Chernabog66
Earning My Ears
- Joined
- Jan 12, 2009
- Messages
- 55
I guess I'll post this as I get it written. Feel free to let me know what I've left out, or if I've over done it. Thanks for reading.
My family of five (three daughters, and my wife) arrived at the Disney port at around 10:30 a.m. We got caught at the drawbridge and got our first good look at the Magic. You could hear a collective intake of breath followed by a series of “ooohhh, Aaahhhh,” and “Wow!” eminating from all of us. This was to be the first cruise for any of us. I had taken a vacation with my folks and brother in 1991 up in Alaska that had involved staying on a sixty foot chartered fishing cruiser for a week but that was nothing like the majesty that sat before my eyes. I had done my home work, I had watched all the travel channel shows, I had read all the books, websites, and message boards I could find to get prepared for this vacation. I was as prepared as you could imagine for this, nothing was going to take meby surprise.
Guess again.
The Disney Magic was a sight to behold. The large Carnival ship in the berth next door paled in comparison. The paint scheme, reflective of the north atlantic cruise ships of old went a long way to conveying her massive bulk. We ran into the friendly Disney service, to which we had become accustomed to over the years, almost immediately, as we were given instructions by an attendant as to where to go to drop off people, luggage, and where to put the car. As we pulled up to the luggage drop off we were headed straight toward the ship’s starboard side and it completely filled everyone’s view. The music from the first sequence in Titanic, when you first see everyone pulling up to the dock and getting aboard, was running through my head. In a rush, we unloaded the bags onto the curb, and my wife drove off to park the car. A friendly porter loaded our five bags onto a cart and made off into a cavernous baggage loading area. I spent a moment watching them go, observing all the other bags destined for the same place. I love shows like “How It’s Made” and programs that show how complex systems work. I couldn’t help but think that someone could produce a fascinating look at how this ship is turned around in less than a day for week long cruises. Hey, at least I’d watch it, and I’ll bet more than a few visitors to this website would too.
grabbed my daughters Anya, 12, Grace, 10, and Keely, 8, and made our way to the front of the port building to go check in. I bumped right into my niece, Autumn, and her brother Hunter. My brother Brad, his wife Annie, and my mother Terry, and her boyfriend Larry, as well as Brad & Annie’s kids were coming on this cruise too. They had all stayed at a different hotel than us the night before and I didn’t expect to see them until we were all on board. I inherited my my mother’s sense of punctuality though, and wasn’t very shocked to see them arrive at the same time I did. We exchanged greetings, and headed upstairs to get checked in.
As I came to the top of the escalator, I saw the boarding ramp ears at the far end of the building lobby that I had seen in so many photographs. I had never set foot in this building, yet it somehow felt familiar. One of the burdens of over-preparation I suppose. I sent the girls over to the massive model of the Magic to keep them entertained while I went through the check-in process. My wife Jen was still parking the car, but I had all the pertinent documents, so I was able to get through check-in fairly quickly and without hassle. I met Jen at the top of the escalator and brought her up to speed. We joined our children and marveled at the model of the ship we would soon be boarding. I began to try to locate our stateroom but was pulled away by my wife, who wanted to get the kids registered. We quickly got our younger two kids checked into the Oceaneer’s Lab and received our pager. We gave them the power to check themselves in & out on their own though, so I never needed it the entire trip. We purchased card lanyards for the kids and joined my extended family in line for boarding. Designated to boarding group 7, we were invited to board pretty quickly. The entire family of 11 posed for the first of many group photos on the trip and encountered another thing that would be omni-present on the ship, the ubiquitous hand sanitizing station. I’d heard that Disney was pretty stringent in their cleanliness effort. I now want to buy stock in whatever company it is that makes those hand wipes. Disney alone could keep their stock in good shape and with two new ships coming on line, the money making opportunity here could be a good one. After the picture, we came around the corner and stepped onto the gangway.
And there she was, Magic.
We stepped aboard into the magnificent lobby and were greeted with the standard cheers after our name was announced. I stood in the middle of the grand foyer, staring dumbstruck at the chandelier hanging above me. Now, I must admit to being a great fan of Dale Chihuly, and was looking forward to seeing the renowned glass sculpture that hung from the ceiling. I was not ready for the beauty of the piece when it greeted me. I have seen other works by the glass master but the blues & greens that were captured by this artwork in the mid day sun were nothing short of captivating. I managed to tear my eyes away and soak in some of the other details of the lobby. The art-deco feel of the architecture was clearly evident and I soaked in as much as I could in a short time, as the rest of the clan was clamoring to get to deck nine and get a good seat poolside. Knowing I’d have more time to take in the details later, we boarded a couple of elevators and headed topside.
We emerged onto deck nine into the bright sunlight. I donned my sunglasses as we were greeted by a friendly waiter by the name of Cassius. He went into details regarding the water and beer plans and we listened politely. After gently saying no thanks, we headed aft and grabbed a couple of tables between the Goofy and Mickey pools, starboard side. All five of the children were eager to eat and get in the pool as quickly as possible. Being the techno-phile that I am, I wanted nothing more than to explore this technical marvel from bow to stern but family matters demanded my attention. Where to get the food was of paramount importance to the kids so off we went, in search of vittles. Topsiders didn’t disappoint. When we returned to the table, the kids came back with hot dogs & burgers from Pluto’s Dog House while I sat down with roast beef, salad, and various other yummies from Topsiders. This was not going to be a trip where weight was monitored very carefully. I finished lunch, and fetched a beer from Signals, served up by a fine bartender by the name of Sylvon from Jamaica.
At around 2:00, I bid my brother a temporary adieu, and headed for cabin 8542. Walking in, it was everything I’d pictured it to be and more. The musical bar above the headboard was “Second Star to the Right.”, the one I’d been hoping for. My mother had arranged for Bon Voyage decorations to be placed in the cabin along with a cake. My wife & middle daughter, Grace wasted no time in sampling the goods. I went to the veranda to check out the view. I could tell right away that I would be knocking back more than a few drinks from this spot. We gathered for the lifeboat drill, which was quick & easy, and returned to the room. The girls donned their bathing suits and headed for the pool. Jen & I chatted for awhile and mixed a couple drinks (we brought our own hooch on board in an effort to save on alcohol costs) before heading back up to watch the sail-away party.
The party was in full effect but we couldn’t see the kids anywhere. Not to worry, they were having fun without us and part of this trip was giving them the freedom on board to do what they wanted, within reason. We headed to deck ten forward to get a good spot in front of the basketball court for the departure. We found the rest of my extended family, minus kids, at the same spot and I pointed out what the buildings and launch pads out on the cape were. You could clearly see a shuttle sitting on what I think was pad 29A, which is scheduled for a mid February launch. The wonderful horn sounded, the Magic moved away from her berth, and we were on our way.
We pulled out about two miles behind a Carnival ship and wound up following it all night and into the morning. Dinner that first night was at Lumiere’s and we showed up at our assigned time of 5:45 PM. The entrance to Lumiere’s is on deck three midship, and this gave me another opportunity to gaze at the Chihuly chandelier. As we entered the restaurant, we were again presented with disinfectant wipes, what was to be a common theme on this cruise. We were led to our table and introduced to the greatest wait team of all time, Liam from Jamaica, and Jason from the Philippines. I took note of all the Philippines nametags on the ship, and there were quite a few. I was born on Clark Air Force Base, near Manila, so I’ve always found that tidbit a great way to break the ice & initialize a conversation with those of Philippine heritage. It turns out that of the nearly 1,000 crewmembers on the Magic, around 200 are from the Philippines. An interesting little something for your little-known-fact-file.
Back to dinner, we were presented with a lovely menu that mostly escapes me but for one item in particular. Now, I had promised myself on this trip that I was going to expand my culinary horizons and sample some foods out of my comfort zone, since I wasn’t likely to eat this well for some time to come. That began with the appetizer on night one, a chilled preparation of ratatouille. I’m not much of a raw tomato person but this dish was beyond spectacular. The diced tomatoes & peppers along with the sliced squash & eggplant were mouthwatering. It tasted as if the veggies were just picked hours ago. The rest of dinner was equally delicious but that ratatouille stood out for the rest of the cruise in my memory of most savored foods. Liam & Jason were whirling dervishes of activity but the service, as expected, was amazing and set the pace for the rest of the week. As I looked around the room, checking things out, I noticed the family at the table next to ours, also part of Liam & Jason’s section. There were two little girls over there that looked familiar. I quickly remembered the avatar of our own BeccaGrace, and how it contained the faces of her two daughters and the story that was behind it. There was some major concern on her part that the cruise wasn’t going to happen due to an illness suffered by one of the girls. The story touched all who read it on the cruise meet thread, including your intrepid scribe. I smiled, knowing what they had gone through to get to this point and was glad they had made it. I know how much I look forward to a Disney trip, and would hate to have to cancel for any reason, particularly one as harrowing as BeccaGrace’s. I met her in a stairwell a day or two later conveyed my best wishes. They seemed to be a happy family and we promised to trade cruise reports when we got home.
