3/27 Western was FANTASTIC!

BP10684

Earning My Ears
Joined
Apr 5, 2004
Messages
6
I've been reading the boards before our trip, but never posted until now. Thanks for all your great tips. Here's our Trip report after getting back from 3/27 Magic:

Sat 3/27 – took DCL bus from the Swan, picked up people at Ft Wildnerness, then left for port a little after Noon. Arrived about 1:25 at Port. No crowds to speak of –Boarded ship right away. DW wanted to go right to our room (7064), but based on this message board, went to get Palo reservations first thing. We were on LAPLAPL rotation-late seating. By time we got there, sea days were all booked, mainly Cozumel and Castaway Cay days were what was left. Booked 6:30PM Wed (reluctantly), checked brunch times and person in front of us took last one. Oh well….

Went to our room – had beautiful red roses and gifts for DD17 and DD13 in room, from our friend/TA. Beautiful port side mid-ship room (Cat 5) w/verandah. Went then to topsiders for lunch. Started then to get organized in the room. THANK YOU for the over-the-door shoe holder tip – fit nicely on shower room door. Also went one step further and got a closet shoe-holder (plastic) to hang on closet bar – great for water shoes, sandals, formal shoes, etc. for 4.

Then did lifeboat drill and went to Deck 10 for sail-away party (another good tip, re: viewing location). Weather was very nice – rained briefly earlier, but sunny by 4:30. DW & I took a couple lounge chairs to sit in by outer railing, had a bon voyage beverage and watched our girls join the dancing on deck 9.

Then more unpacking/organizing before 6:30 variety show – with Freddy Fusion (magic/comedy) and another impressionist/comedian (forget his name) – very good show. 8:30 dinner at Lumiere’s with Girish and Kendell – they were EXCELLENT! (Table 68 for 4) Definitely one of the high points of our cruise with their great service and personalities. Kendell did crayon “brain teaser” with our girls – had all of us going for most of dinner! I had the roast duck – wish I had the beef tips – they were great! Kind of questioned our decision to request table of 4 vs. larger table with other people, but later decided it worked out great.

Girls went to the Stack for a little while, but didn’t stay long as it was getting late and other teens seemed not to be very talkative.

Sun -Our plan for excursions was nothing for KW (did our own conch train tour), and something for GC and Coz, but hadn’t booked anything yet. Went to check at excursion deck on availability. Most of snorkeling at Stingray City (GC) was booked up (to our disappointment), but did get last 4 spots on Reef Snail & Snorkel for 8AM. (TIP: book Stingray City early). By then, rest of family was up & we had late breakfast at Topsiders. Walked off ship next to the Conch train tour excursion, so it wasn’t far to walk to get our tickets. Only waited 10 mins or so. Good tour – tour guide was funny, but it did get repetitive after awhile. Took about 90 minutes. Spent a little time near Mallory Square, shared key lime pie, KL cookie, and KL sherbet (best of the 3) among the 4 of us. Then DD17 & I went to Hemingway house while DW and DD13 went back to ship. When got back, I decided to try adult pool & hot tub. Perfect time to go (6PM) – nobody there. That night the Caribbean sunset was on Port side off our verandah, so DW & I chose that over Mallory square or the start of “Who wants to be a Mousekateer?” It was a breathtaking end to a great sunny day.

Heard that first Mousketeer contestant won free cruise for 2 – pretty sweet! Went to 7:45 cabaret show w/Freddy Fusion in Rockin Bar D – TIP: get there early – seats were pretty much filled by 7:35, so had to show it on TV in Diversions next door also! He was really good!

Dinner in Animators Palate was super! Started talking to table of 4 next to us – both of us were from Midwest, lots in common. Joked about Kendell’s crayon tricks….

DD13 & I went to Studio Sea for Family Karaoke – we sang together – lots of fun. Then went up to Deck 10 for Sailaway. Watched everyone coming back to pier to get back onboard. No real “sailaway” music, but very pleasant on deck. DD17 & DW went to Ladykillers – just OK.

