12/16 - 12/26/06 Magical Trip Report

[kate2961]

Back to the story (I was down for the count due to a virus)...

We booked the Pinel Island Snorkel Tour. The water seemed a little cold and there were not many fish. Although it was from the beach which may appeal to some first-timers (that's why I chose it). My DS did not like it at all and preferred to play in the sand on the beach. We did other snorkel trips on this cruise which were better. For example, CC was from the beach and had more fish plus points of interest in the water. Also cheaper. So we would not book this one again.

 

[kate2961]

That night in the Club...

"Stitch's Great Adventure ...Stitch needs your help in trying to capture ten of his experiments." Disney was at its best again as Stitch came to the Club and my DS had an awesome time.

My DS also got some storytime with Mrs. Claus that night in the Club.

Meanwhile...

My husband and I went to see "Who Wants to be a Mouseketeer?" It was so funny and we loved the master of ceremonies - Doug. Yes, I shout, "WE LOVE DOUG." We came to learn from trial and error by going to these types of events that Doug is the master. I would love it if the Navigator would print the name of the CM in charge of each event. For us, as long as Doug is doing it, we are there. I came to learn that others feel the same way. For example, one day we heard two young girls shouting "Doug we love you" as they walked away from the ship for their excursion. I guess they wanted to be mouseketeers too.

And the envelope please...

We learned that my DS's time in the Club really allowed my DH and me to have lots of private time together which was nice since this was our so-called, by us, honeymoon after 13 (14?) years of marriage.

We were in the room relishing our aloneness when my husband whispered in my ear, "Did you remember to bring.." "Ohhhh. I knew I forgot something," I shouted. Not wanting to be to "creative" on the ship and take home more than we brought on board I decided to pay a visit to the ship's stores.

I looked around for something feminine. I found one package and picked it up, but it was for yeast infections. "Yuk. No, that's not it." And placed that back on the shelf (thankful that it wasn't). I did find some gentlemen's envelopes and picked those up. "That'll do."

I also grabbed a couple other small items. You know, to hide my purchase. I carefully placed them all down on the counter at the same time thinking this would hide what I was buying. The man (yes, a man) helped me. He s-l-o-w-l-y picked up each item and rang it up. He casually asked as he did, "So, do you have any special plans for this evening?" I think I must've turned red at that and tried to casually reply "No. Nothing special."

 

[kate2961]

Thursday, December 21, 2006

St. Lucia - Waterfall Island Bike Tour

My husband did this tour while my DS and I stayed on the ship. He loved the trip and had no trouble biking up the hill. There were some people that needed to walk up with thier bikes though. The waterfall and the swimming hole were quite nice. And the bikes and facilities were good as well. He would do this excursion again.

St. Lucia is a beautiful island. It's much greener than St. Maarten because it gets so much more rain. We were lucky today that there was none.


Hangin' with my DS...

My DS and I stayed on the ship and ...played in the Mickey pool ... played in the Goofy pool ... played Foosball ... played air hockey and other arcade games ... had lunch ... played in the Mickey pool ... played Foosball, etc. It was some good bonding time.

Yo Ho, Yo Ho...

That night was Pirate night. We all headed up on deck for the party and loved the show. The fireworks were a real treat too.

 

[kate2961]

Views from St. Lucia on the bike tour...

 

[kate2961]

Friday, December 22, 2006

We went on the 8AM Stingray Swim and Snorkel Adventure. It was fun for all of us. They took us by boat out into the middle of the water where they had a dock and a fenced in area with the stingrays. The stingrays swam around us, we got to hold them and take pictures, and we could feed them too. After the stingrays ate, they left and went to a deeper area and dug into the sandy bottom. The snorkeling was okay. If you go it is mainly for the stingrays and not the snorkeling. Time was short in the water and it seemed like we had to wait a long time for the bus to come back and get us. I would be interested in comparing this to the one offered at CC.

That night DS ate with the Club and my DH and I ate in Palo. Dinner was very nice but we felt the menu was limited for vegetarians. We prefer the atmosphere and food and California Grill. I don't think we would book dinner here again.

 

[kate2961]

Saturday, December 23, 2006

St. Thomas

We went on the Buck Island Catamaran Sail & Snorkel tour. It was great. The sail and the snorkeling. We even got to see a turtle that swam next to our boat just after we got to Buck Island. There were sunken ships and fish in the water. The only problem was the large number of other boats in the area. We would do this again.