Entertainment for the night was provided in the magnificently appointed Walt Disney Theater. It was a sort of welcome-aboard-here’s-what’s-in-store variety show. Brent Davies, our wonderful cruise director, served as emcee. My kids recognized him immediately as the guy from the Disney Cruise Line special on the Travel Channel, which we had watched on New Year’s Eve. It was as if they were seeing a celebrity, which, I suppose, considering the reputation he’s got amongst the cruise veterans, he is. The show included the magic and illusion of Mike Super. I love a good illusionist and Super didn’t disappoint. In fact, he teased a show coming up on Sunday night in the same theater, and it was standing room only. He certainly made a good impression with my brother & I. We came to the Sunday show, and caught his adults-only act down in Rockin Bar D on Monday as well. This guy certainly lived up to the title of the show on NBC, which he won, called Phenomenon. After the show, we returned to cabin 8542 and saw our first towel animal of the trip, a swan in sunglasses. The girls thought that was the coolest thing ever, and were even more surprised at how the beds had emerged from the walls. Kids were tucked in, even Jen fell asleep, but I was still a bit wired, so I headed topside for an exploratory walk around decks 9 & 10. After a quick dip in the quiet cove hot tub, I turned in too, day one already in the books.
Day two began on the water, as we weren’t scheduled for Key West until around noon. Jen & I rose before anyone else & went topside in an effort to catch a photo of the sunrise. The Carnival ship in front of was had maintained its distance but was now crossing our bow and headed for points south. The Magic issued a long, single horn blast, different from the “When you wish upon a star” horn we’re all so familiar with. I’m assuming it’s for the traditional maritime signaling required for such vessels. I watched a bit as it angled south while we continued west toward Key West.
We headed down to deck nine to meet the kids & make our way back to Topsiders for breakfast. I stuck with the traditional eggs, sausage, bacon, & hash browns that are available at so many places. In all honesty, it was probably the most mundane menu available on the cruise, but it worked for me. The old fashioned traditional greasy spoon breakfast did the trick every morning. Jen & I took the opportunity to visit my mother’s cabin on deck six, while the girls went goofing off in the oceaneer’s lab and Ocean Quest. Since we were still in sight of land, my phone was working and we made reservations for bicycles on Key West. I looked down from my mom’s veranda and noticed the stabilizers for the first time. These are the “wings” that extend into the water at about midship to prevent or lessen the lateral roll of the ship while at sea. They extend from the hull at a depth, I would guess, of about 10 to 12 feet. They are painted, along with the rest of the ship that’s in contact with the water, with a special paint that decreases friction of the ship with the water, thereby making it more efficient as it moves. The paint happens to be grey, making the stabilizers easily visible in the clear blue water of the Caribbean when extended.
We began to slow down and entered the channel leading to Key West. Jen & I headed topside, again to the area forward of the basketball courts to watch the approach to the southern most island in the lower 48. I heard a familiar roar and looked up and saw a group of four F/A-18 Hornets heading toward Key West Naval Air Station. Being a recreational pilot myself, I am a big fan of all things aviation and have seen the Blue Angels perform no less than 20 times. The sound of those engines was like music to my ears as their sister aircraft arced high over our heads and headed for shore. As the Magic got closer to shore, you could see another cruise ship berthed where we were heading. It was a large cruiser called the MSC Orchestra. Looking at it, I observed something a little odd. All the cruise ships I was seeing appeared boxy & sterile. I mean, I know I’m biased because of the ship I was on but even the different Carnival ships we would see on this trip seemed to look, well, plain, when parked next to the Magic. I don’t know, maybe it’s just me. Moving on…
Docking in Key West seemed to be a relatively straightforward, if not time consuming, affair. As the ship was pulling in, the family took advantage of the veranda to apply spray-on sunscreen, so as not to get the room all smelly. This had the unintended effect of rendering the veranda deck quite slippery. Note to self, apply sunscreen on the shore. My brother and his family were planning to stay on board during this port of call but my mom & Larry were going to join us for a self guided bike tour. My mom had spent a pretty good deal of time on the island and knew her way around pretty well, so she would serve as our guide, since I hadn’t been there since 1985 and my knowledge of the island was practically useless. I knew some cool things were there to see, but besides that, nothing. We walked through a semi-interesting art fair on our way to the bike rental place and found the establishment fairly quickly. It was during the choice of bikes that the day’s first error was made. My wife thought it would be fun to get tandem bikes for the two of us, so we could carry one of the younger girls each, while my oldest daughter Anya, would ride a solo bike. An interesting theory, until it was put into practice. Jen had the youngest, Keely, while I had our 10 year old Grace. Keely couldn’t get her little 8 year old legs to the pedals and Grace was to freaked out by not being able to steer to be of much use. She constantly shifted her weight, making it tricky for me to keep us out of traffic. We rode, pretty comically to anyone watching, to the fishing docks where one of my mom’s favorite restaurants was. The weather was exceptional. Sunny, 72 degrees, a beautiful day. We got to the raw bar and ordered a fine lunch despite the pigeons who were walking around freely, picking up scraps. I’ve never really wanted to kick a pigeon before. I feel differently now. The atmosphere of the bar was better than the food. Old license plates were tacked up on every available space and the indoor/outdoor atmosphere was pretty cool. After lunch, it was decided that we’d split from my mom & larry and bike over to Zachary Taylor park, and one of the best beaches on the island. Jen is a sun worshiper from way back and the kids wanted to get some beach time as well. We saddled up and headed for the beach, directions courtesy of the map function on my iPhone.
There’s an old family legend that says Zachary Taylor is a distant relative. According to my grandmother, whose maiden name was Taylor, President Zachary Taylor is my great, great, great, great, grand uncle. Now, I personally don’t buy into it, but it was a fun story for the kids to tie in the park’s namesake to their heritage. I described the story as a family legend, so as to insure, they didn’t take it too seriously. The park itself is quite beautiful. Plenty of trees to get shade under and the beach is pretty nice, spotted with rocky outcroppings, perfect for snorkeling around. The skies were completely clear and the MSC Orchestra had left port and was on its way out of the channel by the time we hit the beach. We set up towels and proceeded into maximum relaxation mode. I’m not one for lying in the sun for too long, I get bored. I was soon hot enough to get in the water as well. The water temp was bracing, but I’m from Michigan, so it wasn’t a whole lot worse than Lake Michigan in July. No one else was brave enough to join me. Ahh well. Before too long it was time to head for the point on the island where that famous marker is, you know the one which demarcates the southernmost point in the continental U.S., for the obligatory photograph. Once that was done, we decided it was time to return the bikes and make our way back to the ship because we had early seating for dinner. Dinner that night was Animator’s Palate, one we had been told by many sources was not to be missed. After returning the bikes, Grace wanted to find a souvenir shop to find a refrigerator magnet for her other grandmother, who collects such things. This is where we made the second mistake of the day by venturing onto Duval Street with small children.
I’m a fairly open minded guy, and a pretty liberal parent. Having said this, we ventured into a shop where t-shirts were being sold, thinking this would be the ideal place to find cheesy souvenirs. Well, we found them and then some. T-shirts with sayings, slogans. and illustrations that were wholly inappropriate for kids . Grace found a shot glass shaped like a breast, and brought it to me, telling me what an interesting cup this was.
“Ack!” I choked out, and took the shot glass back to its display place.
Of course, the girls are full of questions as to why we’re hustling them out of the store and down the street. Down the street, right into the path of the lady calling for customers to come upstairs and see the all nude show, just as an elderly gentleman was exiting with an obviously “professional” young lady. My kids are all eyes agog while Jen and I can’t get off this street fast enough. Remembering it, the whole episode seems pretty comical, but I was mortified at the time. We found another souvenir place near the ship’s docking spot which filled our needs with a G rating. Another hand wipe station and we were back on board, eagerly anticipating dinner in this exciting new location
Everyone’s reaction to Animator’s Palate is going to be a bit different. Our gang all thought it was pretty cool. We were seated next to a picture of Pocahontas and John Smith that did its color change bit, as expected, before the rest of the room. I was hoping to be next to the picture of Chernabog, but hey, some British guys I know once said you can’t always get what you want. The big presentation of the color scheme was very exciting, especially since I noticed the music from “Fantasmic” was used as Wizard Mickey came out, leading the procession of waiters in their new “colorized” outfits. Dinner was fabulous, and Liam, our chief waiter had a special surprise in store for the kids. He came back after desert with a magic trick involving a bowl of water, pepper, and bit oil. The pepper sat on the surface of the water, representing “all the little fish” in the water. Then, Liam held up his finger and said
“Now here comes Liam, the shark!”
As he touched his finger to the water, all the pepper was immediately pushed to the rim of the bowl.
“Look at all the little fish run!” Liam said joyously in that wonderful Jamaican accent. The kids were delighted and immediately wanted to know how Liam had done it. He laughed and said it was a special Jamaican secret. This satisfied the kids and they all left to get ready for the night’s activities. As we exited the restaurant, I noticed the Magic had pushed away from the dock and was getting ready to do something technically spectacular. I dragged my wife onto the starboard side of deck four to watch this with me. As the ship pushed away from the dock in a straight line without the assistance of tugs, I explained to Jen the principal of the bow & stern thruster system. As soon as we had enough clearance, Magic pivoted 180 degrees on its center and began the journey out of the channel toward open water. I found this a really cool thing to watch, but I’m a nerd that way. We headed upstairs to mix a drink before Mike Super’s show in the Walt Disney Theater that night. I stepped onto the veranda and watched one more cool operation of the ship. Since it was night, there was a pilot to run the ship out of the channel until it was clear to navigate in the open ocean. As we approached the final channel marker, I noticed a small launch labeled “PILOT” waiting for us. As we steamed along, the pilot boat got up to speed, then sidled up to us perfectly to allow the pilot to disembark the Magic and head back to Key West. As the pilot boat pulled away, I looked down and watched the stabilizers extend from the ship. The lights of Key West were getting dimmer and before us lay a full day at sea before our arrival at Grand Cayman.