Mon – Day at Sea – Signed up for Snorkeling at Chankanaab in Cozumel. Had character breakfast (Mickey, Minnie, Chip & Dale, Pluto, Goofy) – very fun. Went to Disney Vacation Club presentation, sat on Promenade Deck 4 in shade (very relaxing, not crowded, cushioned deck chairs – very nice!). DD’s tried Hip Hop class in Stack, but again seemed like nobody was dancing, so they went back to room. (They ended up having a great time on their own or with us, but never really did anything else at the Stack after that….wish Disney could improve on that). I did wine tasting that afternoon – very interesting. Gave a lot of info in short time. Head wine guy “sworded” the top off of two champagne bottles! Very impressive. Then 4 of us saw “Haunted Mansion” at 4PM. Very crowded in BV theater. Movie was better than I thought, though.

Got dressed for formal night. Golden Mickeys was EXCELLENT! – got there at the last minute – wished we got there early, as they took photos on the red carpet coming in, and had characters dressed in formal attire for pictures. Also did interviews of us “stars” that were shown live in the theater! Show was VERY good. Dinner in Parrot Cay was excellent once again – didn’t have a bad meal all week! Showed off my wine-tasting prowess at Dinner….

Tues – Family up early for 8AM Grand Cayman Reef sail and snorkel (Stingray City). This was one of the highlights of the trip for us. Water was like a picture postcard – beautiful blue and light green. Weather was perfect (80 and sunny), 65-foot catamaran left from a canal near a golf course, with beautiful homes and landscaping all around, got to sit on front of boat on some webbing near the sails! Got “prescription” goggles for DW and DD13 (only 2 they had), which was very helpful for them. DW and I have snorkeled before, but our daughters had not, so it took some time (in fairly choppy water) for them to get the hang of it. (TIP: if have young kids, don’t do this excursion unless kids stay on the boat. Water is from 6-16 feet deep, and the current forces you to swim most of the time to avoid drifting too far from the boat. Many young kids didn’t like the waves and the stingrays. Also, would help to have people at least try snorkeling once before doing this. Heard there was another Stingray City excursion that went in 3-6 feet of water – might be better for kids). The Stingrays were like pet dogs! One of crew held one up for people to “pet” and see up close. A couple times, I bumped into what I thought was another snorkeler – it was a stingray! They really are amazing creatures. Then had lemonade, water, and snacks (Doritos, Cheeze puffs, etc) on ride back – a great time!

Did a little shopping near the pier, then took tender back to ship for lunch. By then, decided not to go back on shore. Saw hair braiders had an opening, so since both DD’s were interested, they had corn row braids put in ($1/braid, $2/corn row, so it does add up) while DW & I enjoyed adult pool & hot tub.

That was Hercules Night – cute show, liked Hades, Pain, and Panic the best. Saw David DiMuzio (Juggler/comedian) at 7:45 Cabaret – Funny!! (He said he was just on Letterman for the first time recently) Dinner back at Lumiere’s was great! Our Midwest friends did the Island Tour and thought the Conch train in KW was better – Turtle farm was a bunch of turtles writhing around in a small space, rest of it was not that amazing. They wished they could just stick their feet into that beautiful blue & green ocean water. Later decided that we were having such great dinners with all 4 of us, our great servers, and our Midwest friends at the next table that we would cancel our Wed. Palo reservations & go have a nice dinner alone when we get back home. We could see why parents with young kids who rarely can “get away” for alone time would love Palos, but we’re not in that situation.

After dinner, 4 of us danced to 80’s music in Studio Sea, then DW & I hit end of 80’s show in Rockin Bar D (saw Disney dancers do “Thriller”) and hung around for some more 80’s tunes! (Charles Marshall band did great versions of Prince songs!)

Wed – Did breakfast in Parrot Cay, but heard lots of thruster activity around 9:00-10AM as we arrived in Cozumel. Did laundry, then asked Room Service for 4 PB&J’s & cookies, and finally used our Ziploc bags to take these with to Chankanaab for Noon Snorkeling excursion. (Thanks for that tip!). Were told that we could go snorkeling there right away or whenever we wanted, and that we would return on buses running every hour at half past the hour. When we arrived via “free” taxis, found out we all had to go snorkeling as group first thing, and that we’d all need to go back via taxi’s at 3:35PM, unless we saw our guide and asked for a different time! They did a little bit of a tour on the way to the “dive shop”, gave us 5 minutes to get ready (dashed to rent a locker & change), then ran through snorkeling instructions. Once we got in to water, they “guided” us around the snorkeling area. Girls got the hang of snorkeling this time. One of the “guides” had an underwater camera and took photos of people from under water with TONS of fish swimming around them – we bought them for $10 each later. We had a great time, but by time we got out of water it was after 3 and we hadn’t even eaten our lunch yet! I ran to front of park to get taxi voucher while rest of family spread our towels out on the beach for lunch. Could see dark clouds coming in over water, so after a quick lunch we changed and started walking back through “Jurassic Park-like” gardens and jungle. Took a quick detour into Mayan replica statues, and took refuge in a Mayan hut when it started pouring. (The Mayans did make good roofs on those huts!) It was a fun adventure!

