90’s music trivia at Diversions. We had fun, but we were far from winning. When we exited Diversions after the trivia, on our way to the Walt Disney Theater to see Friendship Rocks, we passed next to the kids who were going to “perform” and we saw DS3. DS2 had elected not to participate. All the kids who had spent some time in the Club or Lab and who wanted to participate went on stage and danced with Mickey and Minnie. It wasn’t much, but it was fun to see DS3 on stage. Twice the camera stopped on him and we could see him on the giant screens on each side of the stage!

After the little presentation, the kids were being brought back to the Club/Lab and they needed to be checked out from there. We were able to exit the theater before the kids did and went back to our cabin to change. That night was the Captain’s Gala, which meant the semi-formal attire. We had to fight with DS2 to get him to wear a dress shirt, but we won! As soon as DH was ready, he went to pick up DS3 at the Lab. Surprise! He wasn’t alone wanting/needing to check his kid out and there was a long line. After a little while, they finally made it back to the room, but we were getting short on time and DS3 still needed to get dressed for dinner… after all, we were celebrating his birthday that night! So, the cabin looked like a pit stop lane, and DH and I looked like pit crewmembers. DS3 just stood there and did as we told him. “OK, the shirt is tucked, you can put on the belt”!!! It was hilarious and we made it to Animator’s Palate on time!

That night, after the main course, Cyprian gave us the desert menu and made his usual recommendations. His first one was for the Chocolate lava cake, which he explained was luscious chocolate cake with hot fudge syrup on it. His second recommendation was for the Chocolate lava cake, which was a decadent chocolate round cake topped with exquisite chocolate coulis and some vanilla ice cream. His third recommendation was for the Chocolate lava cake! Yep, he described the cake with different words, but it still sounded as good as the first description! When DH ordered, he said he couldn’t decide between suggestion 1, 2 and 3, so he wanted all three of them. I really thought Cyprian would bring him 3 cakes, but he did not. It was really delicious!

On top of DS3’s Chocolate lava cake, he also got a chocolate mousse cake for his birthday. Servers came around our table to sing to him. It wasn’t as elaborate as it is in the parks (I think, especially if you have it with a character meal), but it was fun!

As usual, after dinner, DS2 and DS3 wanted to go back to the Lab. DS1 hung out with DH and me. We participated in Disney Trivia (remember, earlier I said to pay attention to the trivia questions on the Magical Express… this is where they came in handy!). We got 17 out of 25 questions right. The winning team had 18. There were a lot of questions on princesses, which did not help us!

After the trivia, we went to Studio Seas where some of the kids from the Lab were participating in a Mickey Mania game. DS2 was part of the Donald Duck team and won with his team mate.

When the kids’ game was over, it was time for the family version of Mickey Mania. DS1 and I were chosen to be the Red Minnies. We had fun and ended up winning, thanks to DS1’s observation. DS2 had stayed with us and was able to win us some points when the questions were for the audience.

After Mickey Mania, there was Karaoke. We first went to get DS3, but he wasn’t ready to leave the Lab, so we decided to go back to Studio Seas to watch some Karaoke. We even looked at the list of songs, but there was a long list of people who wanted to sing, so we did not register for it. We listened to a few signers. Some were good, some, not so good!

Finally, at 11pm, we went to get DS3 at the Lab. The Kim Possible adventure was over and he was ready to leave.

 

[sauterelledesiles]

Friday, March 16 – Castaway Cay

Friday was a day I had really been looking forward to. Ever since I had heard that Disney had a private island in the Bahamas, it made going on a Disney cruise even more enticing! That morning, as we woke up, we turned on the TV to the channel showing the bow’s camera. We saw we were approaching CC as we were getting ready. Before we even had breakfast, we all went on deck 10 to have our first look at CC. The Magic was maneuvering to dock at CC. Then, we tried to go have breakfast at Topsider’s Buffet. We weren’t the only one with that idea. There was a long line on each side. We then decided to have breakfast at Goofy’s Galley. They had muffins, pastries, yummy smoothies, cold cereals and fruits. We found a table overlooking the boating harbor. When we were done with breakfast, we went back to our cabin to get ready. The stairways were already crowded with people ready and wanting to get off the ship. We got ready, put on sunscreen and made our way to the gangway. We exited the ship in a rather short amount of time and we found ourselves getting our towels from the crewmembers on dock. We had been told it was hard to find clean towels on the island, so we took more than needed, just in case. We realized, after a while, that there were clean towel boxes on the island and that we would not have needed to get extras. The info had come from users of Serenity Bay, and we did not visit, so I don’t know if towels are harder to find there than on the family beaches.

As per some suggestions read here on Disboards, we decided to walk to the beach. We saw a few characters but didn’t stop for any of them. Even though they were wearing different outfits because we were on the beach, it wasn’t worth the wait. It was nice to just take in the sights and the walk wasn’t that long.

We bypassed the first family beach as it seemed to be crowded and I thought we would have better luck finding chairs at the second one. We did find chairs with an umbrella without any problems. In our little cluster, we had two lounging chairs and two regular chairs, all under an umbrella.