Mike Super did a standing room only show that befuddled the audience while making them laugh at the same time. I noticed the ship’s movement began to increase during the show. For some reason, The Walt Disney Theater was the one place on the ship where I could feel its movement most. Perhaps it was its position forward in the ship, for whatever reason, I felt it there more than anyplace else, except maybe Palo. Of Super’s illusions that night, the rope trick was the most outstanding. Try as I might, I could not figure out how was pulling this one off. Super told us about his upcoming adults only show the next night in Rockin Bar D, and I made a mental note not too miss it. After the show, Jen & the kids made their way to bed and I walked around on deck for a bit. I found a deck officer making his rounds and asked him if the glow I saw on the horizon was Cuba. Not only was it Cuba, it was Havana itself. I looked up and saw more stars than I’d ever seen in my life and reminded myself how lucky I was to be here. I went back to my cabin, where Jen & the girls were already asleep, and crawled into bed. The gentle rolling of the Magic had me snoring in no time at all.
Day three began as lazy as the night before had ended. It was morning on the first of two sea days on this trip. This was the assigned character breakfast morning for our party so the day began with breakfast in Parrot Cay. A nice change from the usual breakfast items up on Topsiders. The characters we had that morning were Chip & Dale, Minnie, Mickey & Goofy. I got pictures of all the kids and Jen even took one with me & the big mouse. Liam was up to his tricks again this morning with special multi-colored hats made from napkins. I didn’t see this going on for other tables so it was one of those things that Liam did that was above & beyond, and another reason we felt so lucky to have him & Jason serving us.
This day really didn’t have any direction so we turned the kids loose and let them do pretty much what they wanted, when they wanted. They, of course, agreed with this course of action and took to it handily. I had my eyes on an interactive lecture series getting started in the Buena Vista Theater. It was called, “Innovations: The top 10 advances in animation that Disney made.” It was led by a young man named Trevor. Trevor was a self proclaimed “Disney Freak”. He was in good company. The attendees, which numbered around 20 were all some level of Disney freak, myself included. The lecture was indeed interactive, with questions and answers from the crowd, discussing advances such as matching sound to film, as well as the multi plane camera and computers and their contributions to animation. When it was over, I tracked Jen down on deck 10, where she was soaking up some rays. I fixed myself a drink and spent much of the rest of the day relaxing and exploring the parts of the ship I had yet to see. There are still parts of that ship I have yet to see. Parts open to the public that is. I would have loved to get a detailed behind the scenes tour of that vessel. The bridge, engineering, desalinization machinery, all that stuff infinitely interests me. I can see why, especially in today’s age of raised security, why all those areas are inaccessible to civilians. Still, it would be a fun way to spend a couple of hours.
Dinner that night was Parrot Cay yet again. Not disappointing in the least, since we had had a lovely character breakfast there earlier. My culinary exploration continued that night as I enjoyed a swordfish steak that was absolutely delicious. Liam added a new trick for the table which which involved perfectly balancing a set of forks. Again, the kids were stupefied. Just a side note here, As I write these daily recaps, I find some of the finer details, like what I ate, on what night, and who was entertaining where, are a bit foggy. This is why I’m so glad I retained all my issues of the Personal Navigator. It has helped me remember whom I saw and where I dined on what night,to say nothing of being kind of a cool keepsake. After dinner, we returned to the room and decide to take a family soak in the hot tub by the Goofy pool. It felt wonderful, but we noticed the water beginning to slosh around in the pool a little more violently than during the day. It had been windy all day, but this seemed like something a bit more. After a good soak, we headed down to the room with every intention of going to the Golden Mickeys. That never happened and the girls wound up going to the Oceaneer’s Lab while Jen fell asleep and I struggled to stay awake long enough to catch Mike Super’s act down in Rockin Bar D. The rocking of the ship really was conducive to getting us to sleep. I went downstairs to the bar to get a seat for the show, while Jen opted to call it a night early. My mom & Larry were there and told me that ti would be just the three of us, since Brad & Annie had passed out as well.
Super was just as entertaining as he had been the two previous nights. Never once did he repeat an illusion and your intrepid scribe was actually a part of the act this time. After Super had done a trick ripping up a newspaper into shreds and reassembling a perfectly intact paper, he asked if anyone in the crowd had a ring they could lend for a demonstration. I raised my hand and Mike walked over and asked me to stand. I did and offered up my wedding ring. He took the rings from two other members of the audience and mixed them up in a brandy snifter. After twirling them all around for a few seconds, he removed the rings, but now they were all joined together. He handed the three ring chain to each ring owner for inspection and authentication. Sure enough, all the rings were joined. Then he did a little motion, blew on them and disconnected them. Now I know, he says he's not magic, his whole act is misdirection, sleight of hand, and undetected little movements but I‘ll be dipped if I can figure out how he did it. If anyone out there knows this trick, DON”T TELL ME. The mystery is the fun part and knowing would ruin it. Even though the show was billed as adult only, there was never anything that approached adult language, however some of the tricks may have freaked out younger viewers, especially the voodoo bit he did at the end.
After the show, I headed back on deck. I checked out deck four and there was a sign posted on the door at the midship exit which stated the doors had been closed due to inclement weather, please use another door. I made it out on deck four through the aft doors and the entire deck was soaked with water. The seas had gotten so big that water was splashing all the way up on deck four. I did a walk around deck four to see if there were any brave souls out before heading up to deck 10. Once there, I ran into the watch officer again and asked if the reading on the seas from the in-room “Report from the Bridge” was accurate. He said not quite. He went on to tell me that the winds were indeed gale force rather than force 7 like the bridge report was saying and the seas were getting up to 18 feet. This number reminded me that the Magic was one of the most stable ships I’d ever been on. You could feel the movement, no doubt, but it was by no means crazy pitching about. Maybe someone else was getting sick but it didn’t bother me or anyone in my family. Day 3 came to a close with the gentle rocking that was serving as a better sleep inducer than any sleeping pill on the market.
The family awoke with excitement on day four. Our shore excursion required us to be up a bit earlier than we would have chosen but hey, whaddya gonna do? This was the morning the our entire party of eleven was going to Rum Point and check out Stingray City. I opened the curtain onto our veranda expecting to see the sea sliding peacefully by, but that was not what I saw. About a thousand yards of the starboard side of the ship lay another cruiser, a big ol’ honking Carnival cruiser. Again, I was struck by the unattractiveness of these ships. I made a discovery about my possible reasoning here while in Cozumel, but I’ll cover that in day five. Magic was at anchor and we were on a mission. We donned the appropriate clothes and hit Topsiders for a quick breakfast and headed down to Sessions, our assigned meeting point for this shore excursion. When we arrived, we were greeted with some unfortunate news. The stingray portion of our excursion was being cancelled and we were being credited with the money already deposited. I found this a major disappointment until I realized how much money we would get back, which would cover our excursion scheduled in Cozumel. Nifty! Apparently the cancellation was a result of high winds on the north side of the island, where Stingray City is located. The reef was breaking up a lot of those waves but this particular company felt that seas would be too rough and the experience would be sub-par and might even make novice divers sick. As far as I was concerned, since we could still snorkel at Rum Point, the day wasn’t going to be a wash by any stretch of the imagination.
We gathered our group, minus my mother, who had a migraine headache and wasn’t in any shape to do anything. It wasn’t that big a loss, she had friends on the island and had done this trip on her own several times. She had taken her migraine medicine so it was simply a matter of time before she was up & running again. It usually took a couple of hours, so she’d have the whole ship pretty much to herself. The rest of us followed our leader down to the forward boarding area on deck one to board the tenders for the shore. As we boarded, we saw a familiar face that we were not expecting. One of my youngest daughter Keely’s soccer team mates, Madison. I had spent many hours on the sidelines talking to her dad, and now here there were, on a yacht tender heading for George Town. Small world indeed. We took our seats and pulled away from the Magic. I took some photos of our floating castle sitting in the water. Every other shot I had of her was while she was in port and I didn’t want to lose this opportunity. As we got farther away, I noticed two other ships, the aforementioned Carnival cruiser to our right and a large Princess cruiser on our left. Apparently, the cruise ships are only allowed into port on Tuesdays & Wednesdays, so those are the busy days on the small island. After a short tender ride, we pulled up to the dock at George Town, came ashore, & boarded buses for our next destination.