When it let up, took taxi back through flooded streets. Back on ship, our deck looked out on a Celebrity cruise ship right across the pier. A woman on that ship complemented us on our beautiful roses in our stateroom! We asked when they were supposed to leave, and with that their whistle blew and they started to pull away, leaving us with a great view of Cozumel! That night they showed Hidalgo in the main theater, but we didn’t get back in time for the 5PM show (and 8:30 conflicted w/dinner). (Midwest friends said they did Bird Show and Sea Lion excursion at Chankanaab and their transportation was late, so didn’t get to show until it was almost over.) Mexicali night was a lot of fun in AP, and then we joined sailaway party on deck 9. Unfortunately, they took the Mexican buffet down right when the music ended at 11:15PML. (Like I need more food……..)

Thurs – Day at Sea – DW & I caught the Navigators series film/talk about what was done in Dry Dock last fall to Magic. Went as a family to “So You Think You Know Your Family?” game show in Diversions – didn’t get selected, but answered the questions ourselves to do our own version later! Went later to towel folding and galley tour, which was EXCELLENT-very informative! Learned a lot from the tour guide (Alde?) and got it on video so kids could see it later. (example: Didn’t know that, by law, they’re required to carry enough food for 9 days in case of port and/or itinerary changes). Took about 15-20 minutes (TIP: It’s free, but need to get tickets in advance – check Navigator). Played a little ping pong w/DW and DD17 before getting into Semi-Formal attire. Went to 6:30 Disney Dreams – another GREAT show. Saw 7:45 Cabaret show w/Michael Harrison (Ventriloquist/Comedian/Magician) – very funny! Dinner at Parrot Cay was awesome – Lobster was excellent, and lava cake made you want to wrap yourself up in it and fall asleep!!!J Kendell suggested an Italian wine that was AWESOME. We got a bottle of it and he kept it for Friday night for us – very nice!

I went briefly to 60’s night (Beatles music), then to 11:15 dessert buffet. I was still too full to have much, but it was amazing. DW and DD17 took their dessert into BV theater for “Pirates of the Caribbean”; DD13 & I finished sampling ours and went to PremEAR of “Home on the Range” at 12:01PM. Cute movie, but fell asleep during most of it….

Fri – Castaway Cay. Docked on our side (Port) Were a little late getting ready, so was worried about getting a good spot on beach. Weather was a little cloudy & cool to start with, then cleared up. The island was much better than I expected. We got a very nice, private spot under an umbrella and a palm tree, near the Serenity Bay tram station. Nice view of water, handy to bathrooms, couldn’t ask for better! DW and DD’s got changed while I got myself and conk cooler and laid back……mmmmmm……….Had a banana boat excursion reserved for Noon, but found out water on other side of ship was too choppy, so it was cancelled. No problem – we were enjoying the beach and the weather was warming up nicely. Had lunch at Cookies, then went in to water. As I stood knee-deep in water with my DD’s, an unused (i.e. “free”) innertube floated up to DD13 and bumped into her leg. 2 seconds later, another floated up to DD17! (Disney “Magic”???) Spent rest of time swimming, floating, and relaxing.

Back on ship, took some more video of ship, went to final variety show (good show, as usual), then final dinner at Lumiere’s (Seafood pasta very good, as was Celebration cake). Had to scramble to Shutters to see final pictures, last glimpse of characters (they were in Atrium about 4-5 times/day at least – with our older kids, we just took pictures if lines were short – one time (Mexican night), we saw all the Characters coming into the hallway near Shutters and walk in front of us to the elevators. They all got on one and were peering through the glass at everyone for the longest time! They are fun to see, even as adults).

