3 Sept, 2005 - Magic Eastern

[tekmnky]

Friday, 2 Sep – Travel to Port. Flew into MCO, arrived around 3:30 pm - just in time to get drenched by a passing storm. I had reserved a Mustang from Budget to get to WDW and over to Port Canaveral and the rental process was smooth and painless. The painful part was trying to stuff my oversized suitcase and suit bag into the trunk of the Mustang! After much pushing and shoving I gave up and left just the suitcase in the trunk and stuck the suit bag in the back seat (no mean feat in itself!). I had heard horror stories about gas shortages in and around Orlando so was concerned that it might be hard to find gas to top off the tank when I turned in the rental at Cape Canaveral, but some of the locals assured me there would be no problem finding gas (they were right). The price was right at $2.89/gal for unleaded. After checking in at Shades of Green I spent the evening at MK and then crashed in anticipation of the Cruise on Saturday.

Saturday, 3 Sep – Embarkation. Attire was Cruise Casual and the floor show was the “Welcome Aboard” variety show. Woohoo! Cruise day!!! Left Orlando around 9:50 and got to the port around 11:00, dropped off the bags for the porters to sling aboard and headed for the Budget office in Cape Canaveral. The rental car turn-in was smooth in spite of the fact that there was a crush of Carnival cruisers that had just cleared the port (late) and were trying to pick up their rentals and get outta town. Back at the port, the line to check in was pretty long (both the Castaway Club and the regular line), but it moved pretty well. By the time I finished with check-in I was able to walk right aboard – the only delay was getting through the embarkation photo area (the papparazzi had to make us all famous!). The staterooms weren’t quite ready so rather than drag my carryon (filled with a twelve-pack of Mountain Dew as “wake-up juice”), I set up camp in the midship elevator lobby to wait for my bunk. Some of those Repo folks must have left a mess, or the deck 7 hosts/hostesses were worn out after 14 days, ‘cuz the midship rooms on 7 weren’t released till about 1:15. Found my room (not too difficult since it was only three doors down the hall), changed into “tropical” attire and headed up topside. Walked deck 9 and 10 a few times just to get into shipboard mode and check out the other cruisers and then headed for the DIS meet at the Promenade Lounge. What a turnout and what a huge surprise! This was the first cruise I had been on since joining the DISboards and I was totally astonished at the effort that was put into the preparation for the cruise by this group of DISers! Name tags (we’re talking printed, plastic-encased, pin-on name tags, not those stick on “HI! MY NAME IS” jobs), t-shirts for the kids, photo albums for the kids…just an amazing amount of work done and shared with the whole group! Met some truly incredible folks that I had been reading posts from over the past several weeks and made some fast friends (thanks JanDave and Salbythec and DH for inviting me to join your table at dinner time- I had a blast with you!!!)! The DIS meet broke up just before “abandon ship” practice and then regrouped somewhat afterwards on secret seven. This didn’t last too long ‘cuz most of the folks wanted to go up top for the “Sail Away” celebration.

The floor show for the evening in the Walt Disney Theater was the “Welcome Aboard” variety show with David DiMuzzio (juggling) and Rich Purpura (magic). I passed it up in favor of getting the stuff out of my suitcases and into the drawers and closet. I was on the PLA dining rotation with late seating (I had requested this rotation through DCL prior to boarding as suggested by DIS posters ‘cuz I wanted to be in Lumiere’s for Formal night on Sunday, our first at-sea day). At JanDave’s and Salbythec’s invitiation I had gone to Guest Services and asked to have my table assignment changed to their table. They had specifically requested Plamen as the Server for the table and it was a wise choice – he was great, as was the Assistant Server, Putu. The Head Server (never saw him serve any heads to anyone – must have been a non-cannibalistic cruise) was John and he, too, was fun, warm and friendly. Parrot Cay is not my favorite dining room, but my tablemates made the dinner meal a great time. We ate and chatted and I think we were one of the last couple of tables to leave the room. As always along the Gulf Stream, there was some chop in the sea so we did some bobbing and weaving during and after dinner, but it wasn’t extreme. I like to walk the open decks after dinner and then go back to the room and sit on the verandah for a spell before hitting the bunk for the night. That little bit of “slip and slide” as the ship moves down the coast tends to rock me to sleep and reminds me that I’m actually SAILING on the MAGIC!