The buses were comfortable, and air conditioned. I always associate the tropics with air conditioning, one of those goofy things my mind does when its humid. I was excited about this excursion, despite alteration in plans. Part of the draw for this particular trip was the fact that a cruise and the excursions were something that I’d never done before. I’d been to Disneyland, Disney World more times than I could remember, and I’m a died in the wool Disney addict. But a cruise, well there was something that was going to be new to every one in the family and that held a great deal of appeal. Plus, I’d never been to Grand Cayman, Cozumel, or Castaway Cay. I was already enjoying the bus ride and the view of the island, although it was mostly hotels at this point. A friend who’d been here before told me of the route by car to Rum Point and that was what I was expecting. I was not, however, expecting a ferry ride across the bay to the point, which is what was in store. What a pleasant surprise. We boarded the ferry for the ride across the harbor which would take about 20-30 minutes. The sun was shining, the water was clear, all I needed was a drink & a cigar & I would be in hog heaven. That would come later, so for now I would have to enjoy a simple boat ride. I spent the time chatting with my brother & my daughter’s friend’s father from Grand Rapids. We all marveled at how odd it was that we would end up on the same cruise, same time, same Palo reservation, etc. The pier at Rum Point was getting larger by the minute.
Rum Point seemed mostly empty, a pleasant sight for me since it appeared we would have our choice of beach locations. As we got off the ferry, we were told it would be leaving again for the other shore at 2:00 pm, giving us about 4 ½ hours on the point. Perfect! We ambled over to the beach, exquisite white sand crunching under our feet. The girls quickly found the hammocks strung up in various parts of the beach and made themselves comfortable. I found a couple of chaise lounges for Jen & I while Brad & Annie set up shop for their kids down the beach a bit. They had made the proper move of bringing their own snorkel gear while my immediate familydecided to rent. Had I known how much rental would cost on Rum Point, I certainly would’ve reconsidered though. I know fifty bucks doesn’t sound like a lot but hey, that could buy a couple of tanks of gas back home. All right, all right, here endeth the financial whining. We got our gear and I gave some basic lessons to Keely on the fundamentals of snorkeling. We hit the water and she took to it pretty well. Rum Point is a pretty desolate place as far as snorkeling goes though. There wasn’t much to see. That opinion, however, is coming from a certified open water diver whose dives have included wrecks in the Bahamas, Hawaiian reefs, some incredible sights in the Florida Keys, and the Living Seas at EPCOT. Yeah, I know, I’m spoiled. It was perfect for the kids though. I took them through the snorkel deal at Typhoon Lagoon last year, but that is over so quickly. This time, they were able to explore on their own, and get the feel for the sport at their own pace. One thing did give me a bit of jolt though. The kids were off on their own, and my brother Brad & I were tooling around seeing what there was to see. As we were on the eastern side of the Rum Point pier and making our way over to swim under it, we came upon a shadow in the water. Since it was wavy outside the reef, the shallows were pretty turbid and visibility was only about 10 to 12 feet or so. I knew the shape of this shadow from experience and so did Brad. Back when we were in high school, we had taken a family trip to the Bahamas and the two of us were snorkeling around, much as we were now. Near an underwater coral growth, we came upon a six foot barracuda that just hung out looking at us. The two of us got the hell out of there as fast as we could. Turns out, the fish was well known to the resort staffers and they had even named him George and fed him regularly. Brad & I reminded them, that was a piece of information we could’ve used prior to our setting out. Now here we were, nearly 25 years later, and facing the same proposition. This barracuda only looked about four feet long but he seemed pretty happy there under the pier, so we swam toward shore a couple of sections before swimming under. The same story applied here. The barracuda was a regular, although no one had named this one.
After lunch, which was provided as part of our excursion (I had a jerk pork sandwich, most enjoyable), I settled onto my chaise for a little rest. The temp wasn’t particularly oppressive and the wind was a nice breeze out of the northwest. Sunny skies, a rum runner in hand, life was good. If it had been any more humid, I might have been uncomfortable but this weather & situation was what you might call perfect. The kids took advantage of a beach volleyball court while the adults simply languished in the sun. Jen & I clinked our glasses together and shared a moment without ever saying a word. 20 years together will do that for you. If there was a way to bottle that sense of contentment and sell it, I would never have to work again. The time passed quickly and we were soon back on the ferry, headed to George Town. There were still some other tour companies that maintained their trips to Stingray City, but in all honesty, we didn’t feel like we’d missed anything. The waves crashing into the reef we could see from Rum Point were pretty big and put on a heck of a show, splashing upward toward the clouds. I could imagine fighting the current, trying to get my kids in the optimum position to feed the rays, and probably not being very successful at either. No, this excursion worked out just fine.
Once we were back to George Town, we did a little shopping, picking up a bottle of the famous Tortuga spiced rum as well as a six box sampler of the Tortuga rum cakes. If you’ve never had these, do yourself a favor and order one online. They are made bundt style, and are absolutely delectable. I popped upstairs in one of the shops to purchase a cigar. My wallet was lightened by about 25 dollars but I had three genuine Cuban Cohiba cigars to enjoy with my brother that night. I know what you’re thinking, “He complains about spending $50.00 on snorkel equipment for his kids but spends half that on three cigars? Where are this guy’s priorities?” What can I say, I enjoy a good cigar and the opportunity to enjoy one of Cuba’s finest was not to be denied. Now here’s the part I found a bit confusing. I figured, being in another country, they’d check ID’s pretty strictly. Nope, not so much. All they wanted to see was the Key to the World card we all carried. Once we were back on the ship, adults had to show picture ID, but never once on the whole trip was I asked to show the birth certificates of the minors in my care. We probably could’ve gotten away with using Jen’s expired passport, But why tempt fate? Surely, they would examine all the paperwork closely when we returned to America. More on that later.
Back on the Magic, there was a little time to relax before getting ready for Formal Night. I mixed drinks for Jen & I while the girls put on their fancy dresses. Anya, my 12 year old, had on a strapless number & 2 inch high heels her grandmother had given her against my wishes. One glance at this beautifully maturing creature filled me with dread, as I knew I was nowhere near prepared for the teen years that lay before me. The first evidence of this concern would bear itself out before the end of the cruise. I watched the last of the tenders bring passengers & crew back on board our floating palace and we were soon under way. I remember thinking that the schedule on this trip had been kept pretty close to the numbers, but that reminded me of another oddity on board. This cruise was very schedule oriented. Things started & happened on time, with little or no exception. Yet, there were no clocks in public places. In fact, the only place I ever saw a clock, besides the one that was perpetually on my left wrist, was in the rooms, in a fancy, decorative, propeller shaped shell. This wasn’t a problem, mind you, but a simple little oddity I noticed. Onward…
Dinner was at Parrot Cay yet again. No hassle, the menu was again, extraordinary, and Jason & Liam once again cleared the bar they had already set so high. This was the night Michelle, our dining room supervisor, brought the Disney service we had been experiencing to a fine point. Jen is a big fan of chips & salsa as an appetizer for just about any meal. She had not been able to find it on the room service menu and it hadn’t appear4ed on any evening menu. Michelle came by and was chatting with us in that Australian accent I love, and Jen asked about chips & salsa. Michelle’s eyes got wide and she said no problem and hurried off. We tried to stop her, as it was toward the end of the meal and Jen was wondering about tomorrow night. Well, before you know it, Michelle came back with a covered plate, that when the cover was lifted, revealed a beautifully prepared plate of corn chips & salsa. My wife’s trip had just been made. Not only that, Michelle made sure that the same appetizer was at our table upon our arrival every night thereafter for the rest of the cruise. One may not think of chips & salsa as that big of a deal, but it was the way it was provided that left an impression on us and really personalized the Disney service that is so rightfully world renowned.
After diner, Jen & the girls decided they wanted to go see “Twice Charmed” in the Walt Disney Theater. While this looked like a great show, I told Jen that Brad & I were going to try to find somewhere on deck to enjoy a cigar. Jen kindly took our three daughters, plus their cousin Autumn to the show, while Brad & I went on a mission to find a suitable smoking place. We started out on deck 10 aft, right behind Palo, but soon took up residence on the back of deck 9, outside Topsiders. Now one of the things that we were concerned about was finding a place where we wouldn’t be around other folks, as some find cigar smoke particularly bothersome. We figured the back of deck 9 would be a good place to start. As it turns out, it was a good place to start, enjoy & finish as we didn’t see another soul on that part of the ship for nearly two hours. We did notice some senior officers enjoying dinner together in Topsiders though. The restaurant was closed but they still got the full service routine. We thought that was kind of cool, a nice perk. Oh and about the cigars, if you enjoy a cigar and haven’t tried a good, genuine Cuban, you’re missing out. Enough said about that. It was nice to catch up with Brad though. He’s a small town police chief and I’m a satellite uplink engineer. He’s a conservative republican and I’m liberal democrat. It’s a real country mouse/city mouse relationship. But we don’t see each other very often & when we do, we always find the time to enjoy a good cigar together. We returned to our respective cabins, planning to meet up in Rockin Bar D in an hour to catch the night's comedian, Ron Pearson. One thing my brother & do have in common is our love for stand up comedy. Now I'll preface this by saying I love blue comedy. Some of my favorites are guys that swear a blue streak to the moon and back, and the more uncomfortable it makes the audience, the harder I laugh. Now, having said that, Pearson worked clean and was absolutely hilarious. My wife doesn't like the swearing so much, so for her to able to enjoy the comedy with everyone was a fantastic treat. I can appreciate a comic who will work clean so that whole room, all ages included, can enjoy the fun. The evening came to a close with Brad & his family signing up for the same snorkeling excursion we were signed up for in Cozumel. I thought I might have trouble falling asleep on this trip but the rocking sea performed its magic to coin a phrase, once again.