Then, scrambled to get packed w/suitcases out by 11PM. We didn’t get done until 11:40, and realized that our hallway was COMPLETELY EMPTY of luggage! Our steward (Dewa) said not to worry, that he would call and take care of it. Then rushed to Mickey’s Mates before Midnight to get a sweatshirt I wanted!

Sat – Glad we had “late” 8AM breakfast seating! Lots of people in Atrium waiting to debark. We had nice breakfast, sat on Promenade deck for awhile, then leisurely walked off after last announcement to get off the ship. Had later flight (5PM), so rented a day room at Hyatt (thanks again to these boards for that tip!).

Overall, an AWESOME trip – we all wish we were still on the ship. Let me know if you have any questions we could answer!

(Some movies shown on board: Hidalgo, Ladykillers, Miracle, Brother Bear, Pirates of the Caribbean, Cold Mountain, Finding Nemo, Home on the Range, Confessions of a Teenage Drama Queen, Haunted Mansion.)
 
Thanks for posting. It sounds like a great time.
Makes me more anxious to go!!:Pinkbounc
 
WOW - Sounds like you did a ton of things! Hope you had time to relax!

Thanks for the great trip report!
 
Very nice trip report....we had Girish last January and loved him!!!!

MJ
 

Thanks for the report. I'm starting to get very excited about our cruise that is coming up!
 
We've been on both the 3 & 4 Day Wonder Cruises & loved the Deck Party on Nassau Night before sailaway. Do they do it the same way on the 7 day Western when they leave Key West? Can't wait!! Cathie & The Gang :boat: :jumping1:
 
Wow, great report. I swear, my days are not flying by. I'M NEVER GOING TO GET THERE! UGH!
Thanks for posting.
 
I enjoyed reading your report. Thank you for posting. I can't wait until my turn.:sunny:
 
Glad you had a great time. Thanks for posting. It's making me anxious for our May 22 Western cruise. :Pinkbounc :Pinkbounc :Pinkbounc
 
Cathie - For us on 7-day western, Cozumel night was big sailaway party on deck.

Tink - Re: Hyatt, we didn't have a reservation - just walked up to front desked and asked. (probably wouldn't hurt to reserve though - they're good until 6pm and rate we got was $75 - a little pricey, but we considered it our "day spa":)

And though it does sound like we did a lot, we did some resting and relaxing at different times, too. But many days I'd wake up early thinking about all the fun things to do and couldn't sleep if I tried!:)
 
"lava cake made you want to wrap yourself up in it and fall asleep"--Probably the BEST quote I've read since I've been on these boards.:tongue:
I know I have read this, but when do you book the banana boats for Castaway Cay?
 
Terrific report. I prefer Eastern or Southern route, but you made the Western sound great. The photo op before Golden Mickeys sounds cute.
 
What an outstanding report!

And again, what I smiled most about was your comment about your servers!

I can't emphasize enough the importance of good servers and we always request ours on each cruise! Like being with family!

Rae
 
Hughie - We booked Banana boat excursion at Shore Excursions desk. I think you can book these in advance via DCL website just like other excursions.
 
BP10684 - Thanks for the detailed report. I love reading people's descriptions of their activities on the ship and on their excursions. Doesn't sound like you guys were too rush and did lots of different things. We're doing the 7 day western next year and my biggest fear is not having enough time to check things out. Now I know why people book another cruise so quickly :D
 
Great report...... Just wondering, we're considering a 4 day cruise next year and our DD's will be 14 & 17 then. Did your teenagers enjoy it or would they rather have spent time in the parks? Any advice would be appreciated.... thanks!
 
WDWorld2003 - Our girls both LOVED our cruise and thought it was the best VACATION they'd been on...period! Now, that may be because it's the most recent - I don't know. It was their first cruise for both. They've both been to the parks multiple times, and we all went to Epcot for a day before the cruise and loved that too. I wish the teen program on DCL would have been more attractive to them, but that just meant we got to do more stuff as a family or they could do stuff on their own, which isn't a bad deal! They were not sitting around wondering what to do, by any means! And they both said they enjoyed the cruise more than the parks!

The parks are great also. But it definitely takes a higher energy level, for the additional walking, standing in the heat, etc. Maybe for 4 days it wouldn't be a big deal. For us, I think we all felt the cruise was a more relaxing and enjoyable pace for a week, with fewer blisters:)

Hope this helps!
 

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