Sunday, 4 Sep – At sea. Formal night and the floor show was “The Golden Mickeys”. Started the day with breakfast at Topsider’s (gotta love those Mickey waffles!). For me, one of the best things to do on at-sea days is *NOTHING*. Get up late, eat breakfast at my leisure and loaf around the decks, hang out by the pools, snack on everything available and just relax. Against my better judgement I did try a little gambling. I have to preface this item by saying that I have no luck at all when it comes to gambling. If I go to a casino it’s only to contribute to the local economy. So, I wanted to see if my luck would change (considering that I was on the MAGIC and magic is exactly what it would take to let me win anything). I went to the SPA Bingo session. I bought the $35 dollar JUMBO Pack (figuring it might help me win since it’s double the number of bingo cards for each game). I lost every game – not even close. BUT, I won a door prize in the raffle…a $15 Rainforest day pass. I can look at this two ways – I either lost $35 at bingo and won a door prize; or I paid $35 for a $15 Rainforest pass. I’m not much of a metro-sexual male, so I didn’t get around to using the pass (despite encouragement from my tablemates to give it a try). I thought about trying to use it as a lure to attract some female attention my way, but decided that probably wasn’t a very good idea since the overwhelming majority of females in my age group on the cruise were either someones’ wife, fiancee or girlfriend. Deflated from my bingo experience, I went back to relaxing by the pool and shuffling back and forth between the soda station and the Quiet Cove area. Lunch was a Pluto’s Dog House cheeseburger w/fries.

The floor show for Sunday was “The Golden Mickeys” and I had seen it before on WONDER, but this was a different cast and since I enjoyed the show on WONDER, I attended. I went back to the room and got all tux’d up and headed for Walt Disney Theater. I managed to sneek past Rona Rivers who was working the red carpet and got a good seat in the center of the upper seating section. After the show I stopped in at Shutters to check on the embarkation photos. The camera is not my friend so those pictures went straight to the confetti machine. By then it was time to join my tablemates for dinner in Lumiere’s. My favorite dinner venue of the three dining rooms, Lumiere’s was elegant, as usual, and the meal was fantastic (beef tenderloin that melts in your mouth). My dessert choice was a “White Chocolate Dome” and if you haven’t tried it, you’re missing out on something really good. I think the five of us at the table pretty much closed the dining room again. What can I say…when you’re having good food and good conversation you don’t want it to end.

To be continued...(see posts #5 and #10)

 

[Dreamer04]

Great trip report, so far!

 

[JanDave]

Bill: Keep on writing! You're bringing back great memories of our cruise. We did have a great table for dinner, didn't we?

Jan

 

[4formickey]

Jan and dave weclome home!

 

[tekmnky]

The story continues...

Monday, 5 Sep – At sea. Attire was Cruise Casual and the evening floorshow was “Twice Charmed.” Got the day started off right with another buffet breakfast at Topsider – opted for an omelet to introduce a change of pace to the meal. After breakfast, it was more of my favorite “at sea” activity – lounging, dipping in the pool and snacking, at will. I attended the Future Cruise Presentation in hope of getting the skinny on 2007 plans, but nothing was forthcoming. Jocelyn said the 2007 stuff probably wouldn’t be out for a couple more months. I did note that the new 10 and 11-day Southern Caribbean cruises don’t qualify for an onboard-booking discount, but they do still have a stateroom credit. I also attended the DVC sales presentation – very well done, I might add. One of our DISers (Salbythec) testified on the benefit of ownership. I’ve gotta say, if I was half of a young or middle-aged couple with a family or with plans for a family, or just several years younger as a solo, I would jump on DVC faster than you could see it. It appears to me to be a great program!
I quit dipping and sunning late in the afternoon to attend the Castaway Club Members reception. Lots of returning guests were there as well as the Captain and members of the crew. More free food, free foofoo drinks and a beautiful ice sculpture. It pays to be a returning guest!

Shortly after the CC reception was the evening performance of “Twice Charmed” (as a side note: there were matinee performances of “The Golden Mickeys,” “Twice Charmed” and “Disney Dreams” at 2:00 pm on the days of the evening/nighttime shows). It was a fun show with a quirky plot and I thoroughly enjoyed it…still, I miss “Hercules, The Muse-ical” as it is one of my favorite Disney cruise shows.