Spa

That afternoon my DH and I did the Couples Choice. I selected the deep tissue massage and my DH opted for just a manicure. He doesn't really like all the other spa stuff and only did this to please me. We enjoyed the hot tub on the deck together. He finished first and got to sit on the deck and enjoy the steel band below while I had my massage. My son paged him from the Club and he had to leave. I finshed and enjoyed some tea and fresh fruit slices on the deck before going back to my room. While it was very nice, I would not do this again. Once was enough.


Evening
My son was exhausted and slept for awhile after my DH picked him up. He woke up and we dressed for dinner and headed out. We were getting our pictures taken in the Atrium when my DS complained of a fever. I hadn't even noticed his cheeks were red and he was hot. We left and returned to the room. It was a low grade fever and we gave him some Advil.

I went to L and let our CM's know and asked if I could just order and take it back to my room. They were extremely nice and even brought the food to our room for us. That was excellent service and we really appreciated the help.

We spent the evening in the room.

 

[kate2961]

Sunday, December 24, 2006 Christmas Eve

The Holiday Dinner was tonight. Our second and last formal evening.

My DS still had a fever during the night and the next day. I went to get us b'fast from Topsiders and lunch from Pinnochio's Pizzeria.

I met our server on Deck 9 while I was doing this and he offered to bring us food and to take care of us at dinner that evening. I thanked him but I didn't want to bother him any further.

By 5PM when it looked like the Motrin and Advil were not going to take care of the fever I finally called the ship's Dr. They said to come right down. We did and they were great. Friendly and fast service. My son was scared and they did a great job at making him feel at ease. The Dr diagnosed strep throat and gave him some antibiotics.

We ordered room service that evening and missed the Christmas meal. We are very thankful that the medicine worked right away and the fever was gone that night.

 

[PirateCutie05]

A shark in the water ....

The Club took the 5-7 year olds up to the sports deck for some fun. We weren't sure if our DS would be okay with this since it's a bit breezy up on the top deck. So we went to check on him.

I'll start off by saying that I was on the holiday cruise too! And sharks and minnows is usually played in water... I found it interesting to hear that the Magic had an "on land" version. I'm a swimmer and it would always make our day when we got to play sharks and minnows! I'm glad they adapted it on the cruise for your son to enjoy!!

 

[kate2961]

Monday, December 25, 2006 Christmas Day

My son slept without a fever and awoke to many presents from Santa. We all took guesses as to how he got into the cabin. My DH thinks it was the air ducts and my DS thinks he just used the door to the veranda. Santa even ate the cookies we left for him. (The CM's had placed cookies and chocolate by the Guest Services desk and we had grabbed some the night before for Santa.)

We were just so thankful to have him back to his healthy self.

The Dr had already given us permission to take him to CC if he felt better. We just had to keep him away from the Club for the rest of the trip.

What can we say about CC? We just loved it so much. It was the crown jewel of the trip and we all had so much fun. Disney has done a wonderful job with the island.

My DH and I snorkeled in the lagoon. The water was a little cold but we warmed up to it quickly. There were hundreds (perhaps thousands) of fish. It was great.

My DS played in the sand at the beach and Monstro Point.

My DH went on the personal watercraft tour of the island and had a super great time. He would do this again.

The day ended much too soon and we had to get back on the ship.

Once on the ship, we decided to grab our binoculars and head to deck 7 aft. We wanted to check out the Flying Dutchman. There is so much detail in the back of the boat that you can't see without binoculars. Our camera could not pick it up. Try it next time you're there.

That night we enjoyed Remember the Magic. We left halfway through because I still needed to finish packing.

The next morning was my DS's Sixth birthday. The server was great again and he brought a cake for my son. Cake for breakfast? Oh, well. Why not!?

We loved our first cruise and decided that we would like to try it again. Will we be lucky with the weather on our next trip? I don't know, but I hope so. We are now booked in the same room on the Christmas Wonder 2007. Anyone joining us?

 

[kevinsmom]

Great TR!! So glad your son was feeling better quickly!! Glad you enjoyed yourselves!!!

 

[kate2961]

thank you

i see that you are about to go on a cruise...i wish it were me


i really hope you and your boys have a magical time

 

[kevinsmom]

thanks kate!