My family of five (three daughters, and my wife) arrived at the Disney port at around 10:30 a.m. We got caught at the drawbridge and got our first good look at the Magic. You could hear a collective intake of breath followed by a series of “ooohhh, Aaahhhh,” and “Wow!” eminating from all of us. This was to be the first cruise for any of us. I had taken a vacation with my folks and brother in 1991 up in Alaska that had involved staying on a sixty foot chartered fishing cruiser for a week but that was nothing like the majesty that sat before my eyes. I had done my home work, I had watched all the travel channel shows, I had read all the books, websites, and message boards I could find to get prepared for this vacation. I was as prepared as you could imagine for this, nothing was going to take meby surprise.
Guess again.
The Disney Magic was a sight to behold. The large Carnival ship in the berth next door paled in comparison. The paint scheme, reflective of the north atlantic cruise ships of old went a long way to conveying her massive bulk. We ran into the friendly Disney service, to which we had become accustomed to over the years, almost immediately, as we were given instructions by an attendant as to where to go to drop off people, luggage, and where to put the car. As we pulled up to the luggage drop off we were headed straight toward the ship’s starboard side and it completely filled everyone’s view. The music from the first sequence in Titanic, when you first see everyone pulling up to the dock and getting aboard, was running through my head. In a rush, we unloaded the bags onto the curb, and my wife drove off to park the car. A friendly porter loaded our five bags onto a cart and made off into a cavernous baggage loading area. I spent a moment watching them go, observing all the other bags destined for the same place. I love shows like “How It’s Made” and programs that show how complex systems work. I couldn’t help but think that someone could produce a fascinating look at how this ship is turned around in less than a day for week long cruises. Hey, at least I’d watch it, and I’ll bet more than a few visitors to this website would too.
grabbed my daughters Anya, 12, Grace, 10, and Keely, 8, and made our way to the front of the port building to go check in. I bumped right into my niece, Autumn, and her brother Hunter. My brother Brad, his wife Annie, and my mother Terry, and her boyfriend Larry, as well as Brad & Annie’s kids were coming on this cruise too. They had all stayed at a different hotel than us the night before and I didn’t expect to see them until we were all on board. I inherited my my mother’s sense of punctuality though, and wasn’t very shocked to see them arrive at the same time I did. We exchanged greetings, and headed upstairs to get checked in.
As I came to the top of the escalator, I saw the boarding ramp ears at the far end of the building lobby that I had seen in so many photographs. I had never set foot in this building, yet it somehow felt familiar. One of the burdens of over-preparation I suppose. I sent the girls over to the massive model of the Magic to keep them entertained while I went through the check-in process. My wife Jen was still parking the car, but I had all the pertinent documents, so I was able to get through check-in fairly quickly and without hassle. I met Jen at the top of the escalator and brought her up to speed. We joined our children and marveled at the model of the ship we would soon be boarding. I began to try to locate our stateroom but was pulled away by my wife, who wanted to get the kids registered. We quickly got our younger two kids checked into the Oceaneer’s Lab and received our pager. We gave them the power to check themselves in & out on their own though, so I never needed it the entire trip. We purchased card lanyards for the kids and joined my extended family in line for boarding. Designated to boarding group 7, we were invited to board pretty quickly. The entire family of 11 posed for the first of many group photos on the trip and encountered another thing that would be omni-present on the ship, the ubiquitous hand sanitizing station. I’d heard that Disney was pretty stringent in their cleanliness effort. I now want to buy stock in whatever company it is that makes those hand wipes. Disney alone could keep their stock in good shape and with two new ships coming on line, the money making opportunity here could be a good one. After the picture, we came around the corner and stepped onto the gangway.
And there she was, Magic.
We stepped aboard into the magnificent lobby and were greeted with the standard cheers after our name was announced. I stood in the middle of the grand foyer, staring dumbstruck at the chandelier hanging above me. Now, I must admit to being a great fan of Dale Chihuly, and was looking forward to seeing the renowned glass sculpture that hung from the ceiling. I was not ready for the beauty of the piece when it greeted me. I have seen other works by the glass master but the blues & greens that were captured by this artwork in the mid day sun were nothing short of captivating. I managed to tear my eyes away and soak in some of the other details of the lobby. The art-deco feel of the architecture was clearly evident and I soaked in as much as I could in a short time, as the rest of the clan was clamoring to get to deck nine and get a good seat poolside. Knowing I’d have more time to take in the details later, we boarded a couple of elevators and headed topside.
We emerged onto deck nine into the bright sunlight. I donned my sunglasses as we were greeted by a friendly waiter by the name of Cassius. He went into details regarding the water and beer plans and we listened politely. After gently saying no thanks, we headed aft and grabbed a couple of tables between the Goofy and Mickey pools, starboard side. All five of the children were eager to eat and get in the pool as quickly as possible. Being the techno-phile that I am, I wanted nothing more than to explore this technical marvel from bow to stern but family matters demanded my attention. Where to get the food was of paramount importance to the kids so off we went, in search of vittles. Topsiders didn’t disappoint. When we returned to the table, the kids came back with hot dogs & burgers from Pluto’s Dog House while I sat down with roast beef, salad, and various other yummies from Topsiders. This was not going to be a trip where weight was monitored very carefully. I finished lunch, and fetched a beer from Signals, served up by a fine bartender by the name of Sylvon from Jamaica.
At around 2:00, I bid my brother a temporary adieu, and headed for cabin 8542. Walking in, it was everything I’d pictured it to be and more. The musical bar above the headboard was “Second Star to the Right.”, the one I’d been hoping for. My mother had arranged for Bon Voyage decorations to be placed in the cabin along with a cake. My wife & middle daughter, Grace wasted no time in sampling the goods. I went to the veranda to check out the view. I could tell right away that I would be knocking back more than a few drinks from this spot. We gathered for the lifeboat drill, which was quick & easy, and returned to the room. The girls donned their bathing suits and headed for the pool. Jen & I chatted for awhile and mixed a couple drinks (we brought our own hooch on board in an effort to save on alcohol costs) before heading back up to watch the sail-away party.
The party was in full effect but we couldn’t see the kids anywhere. Not to worry, they were having fun without us and part of this trip was giving them the freedom on board to do what they wanted, within reason. We headed to deck ten forward to get a good spot in front of the basketball court for the departure. We found the rest of my extended family, minus kids, at the same spot and I pointed out what the buildings and launch pads out on the cape were. You could clearly see a shuttle sitting on what I think was pad 29A, which is scheduled for a mid February launch. The wonderful horn sounded, the Magic moved away from her berth, and we were on our way.
We pulled out about two miles behind a Carnival ship and wound up following it all night and into the morning. Dinner that first night was at Lumiere’s and we showed up at our assigned time of 5:45 PM. The entrance to Lumiere’s is on deck three midship, and this gave me another opportunity to gaze at the Chihuly chandelier. As we entered the restaurant, we were again presented with disinfectant wipes, what was to be a common theme on this cruise. We were led to our table and introduced to the greatest wait team of all time, Liam from Jamaica, and Jason from the Philippines. I took note of all the Philippines nametags on the ship, and there were quite a few. I was born on Clark Air Force Base, near Manila, so I’ve always found that tidbit a great way to break the ice & initialize a conversation with those of Philippine heritage. It turns out that of the nearly 1,000 crewmembers on the Magic, around 200 are from the Philippines. An interesting little something for your little-known-fact-file.
Back to dinner, we were presented with a lovely menu that mostly escapes me but for one item in particular. Now, I had promised myself on this trip that I was going to expand my culinary horizons and sample some foods out of my comfort zone, since I wasn’t likely to eat this well for some time to come. That began with the appetizer on night one, a chilled preparation of ratatouille. I’m not much of a raw tomato person but this dish was beyond spectacular. The diced tomatoes & peppers along with the sliced squash & eggplant were mouthwatering. It tasted as if the veggies were just picked hours ago. The rest of dinner was equally delicious but that ratatouille stood out for the rest of the cruise in my memory of most savored foods. Liam & Jason were whirling dervishes of activity but the service, as expected, was amazing and set the pace for the rest of the week. As I looked around the room, checking things out, I noticed the family at the table next to ours, also part of Liam & Jason’s section. There were two little girls over there that looked familiar. I quickly remembered the avatar of our own BeccaGrace, and how it contained the faces of her two daughters and the story that was behind it. There was some major concern on her part that the cruise wasn’t going to happen due to an illness suffered by one of the girls. The story touched all who read it on the cruise meet thread, including your intrepid scribe. I smiled, knowing what they had gone through to get to this point and was glad they had made it. I know how much I look forward to a Disney trip, and would hate to have to cancel for any reason, particularly one as harrowing as BeccaGrace’s. I met her in a stairwell a day or two later conveyed my best wishes. They seemed to be a happy family and we promised to trade cruise reports when we got home.