We put our things down and went to the water. We had brought buckets and shovels for the kids to play in the sand. We made some little sandcastles and decorated them with the 100’s of shells we found in the sand. Most were broken because of the machine that levels the sand and cleans the beach every morning, but some were in good conditions.


N, F, S and DW at Castaway Cay

After playing in the sand for a little bit, we went in the water. DH joined us for that one. I went with DS2 all the way to the buoy and I barely had water to my chest. At the second family beach, the water is shallow all over, at least for adults, so it is not as worrisome as at the first family beach where the shallow part is not very long.

After enjoying some time in the water and digging in the sand, it was time for lunch. Even though our location was very close to Cookie’s too BBQ, we walked all the way over to Cookie’s BBQ. It wasn’t that far, and the entertainment was right there. There were crab races and then we saw Goofy, Mickey and Donald who came out for a little while.

So, for lunch, the kids had either hot-dogs or hamburgers. There were fresh fruits, salads, and other offerings I don’t remember. For it being somewhat of an outside buffet, it was pretty good. There were ice cream machines, which we did not use. We opted for the cookies for dessert.

After lunch, we offered DS2 and DS3 if they wanted to go to the Scuttle’s cover for the children’s program. They looked, asked what was going on and decided against it. On our way back to our chairs, we stopped by “She sells sea-shells and everything else” to look at the souvenirs. The boys each got a t-shirt from CC, DH got a baseball cap from DCL and I bought a beach towel with the Pirates IN the Caribbean. DS3 also got the seagull from Finding Nemo with fishes in its mouth. The shop there offered to deliver our bag back to the ship. We had to pick it up from Mickey’s Mate, one of the shops on the ship, after 5:30pm. That was very convenient.

As we continued to make our way to our chairs, we stopped by In-Da-Shade Games. It was a large covered area with basketball throw, ping-pong, billiards and a giant connect-4 game. DH and the boys stayed there to play a few things, but after a little while, I went back to the beach. I applied additional sunscreen before going back in the water.

Because it was salted water, it made floating even more easier for me. I was able to just lay on my back and float, as if I was resting on an inflatable chair.

After a little while of enjoying the water by myself, I went back to find the boys. On my way there, I saw a lizard crossing the path! The boys were just about done playing at In-Da-Shade. They were thirsty, so I went to get them some drinks at Cookie’s BBQ and joined them back. Before leaving the mini-putt hole, we saw another lizard! We then walked back together to our beach spot, and DH, DS1 and DS2 went to try Pelican plunge, the water slides on a barge. I wasn’t ready to wait for a turn, so DS3 and I watched from the beach. When they all came back, they wanted to go again, and this time DS3 joined them.

Because DS3 was between 38 and 48 inches, they had him wear a lifejacket. Going to the barge required them to swim in 6 feet deep water, and the “landing” was also in the same area. They all went while I waited on the look-out deck and took pictures. DS2 went first, then DH, who swam just out of the way and waited for DS3. When DS3 was in the water, DH swam to get him and help him swim out of the way. Then, DS1 slid down. They all had fun.

After that, we were pretty much ready to go back to the ship. I took a few more pictures before leaving the island. CC is equipped with showers so we could shower off the sand. It was a wonderful day. Later that night, we were told by our CD that the two previous days it had rained at CC and that we had had perfect weather.

We went back to our cabin and showered and started packing. Since this was our last evening and that we needed to have our checked bag out the door in the hallway before 10pm, this needed to be done and now was a perfect time to do it. I think we were leaving with less than what we came on board with because of all the FE gifts! Not that we received less than we gave, we just received smaller gift in size than what we gave out.

Then, we got ready for dinner. Our last dinner on the ship… On our way to Parrot Cay, we stopped by the atrium once more to take a picture with Sailor Mickey. We had another wonderful dinner. For dessert, I wanted to have a Mickey Mouse ice cream sandwich, but, unfortunately, they were all out. They were now giving Mickey Ice cream bars. So I had one, the only one of the cruise.

We were interrupted during our dinner by a PA announcement: “Ladies and Gentlemen, Girls and Boys, this is your captain John speaking. In about 20 minute’s time, we will pass the Disney Dream on our port side”. We all looked at each other wondering how far away it would be. We all had a really puzzled look on our faces. We continued with our dinner. Then, Mr. B left the table. We didn’t know where he went until he came back. He had gone to their cabin, which had a window (or veranda) and had taken pictures of the Dream. He said it was still at a distance. Then, a few minutes later, we heard people starting to talk excitedly and we turned around and saw through the windows the Dream! It was right next to us! We came really close to it. Apparently, there was a battle of the horns, but since we were indoor, we did not hear it. I also felt the ship tip to the port side, as a lot of people moved to that side to get a glimpse of the Dream. Our server told us that the crew was going to move to the other side of the ship to balance it!