The dinner rotation had me in Animator’s Palate with my raucous tablemates. That dining room still fascinates me every time I see it. Since I loved the beef tenderloin from Lumiere’s the night before, I made a special request for it in AP (which Plamen graciously honored). After more great food and entertaining conversation with my tablemates and the serving staff, I headed for the “60’s Dance Party” at Rockin’ Bar D. Only stayed a little while and then swapped the slacks and shirt for board shorts and spent an hour or so at the Quiet Cove hot tub with my tablemates and a couple of other cruisers. Then it was time to go back to the stateroom, pack my backpack for Tuesday’s excursion at St. Maarten and relax on the verandah for a while.

Tuesday, 6 Sep – Docked at Philipsburg, St. Maarten. Attire was Pirate or Tropical and the evening entertainment was movie night showing “Valiant” along with the “Pirates IN the Caribbean” party. Grabbed a quick buffet breakfast and went ashore with the “French Riviera Beach Rendezvous” excursion. The bus ride from where we were docked in Philipsburg on the Dutch side of the island over to Orient Beach on the French side was quick and comfortable. The views were pretty spectacular and the narration was informative. We were dropped off at Waikiki Bar and Restaurant, one of several bars along Orient Beach. Included with the price of the excursion was a comfortable, padded chaise lounge (and for an extra $3 you could keep the beach umbrella that was already in place between the lounge chairs), a free punch drink (alcoholic or non-alcoholic, your choice) and lunch. The water was warm, the sun was hot and the day was fine. I drifted back and forth between the chaise and the ocean for a couple of hours before walking off down the beach to explore a little. Orient beach is “top-optional” and there were a few topless ladies lounging and swimming adjacent to our little Disney-sponsored excursion area. For those with an interest in these kinds of things, the area at the opposite end of the beach from our area is the Club Orient nudist resort. For purely academic and exploratory purposes, I strolled down to that area. Yup, it was a nudist resort.

The buses picked us up at 2:00 pm to go back to the pier. We were given the opportunity to exit the bus in the shopping district of Philipsburg with the proviso that we would have to make our own way back to the pier from the shopping district. Piece of cake. There were taxicabs and water taxis available for $3 to get everyone back to the ship. I jumped off the bus to look around the shopping district. Being of the opinion from my various travels that if you’ve seen one island nation pier-side shopping area…you’ve seen them all, I was pleasantly surprised. The area was clean with wide sidewalks. There were trees and benches along the sidewalks, and no one hawking their products. I hung around, just soaking up the laid-back atmosphere until it was time to make a dash back to the ship.

Back aboard ship, I relaxed until time for dinner. I was fortunate enough to have scavenged a reservation at PALO for the evening. I had tried to book on-line, but everything was gone. So, as soon as I boarded the ship on Saturday I sprinted for the onboard reservations desk. The only seating they could offer that fit my schedule was Tuesday night @ 8:30 (convenient that it matched my normal dining time). Unfortunately, it also prevented participating to any degree in the “Pirates IN the Caribbean” party. Such are the choices we’re forced to make! I arrived at PALO to find Salbythec and DH, two of my normal dining rotation tablemates, waiting to be seated. They thoughtfully invited me to join them at their table, which I accepted, and we spent the entire time talking, eating and chatting with our server, Anne-Marie, who they had specifically requested. Anne-Marie is a fantastic lady who really knows her way around the food at PALO. We didn’t leave the restaurant until after 11:00 pm (we just barely caught a glimpse of the fireworks from the “Pirates” party through the window). The food was delicious, the company fun and the service extraordinary – well worth the $10 per person extra charge. Being the party animal that I am (and since I had invested $7 or $8 dollars in putting together a pirate costume) I went back to my stateroom, transformed into a pirate and headed back to Deck 9. Got there just in time to see…nothing…the party was over. Arrrrrgh! Guess the pirate garb will have to wait for the next cruise. So, I skulked away to bed.