Entertainment for the night was provided in the magnificently appointed Walt Disney Theater. It was a sort of welcome-aboard-here’s-what’s-in-store variety show. Brent Davies, our wonderful cruise director, served as emcee. My kids recognized him immediately as the guy from the Disney Cruise Line special on the Travel Channel, which we had watched on New Year’s Eve. It was as if they were seeing a celebrity, which, I suppose, considering the reputation he’s got amongst the cruise veterans, he is. The show included the magic and illusion of Mike Super. I love a good illusionist and Super didn’t disappoint. In fact, he teased a show coming up on Sunday night in the same theater, and it was standing room only. He certainly made a good impression with my brother & I. We came to the Sunday show, and caught his adults-only act down in Rockin Bar D on Monday as well. This guy certainly lived up to the title of the show on NBC, which he won, called Phenomenon. After the show, we returned to cabin 8542 and saw our first towel animal of the trip, a swan in sunglasses. The girls thought that was the coolest thing ever, and were even more surprised at how the beds had emerged from the walls. Kids were tucked in, even Jen fell asleep, but I was still a bit wired, so I headed topside for an exploratory walk around decks 9 & 10. After a quick dip in the quiet cove hot tub, I turned in too, day one already in the books.
Day two began on the water, as we weren’t scheduled for Key West until around noon. Jen & I rose before anyone else & went topside in an effort to catch a photo of the sunrise. The Carnival ship in front of was had maintained its distance but was now crossing our bow and headed for points south. The Magic issued a long, single horn blast, different from the “When you wish upon a star” horn we’re all so familiar with. I’m assuming it’s for the traditional maritime signaling required for such vessels. I watched a bit as it angled south while we continued west toward Key West.
We headed down to deck nine to meet the kids & make our way back to Topsiders for breakfast. I stuck with the traditional eggs, sausage, bacon, & hash browns that are available at so many places. In all honesty, it was probably the most mundane menu available on the cruise, but it worked for me. The old fashioned traditional greasy spoon breakfast did the trick every morning. Jen & I took the opportunity to visit my mother’s cabin on deck six, while the girls went goofing off in the oceaneer’s lab and Ocean Quest. Since we were still in sight of land, my phone was working and we made reservations for bicycles on Key West. I looked down from my mom’s veranda and noticed the stabilizers for the first time. These are the “wings” that extend into the water at about midship to prevent or lessen the lateral roll of the ship while at sea. They extend from the hull at a depth, I would guess, of about 10 to 12 feet. They are painted, along with the rest of the ship that’s in contact with the water, with a special paint that decreases friction of the ship with the water, thereby making it more efficient as it moves. The paint happens to be grey, making the stabilizers easily visible in the clear blue water of the Caribbean when extended.
We began to slow down and entered the channel leading to Key West. Jen & I headed topside, again to the area forward of the basketball courts to watch the approach to the southern most island in the lower 48. I heard a familiar roar and looked up and saw a group of four F/A-18 Hornets heading toward Key West Naval Air Station. Being a recreational pilot myself, I am a big fan of all things aviation and have seen the Blue Angels perform no less than 20 times. The sound of those engines was like music to my ears as their sister aircraft arced high over our heads and headed for shore. As the Magic got closer to shore, you could see another cruise ship berthed where we were heading. It was a large cruiser called the MSC Orchestra. Looking at it, I observed something a little odd. All the cruise ships I was seeing appeared boxy & sterile. I mean, I know I’m biased because of the ship I was on but even the different Carnival ships we would see on this trip seemed to look, well, plain, when parked next to the Magic. I don’t know, maybe it’s just me. Moving on…
Docking in Key West seemed to be a relatively straightforward, if not time consuming, affair. As the ship was pulling in, the family took advantage of the veranda to apply spray-on sunscreen, so as not to get the room all smelly. This had the unintended effect of rendering the veranda deck quite slippery. Note to self, apply sunscreen on the shore. My brother and his family were planning to stay on board during this port of call but my mom & Larry were going to join us for a self guided bike tour. My mom had spent a pretty good deal of time on the island and knew her way around pretty well, so she would serve as our guide, since I hadn’t been there since 1985 and my knowledge of the island was practically useless. I knew some cool things were there to see, but besides that, nothing. We walked through a semi-interesting art fair on our way to the bike rental place and found the establishment fairly quickly. It was during the choice of bikes that the day’s first error was made. My wife thought it would be fun to get tandem bikes for the two of us, so we could carry one of the younger girls each, while my oldest daughter Anya, would ride a solo bike. An interesting theory, until it was put into practice. Jen had the youngest, Keely, while I had our 10 year old Grace. Keely couldn’t get her little 8 year old legs to the pedals and Grace was to freaked out by not being able to steer to be of much use. She constantly shifted her weight, making it tricky for me to keep us out of traffic. We rode, pretty comically to anyone watching, to the fishing docks where one of my mom’s favorite restaurants was. The weather was exceptional. Sunny, 72 degrees, a beautiful day. We got to the raw bar and ordered a fine lunch despite the pigeons who were walking around freely, picking up scraps. I’ve never really wanted to kick a pigeon before. I feel differently now. The atmosphere of the bar was better than the food. Old license plates were tacked up on every available space and the indoor/outdoor atmosphere was pretty cool. After lunch, it was decided that we’d split from my mom & larry and bike over to Zachary Taylor park, and one of the best beaches on the island. Jen is a sun worshiper from way back and the kids wanted to get some beach time as well. We saddled up and headed for the beach, directions courtesy of the map function on my iPhone.
There’s an old family legend that says Zachary Taylor is a distant relative. According to my grandmother, whose maiden name was Taylor, President Zachary Taylor is my great, great, great, great, grand uncle. Now, I personally don’t buy into it, but it was a fun story for the kids to tie in the park’s namesake to their heritage. I described the story as a family legend, so as to insure, they didn’t take it too seriously. The park itself is quite beautiful. Plenty of trees to get shade under and the beach is pretty nice, spotted with rocky outcroppings, perfect for snorkeling around. The skies were completely clear and the MSC Orchestra had left port and was on its way out of the channel by the time we hit the beach. We set up towels and proceeded into maximum relaxation mode. I’m not one for lying in the sun for too long, I get bored. I was soon hot enough to get in the water as well. The water temp was bracing, but I’m from Michigan, so it wasn’t a whole lot worse than Lake Michigan in July. No one else was brave enough to join me. Ahh well. Before too long it was time to head for the point on the island where that famous marker is, you know the one which demarcates the southernmost point in the continental U.S., for the obligatory photograph. Once that was done, we decided it was time to return the bikes and make our way back to the ship because we had early seating for dinner. Dinner that night was Animator’s Palate, one we had been told by many sources was not to be missed. After returning the bikes, Grace wanted to find a souvenir shop to find a refrigerator magnet for her other grandmother, who collects such things. This is where we made the second mistake of the day by venturing onto Duval Street with small children.
I’m a fairly open minded guy, and a pretty liberal parent. Having said this, we ventured into a shop where t-shirts were being sold, thinking this would be the ideal place to find cheesy souvenirs. Well, we found them and then some. T-shirts with sayings, slogans. and illustrations that were wholly inappropriate for kids . Grace found a shot glass shaped like a breast, and brought it to me, telling me what an interesting cup this was.
“Ack!” I choked out, and took the shot glass back to its display place.
Of course, the girls are full of questions as to why we’re hustling them out of the store and down the street. Down the street, right into the path of the lady calling for customers to come upstairs and see the all nude show, just as an elderly gentleman was exiting with an obviously “professional” young lady. My kids are all eyes agog while Jen and I can’t get off this street fast enough. Remembering it, the whole episode seems pretty comical, but I was mortified at the time. We found another souvenir place near the ship’s docking spot which filled our needs with a G rating. Another hand wipe station and we were back on board, eagerly anticipating dinner in this exciting new location
Everyone’s reaction to Animator’s Palate is going to be a bit different. Our gang all thought it was pretty cool. We were seated next to a picture of Pocahontas and John Smith that did its color change bit, as expected, before the rest of the room. I was hoping to be next to the picture of Chernabog, but hey, some British guys I know once said you can’t always get what you want. The big presentation of the color scheme was very exciting, especially since I noticed the music from “Fantasmic” was used as Wizard Mickey came out, leading the procession of waiters in their new “colorized” outfits. Dinner was fabulous, and Liam, our chief waiter had a special surprise in store for the kids. He came back after desert with a magic trick involving a bowl of water, pepper, and bit oil. The pepper sat on the surface of the water, representing “all the little fish” in the water. Then, Liam held up his finger and said
“Now here comes Liam, the shark!”
As he touched his finger to the water, all the pepper was immediately pushed to the rim of the bowl.
“Look at all the little fish run!” Liam said joyously in that wonderful Jamaican accent. The kids were delighted and immediately wanted to know how Liam had done it. He laughed and said it was a special Jamaican secret. This satisfied the kids and they all left to get ready for the night’s activities. As we exited the restaurant, I noticed the Magic had pushed away from the dock and was getting ready to do something technically spectacular. I dragged my wife onto the starboard side of deck four to watch this with me. As the ship pushed away from the dock in a straight line without the assistance of tugs, I explained to Jen the principal of the bow & stern thruster system. As soon as we had enough clearance, Magic pivoted 180 degrees on its center and began the journey out of the channel toward open water. I found this a really cool thing to watch, but I’m a nerd that way. We headed upstairs to mix a drink before Mike Super’s show in the Walt Disney Theater that night. I stepped onto the veranda and watched one more cool operation of the ship. Since it was night, there was a pilot to run the ship out of the channel until it was clear to navigate in the open ocean. As we approached the final channel marker, I noticed a small launch labeled “PILOT” waiting for us. As we steamed along, the pilot boat got up to speed, then sidled up to us perfectly to allow the pilot to disembark the Magic and head back to Key West. As the pilot boat pulled away, I looked down and watched the stabilizers extend from the ship. The lights of Key West were getting dimmer and before us lay a full day at sea before our arrival at Grand Cayman.