After dinner, we went to pick up our purchases at Mickey’s Mate and also buy a Sailor Goofy for DS1 and an iPhone sleeve for my phone. It is a Minnie Mouse! DS2 decided on a Mickey Mouse watch. It’s the one where Mickey’s arms tell the time! We dropped DS2 and DS3 at the Lab and then went back to our cabin to drop off our bags.

We went to see the show at the Walt Disney Theater. Friday night’s show was called Remember the Magic! A final farewell. It was the closing act from the first night’s show with the kid and his family who went on a cruise. This time, they were getting off the ship. There were also two acts, one from Freddy Fusion (magic and comedy) and Kevin Johnson (comedy and ventriloquism). Both were very funny, but I particularly like the ventriloquist. He was very talented and his jokes were funny!

After the show, we went back to our cabin, once more, to do additional packing. We had an early debarkation the next day, so we wouldn’t have much time to do that in the morning, and we needed to get our checked bag in the hallway.

After that, we made our way to the atrium where a lot of the characters came out for one last picture! It was called “’till we meet again”. I took a picture with Minnie, who liked to see herself on my phone and made a special pose for it! DS1 had his picture taken with Goofy, once again! After taking pictures, we went to get DS2 and DS3 who did not want to leave the Lab. We allowed them another 15 minutes and then went back. We also remembered to turn in their Mickey tag to avoid the $50 charge.

As we were going to leave the atrium, they announced on the PA that shortly, there would be a special farewell. So I asked to stay. All the character lined up in the stairs and said goodbye. They had us notice that Mickey never says good-bye, he says “see you real soon!”. Then, before the characters left the atrium, Mickey said something and finished with saying with a little faith, trust and pixie dust… and as he said that, thousands of little silver Mickey heads were popped in the atrium and showered the crowd on deck 3, as if it was pixie dust.

Then, the characters came back up the stairs to exit through Studio Seas… we were right there and I got a chance to take pictures of all of them!

This was our final night on the ship. When we would wake up the next day, we would be docked in Port Canaveral. All good things must come to an end.

 

[sauterelledesiles]

Saturday March 17 – Port Canaveral

Because our flight was at 11:30am, we had to be on one of the first busses out of the terminal at 8am. We woke up around 6:15 to get ready. Then, around 6:30, we woke the boys up.

For breakfast, we could either eat at Parrot Cay or Topsider’s buffet. We opted for Topsider’s so that I could get Mickey waffles one more time. Unfortunately, they didn’t have any that morning. We all had breakfast. After breakfast, we all went on deck 10 to try and catch the sunrise, but it was going to be blocked by the clouds. We walked around a little bit and then went back to our cabin to brush our teeth and get our bags.

At 7:49, we were leaving the ship and the terminal. We went through customs without any problems and then got our seats on the bus that would take us to the Orlando airport.

At the airport, since we already had our boarding passes, we went to security. We then stopped at Starbucks to get a coffee and an Orlando Mug to add to our collection. We then sat in the terminal and waited for our flight to leave. Again, we were connecting through Atlanta.

Once in Atlanta, we had some time to eat before boarding our next flight. They were looking for volunteers to take a later flight. We considered it, until they told us the flight we were going to travel on was going to be at pass 9pm.

We got to Houston without any problems. We retrieved our bags, took the shuttle to the parking lot, hopped into our car and drove back home.

And this is how our Magical 2012 spring break vacation ends!

 

[luvslikepi]

Great TR! Thank you for sharing.

 

[HermanTriplets+1]

You have a great memory for details!!! I can't believe you didn't even take notes! Thank you SO much for writing this - it will help me get through my last month of waiting before boarding the Magic in June!

 

[runskyhy]

Since the Shuffle board started before my activity, I took the opportunity to deliver some of my FE gifts.

Great trip report. Really love those FE gifts! The crocheted MM shorts and spherical keychains are fantastic!

 

[cheryllarsen]

Have an alaskan cruise booked for sept and we are super excited!

 

[son3disfan]

Great trip report! And such detail!
Reading this has brought back so many memories!
It was such a great cruise!
It was nice meeting you......

 

[sauterelledesiles]

Thank you all for reading me and your nice words. It really was a fun cruise. The part I did not add was that we are going back!!! We thought we had one week after we left the ship to book our next cruise with a 10% discount, but we were wrong. But, even though we did not get a discount, we booked a cruise for next spring break, on the Magic again, out of Galveston, which is right in our back yard!!! As I said, we did not get a discount, BUT, not long after our cruise, we received our Castaway Member numbers along with a PIN! I was able to apply that PIN to our existing reservation, even though it said for new bookings only. That gave us a 10% discount. Nice little gift that we will gladly take.

So, we will still be on the same deck, number 2, and will have 2 connecting cabins, but this time, instead of being between the mid-ship elevators and the aft ones, we'll be behing the aft elevators. According to the Disney travel agent, it's better to be toward the back of the ship than in the front, especially if you are prone to motion sickness!!!

Spring break 2013, Western Caribbeans on the Magic, here we come!!!

Thanks again all!!!!

 

[Dogsambam]

I like all you detail. Sailing next year on fantasy.