Mike Super did a standing room only show that befuddled the audience while making them laugh at the same time. I noticed the ship’s movement began to increase during the show. For some reason, The Walt Disney Theater was the one place on the ship where I could feel its movement most. Perhaps it was its position forward in the ship, for whatever reason, I felt it there more than anyplace else, except maybe Palo. Of Super’s illusions that night, the rope trick was the most outstanding. Try as I might, I could not figure out how was pulling this one off. Super told us about his upcoming adults only show the next night in Rockin Bar D, and I made a mental note not too miss it. After the show, Jen & the kids made their way to bed and I walked around on deck for a bit. I found a deck officer making his rounds and asked him if the glow I saw on the horizon was Cuba. Not only was it Cuba, it was Havana itself. I looked up and saw more stars than I’d ever seen in my life and reminded myself how lucky I was to be here. I went back to my cabin, where Jen & the girls were already asleep, and crawled into bed. The gentle rolling of the Magic had me snoring in no time at all.
Day three began as lazy as the night before had ended. It was morning on the first of two sea days on this trip. This was the assigned character breakfast morning for our party so the day began with breakfast in Parrot Cay. A nice change from the usual breakfast items up on Topsiders. The characters we had that morning were Chip & Dale, Minnie, Mickey & Goofy. I got pictures of all the kids and Jen even took one with me & the big mouse. Liam was up to his tricks again this morning with special multi-colored hats made from napkins. I didn’t see this going on for other tables so it was one of those things that Liam did that was above & beyond, and another reason we felt so lucky to have him & Jason serving us.
This day really didn’t have any direction so we turned the kids loose and let them do pretty much what they wanted, when they wanted. They, of course, agreed with this course of action and took to it handily. I had my eyes on an interactive lecture series getting started in the Buena Vista Theater. It was called, “Innovations: The top 10 advances in animation that Disney made.” It was led by a young man named Trevor. Trevor was a self proclaimed “Disney Freak”. He was in good company. The attendees, which numbered around 20 were all some level of Disney freak, myself included. The lecture was indeed interactive, with questions and answers from the crowd, discussing advances such as matching sound to film, as well as the multi plane camera and computers and their contributions to animation. When it was over, I tracked Jen down on deck 10, where she was soaking up some rays. I fixed myself a drink and spent much of the rest of the day relaxing and exploring the parts of the ship I had yet to see. There are still parts of that ship I have yet to see. Parts open to the public that is. I would have loved to get a detailed behind the scenes tour of that vessel. The bridge, engineering, desalinization machinery, all that stuff infinitely interests me. I can see why, especially in today’s age of raised security, why all those areas are inaccessible to civilians. Still, it would be a fun way to spend a couple of hours.
Dinner that night was Parrot Cay yet again. Not disappointing in the least, since we had had a lovely character breakfast there earlier. My culinary exploration continued that night as I enjoyed a swordfish steak that was absolutely delicious. Liam added a new trick for the table which which involved perfectly balancing a set of forks. Again, the kids were stupefied. Just a side note here, As I write these daily recaps, I find some of the finer details, like what I ate, on what night, and who was entertaining where, are a bit foggy. This is why I’m so glad I retained all my issues of the Personal Navigator. It has helped me remember whom I saw and where I dined on what night,to say nothing of being kind of a cool keepsake. After dinner, we returned to the room and decide to take a family soak in the hot tub by the Goofy pool. It felt wonderful, but we noticed the water beginning to slosh around in the pool a little more violently than during the day. It had been windy all day, but this seemed like something a bit more. After a good soak, we headed down to the room with every intention of going to the Golden Mickeys. That never happened and the girls wound up going to the Oceaneer’s Lab while Jen fell asleep and I struggled to stay awake long enough to catch Mike Super’s act down in Rockin Bar D. The rocking of the ship really was conducive to getting us to sleep. I went downstairs to the bar to get a seat for the show, while Jen opted to call it a night early. My mom & Larry were there and told me that ti would be just the three of us, since Brad & Annie had passed out as well.
Super was just as entertaining as he had been the two previous nights. Never once did he repeat an illusion and your intrepid scribe was actually a part of the act this time. After Super had done a trick ripping up a newspaper into shreds and reassembling a perfectly intact paper, he asked if anyone in the crowd had a ring they could lend for a demonstration. I raised my hand and Mike walked over and asked me to stand. I did and offered up my wedding ring. He took the rings from two other members of the audience and mixed them up in a brandy snifter. After twirling them all around for a few seconds, he removed the rings, but now they were all joined together. He handed the three ring chain to each ring owner for inspection and authentication. Sure enough, all the rings were joined. Then he did a little motion, blew on them and disconnected them. Now I know, he says he's not magic, his whole act is misdirection, sleight of hand, and undetected little movements but I‘ll be dipped if I can figure out how he did it. If anyone out there knows this trick, DON”T TELL ME. The mystery is the fun part and knowing would ruin it. Even though the show was billed as adult only, there was never anything that approached adult language, however some of the tricks may have freaked out younger viewers, especially the voodoo bit he did at the end.
After the show, I headed back on deck. I checked out deck four and there was a sign posted on the door at the midship exit which stated the doors had been closed due to inclement weather, please use another door. I made it out on deck four through the aft doors and the entire deck was soaked with water. The seas had gotten so big that water was splashing all the way up on deck four. I did a walk around deck four to see if there were any brave souls out before heading up to deck 10. Once there, I ran into the watch officer again and asked if the reading on the seas from the in-room “Report from the Bridge” was accurate. He said not quite. He went on to tell me that the winds were indeed gale force rather than force 7 like the bridge report was saying and the seas were getting up to 18 feet. This number reminded me that the Magic was one of the most stable ships I’d ever been on. You could feel the movement, no doubt, but it was by no means crazy pitching about. Maybe someone else was getting sick but it didn’t bother me or anyone in my family. Day 3 came to a close with the gentle rocking that was serving as a better sleep inducer than any sleeping pill on the market.
The family awoke with excitement on day four. Our shore excursion required us to be up a bit earlier than we would have chosen but hey, whaddya gonna do? This was the morning the our entire party of eleven was going to Rum Point and check out Stingray City. I opened the curtain onto our veranda expecting to see the sea sliding peacefully by, but that was not what I saw. About a thousand yards of the starboard side of the ship lay another cruiser, a big ol’ honking Carnival cruiser. Again, I was struck by the unattractiveness of these ships. I made a discovery about my possible reasoning here while in Cozumel, but I’ll cover that in day five. Magic was at anchor and we were on a mission. We donned the appropriate clothes and hit Topsiders for a quick breakfast and headed down to Sessions, our assigned meeting point for this shore excursion. When we arrived, we were greeted with some unfortunate news. The stingray portion of our excursion was being cancelled and we were being credited with the money already deposited. I found this a major disappointment until I realized how much money we would get back, which would cover our excursion scheduled in Cozumel. Nifty! Apparently the cancellation was a result of high winds on the north side of the island, where Stingray City is located. The reef was breaking up a lot of those waves but this particular company felt that seas would be too rough and the experience would be sub-par and might even make novice divers sick. As far as I was concerned, since we could still snorkel at Rum Point, the day wasn’t going to be a wash by any stretch of the imagination.
We gathered our group, minus my mother, who had a migraine headache and wasn’t in any shape to do anything. It wasn’t that big a loss, she had friends on the island and had done this trip on her own several times. She had taken her migraine medicine so it was simply a matter of time before she was up & running again. It usually took a couple of hours, so she’d have the whole ship pretty much to herself. The rest of us followed our leader down to the forward boarding area on deck one to board the tenders for the shore. As we boarded, we saw a familiar face that we were not expecting. One of my youngest daughter Keely’s soccer team mates, Madison. I had spent many hours on the sidelines talking to her dad, and now here there were, on a yacht tender heading for George Town. Small world indeed. We took our seats and pulled away from the Magic. I took some photos of our floating castle sitting in the water. Every other shot I had of her was while she was in port and I didn’t want to lose this opportunity. As we got farther away, I noticed two other ships, the aforementioned Carnival cruiser to our right and a large Princess cruiser on our left. Apparently, the cruise ships are only allowed into port on Tuesdays & Wednesdays, so those are the busy days on the small island. After a short tender ride, we pulled up to the dock at George Town, came ashore, & boarded buses for our next destination.
The buses were comfortable, and air conditioned. I always associate the tropics with air conditioning, one of those goofy things my mind does when its humid. I was excited about this excursion, despite alteration in plans. Part of the draw for this particular trip was the fact that a cruise and the excursions were something that I’d never done before. I’d been to Disneyland, Disney World more times than I could remember, and I’m a died in the wool Disney addict. But a cruise, well there was something that was going to be new to every one in the family and that held a great deal of appeal. Plus, I’d never been to Grand Cayman, Cozumel, or Castaway Cay. I was already enjoying the bus ride and the view of the island, although it was mostly hotels at this point. A friend who’d been here before told me of the route by car to Rum Point and that was what I was expecting. I was not, however, expecting a ferry ride across the bay to the point, which is what was in store. What a pleasant surprise. We boarded the ferry for the ride across the harbor which would take about 20-30 minutes. The sun was shining, the water was clear, all I needed was a drink & a cigar & I would be in hog heaven. That would come later, so for now I would have to enjoy a simple boat ride. I spent the time chatting with my brother & my daughter’s friend’s father from Grand Rapids. We all marveled at how odd it was that we would end up on the same cruise, same time, same Palo reservation, etc. The pier at Rum Point was getting larger by the minute.
Rum Point seemed mostly empty, a pleasant sight for me since it appeared we would have our choice of beach locations. As we got off the ferry, we were told it would be leaving again for the other shore at 2:00 pm, giving us about 4 ½ hours on the point. Perfect! We ambled over to the beach, exquisite white sand crunching under our feet. The girls quickly found the hammocks strung up in various parts of the beach and made themselves comfortable. I found a couple of chaise lounges for Jen & I while Brad & Annie set up shop for their kids down the beach a bit. They had made the proper move of bringing their own snorkel gear while my immediate familydecided to rent. Had I known how much rental would cost on Rum Point, I certainly would’ve reconsidered though. I know fifty bucks doesn’t sound like a lot but hey, that could buy a couple of tanks of gas back home. All right, all right, here endeth the financial whining. We got our gear and I gave some basic lessons to Keely on the fundamentals of snorkeling. We hit the water and she took to it pretty well. Rum Point is a pretty desolate place as far as snorkeling goes though. There wasn’t much to see. That opinion, however, is coming from a certified open water diver whose dives have included wrecks in the Bahamas, Hawaiian reefs, some incredible sights in the Florida Keys, and the Living Seas at EPCOT. Yeah, I know, I’m spoiled. It was perfect for the kids though. I took them through the snorkel deal at Typhoon Lagoon last year, but that is over so quickly. This time, they were able to explore on their own, and get the feel for the sport at their own pace. One thing did give me a bit of jolt though. The kids were off on their own, and my brother Brad & I were tooling around seeing what there was to see. As we were on the eastern side of the Rum Point pier and making our way over to swim under it, we came upon a shadow in the water. Since it was wavy outside the reef, the shallows were pretty turbid and visibility was only about 10 to 12 feet or so. I knew the shape of this shadow from experience and so did Brad. Back when we were in high school, we had taken a family trip to the Bahamas and the two of us were snorkeling around, much as we were now. Near an underwater coral growth, we came upon a six foot barracuda that just hung out looking at us. The two of us got the hell out of there as fast as we could. Turns out, the fish was well known to the resort staffers and they had even named him George and fed him regularly. Brad & I reminded them, that was a piece of information we could’ve used prior to our setting out. Now here we were, nearly 25 years later, and facing the same proposition. This barracuda only looked about four feet long but he seemed pretty happy there under the pier, so we swam toward shore a couple of sections before swimming under. The same story applied here. The barracuda was a regular, although no one had named this one.
After lunch, which was provided as part of our excursion (I had a jerk pork sandwich, most enjoyable), I settled onto my chaise for a little rest. The temp wasn’t particularly oppressive and the wind was a nice breeze out of the northwest. Sunny skies, a rum runner in hand, life was good. If it had been any more humid, I might have been uncomfortable but this weather & situation was what you might call perfect. The kids took advantage of a beach volleyball court while the adults simply languished in the sun. Jen & I clinked our glasses together and shared a moment without ever saying a word. 20 years together will do that for you. If there was a way to bottle that sense of contentment and sell it, I would never have to work again. The time passed quickly and we were soon back on the ferry, headed to George Town. There were still some other tour companies that maintained their trips to Stingray City, but in all honesty, we didn’t feel like we’d missed anything. The waves crashing into the reef we could see from Rum Point were pretty big and put on a heck of a show, splashing upward toward the clouds. I could imagine fighting the current, trying to get my kids in the optimum position to feed the rays, and probably not being very successful at either. No, this excursion worked out just fine.
Once we were back to George Town, we did a little shopping, picking up a bottle of the famous Tortuga spiced rum as well as a six box sampler of the Tortuga rum cakes. If you’ve never had these, do yourself a favor and order one online. They are made bundt style, and are absolutely delectable. I popped upstairs in one of the shops to purchase a cigar. My wallet was lightened by about 25 dollars but I had three genuine Cuban Cohiba cigars to enjoy with my brother that night. I know what you’re thinking, “He complains about spending $50.00 on snorkel equipment for his kids but spends half that on three cigars? Where are this guy’s priorities?” What can I say, I enjoy a good cigar and the opportunity to enjoy one of Cuba’s finest was not to be denied. Now here’s the part I found a bit confusing. I figured, being in another country, they’d check ID’s pretty strictly. Nope, not so much. All they wanted to see was the Key to the World card we all carried. Once we were back on the ship, adults had to show picture ID, but never once on the whole trip was I asked to show the birth certificates of the minors in my care. We probably could’ve gotten away with using Jen’s expired passport, But why tempt fate? Surely, they would examine all the paperwork closely when we returned to America. More on that later.
Back on the Magic, there was a little time to relax before getting ready for Formal Night. I mixed drinks for Jen & I while the girls put on their fancy dresses. Anya, my 12 year old, had on a strapless number & 2 inch high heels her grandmother had given her against my wishes. One glance at this beautifully maturing creature filled me with dread, as I knew I was nowhere near prepared for the teen years that lay before me. The first evidence of this concern would bear itself out before the end of the cruise. I watched the last of the tenders bring passengers & crew back on board our floating palace and we were soon under way. I remember thinking that the schedule on this trip had been kept pretty close to the numbers, but that reminded me of another oddity on board. This cruise was very schedule oriented. Things started & happened on time, with little or no exception. Yet, there were no clocks in public places. In fact, the only place I ever saw a clock, besides the one that was perpetually on my left wrist, was in the rooms, in a fancy, decorative, propeller shaped shell. This wasn’t a problem, mind you, but a simple little oddity I noticed. Onward…
Dinner was at Parrot Cay yet again. No hassle, the menu was again, extraordinary, and Jason & Liam once again cleared the bar they had already set so high. This was the night Michelle, our dining room supervisor, brought the Disney service we had been experiencing to a fine point. Jen is a big fan of chips & salsa as an appetizer for just about any meal. She had not been able to find it on the room service menu and it hadn’t appear4ed on any evening menu. Michelle came by and was chatting with us in that Australian accent I love, and Jen asked about chips & salsa. Michelle’s eyes got wide and she said no problem and hurried off. We tried to stop her, as it was toward the end of the meal and Jen was wondering about tomorrow night. Well, before you know it, Michelle came back with a covered plate, that when the cover was lifted, revealed a beautifully prepared plate of corn chips & salsa. My wife’s trip had just been made. Not only that, Michelle made sure that the same appetizer was at our table upon our arrival every night thereafter for the rest of the cruise. One may not think of chips & salsa as that big of a deal, but it was the way it was provided that left an impression on us and really personalized the Disney service that is so rightfully world renowned.
After diner, Jen & the girls decided they wanted to go see “Twice Charmed” in the Walt Disney Theater. While this looked like a great show, I told Jen that Brad & I were going to try to find somewhere on deck to enjoy a cigar. Jen kindly took our three daughters, plus their cousin Autumn to the show, while Brad & I went on a mission to find a suitable smoking place. We started out on deck 10 aft, right behind Palo, but soon took up residence on the back of deck 9, outside Topsiders. Now one of the things that we were concerned about was finding a place where we wouldn’t be around other folks, as some find cigar smoke particularly bothersome. We figured the back of deck 9 would be a good place to start. As it turns out, it was a good place to start, enjoy & finish as we didn’t see another soul on that part of the ship for nearly two hours. We did notice some senior officers enjoying dinner together in Topsiders though. The restaurant was closed but they still got the full service routine. We thought that was kind of cool, a nice perk. Oh and about the cigars, if you enjoy a cigar and haven’t tried a good, genuine Cuban, you’re missing out. Enough said about that. It was nice to catch up with Brad though. He’s a small town police chief and I’m a satellite uplink engineer. He’s a conservative republican and I’m liberal democrat. It’s a real country mouse/city mouse relationship. But we don’t see each other very often & when we do, we always find the time to enjoy a good cigar together. We returned to our respective cabins, planning to meet up in Rockin Bar D in an hour to catch the night's comedian, Ron Pearson. One thing my brother & do have in common is our love for stand up comedy. Now I'll preface this by saying I love blue comedy. Some of my favorites are guys that swear a blue streak to the moon and back, and the more uncomfortable it makes the audience, the harder I laugh. Now, having said that, Pearson worked clean and was absolutely hilarious. My wife doesn't like the swearing so much, so for her to able to enjoy the comedy with everyone was a fantastic treat. I can appreciate a comic who will work clean so that whole room, all ages included, can enjoy the fun. The evening came to a close with Brad & his family signing up for the same snorkeling excursion we were signed up for in Cozumel. I thought I might have trouble falling asleep on this trip but the rocking sea performed its magic to coin a phrase, once again.
. Anyhow, day four at Grand Cayman has now been added. Please keep enjoying and thanks again.