Wednesday, 7 Sep – Docked at Charlotte Amalie, St. Thomas, USVI. Attire was Cruise Casual and the evening floor show was the “Rock ‘n’ Roll Comedy of Gary DeLena. This day gets off to a rough start for “non-morning” folks like me. Gotta be in the Walt Disney Theater *wa-a-a-y* too early to clear Customs and Immigration. But it moves pretty quickly and I’m outta there in plenty of time to grab some breakfast before my excursion on St. Thomas. I had signed up for the “Blackbeard’s Hill & Walking Tour” and it starts with a 40-minute ride through the narrow, winding streets of St. Thomas. One of the biggest surprises I got out of this excursion was discovering that even though St Thomas is a territory of the US, it retained the British style of driving on the left side of the road – but using US-design cars and trucks. Just watching the open-air buses trying to negotiate the streets was entertaining, in itself. Our driver gave a very interesting and informative narrative of the island during the ride up to Blackbeard’s Hill, including a couple of stops at scenic points along the way. One stop was overlooking the gorgeous Magen’s Beach and a second stop was an incredible view of the city of Charlotte Amalie and St Thomas harbor. It was during this tour that I heard the first noise about Tropical Storm Ophelia. The driver mentioned that there was a storm sitting just off the coast of Florida and three more potential fronts had just moved off the African coast…great news – NOT!

The walking tour provided exercise in the form of visiting some of the historical homes dating back to the early 1800’s. It gave some true insight into how the people of the island lived in the 19th century. The tour took us through several homes built into the side of the hill and down the “99 steps” (which is actually 102 steps) from the top of Blackbeard’s Hill to the bottom. The tour was advertised to allow a stop for shopping along the pier, but that turned out to be not quite true. If you wanted to shop, you were on your own to find a taxi back to the ship. If you didn’t want to shop, you could take the open-air bus back to the ship. I at least wanted to look around, so I opted to find my own ride back to the ship. Now, once again, I am of the mind set of “seen one…seen ‘em all” and in the case of St. Thomas, I felt justified in that mind set. It wasn’t ugly, by any means, but it was pretty much the typical dockside narrow streets with narrow sidewalks and lurking hawkers. No doubt, there are plenty of bargains to be found, but the shopping district just wasn’t as picturesque as Philipsburg, St. Maarten. Getting a taxi back to the ship was more difficult than I had expected. MAGIC was docked at the new pier at Crown Bay. It’s still under construction and looks like it will be a beautiful facility when finished, but for now, it’s on the opposite side of town from the cruise ship pier where Havensight Mall is located. Add to that the fact that there were three cruise ships docked at the cruise ship pier and you have the situation where few of the taxis wanted to go in the opposite direction of all the cruise ship activity towards the lonely (but majestic) MAGIC down at Crown Bay. The taxi fare is supposedly government regulated, but it would appear from my experience that the regulation occurs on an hourly adjustment schedule based on the direction of travel. I heard some outrageous tales of “taxi terrorism” and found, myself, that the rate went from $3-4 per person going into town up to $5 per person going back from town to MAGIC.

I finally made it back to the ship and spent the late afternoon at the Quiet Cove pool. I decided to try Topsider’s for dinner since I had never eaten an evening, sit-down meal there. I hated to miss the table conversation with my usual tablemates, but I wanted to try all the different evening dinner venues and I was running out of chances. After dinner I hit Rockin’ Bar D for “Time Warp – A Celebration of the 80’s”. I had seen this show on the WONDER and loved it, so I was looking forward to seeing it again on the MAGIC. After the show, I folded up my tent and headed for the stateroom, verandah and bed. This cruise was coming towards an end much too quickly to suit me!


To be continued...(see post #10)

 

[E&BMom]

Love your report so far!!!! Can't wait for the rest!!!!!!

 

[gdulaney]

Hi Bill!!

Love your trip report. How was Topsiders for dinner?

Ginny

 

[tekmnky]

Hi Ginny! I've been following your trip report, as well. Fun reading - keep it coming! I can't wait for the next installment!

Topsiders was good for dinner - the food was fine, but to be perfectly honest, I wouldn't pass up a seating at the regular rotation dining rooms for it again. If I had other things going that would interfere with my regular dining time, I'd go ahead and eat at Topsiders, but I prefer the three dining rooms!

 

[gdulaney]

Hi Ginny! I've been following your trip report, as well. Fun reading - keep it coming! I can't wait for the next installment!

Topsiders was good for dinner - the food was fine, but to be perfectly honest, I wouldn't pass up a seating at the regular rotation dining rooms for it again. If I had other things going that would interfere with my regular dining time, I'd go ahead and eat at Topsiders, but I prefer the three dining rooms!

Andy wanted to do Topsiders on Sunday night, but I was able to convince him that to do AP, since we only get the "show" the first night. But knowing that the food is tasty is a big help for the future.

Thanks!!!
Ginny

 

[tekmnky]

Thursday, 8 Sep – At sea. Attire was Semi-formal and the evening floorshow was “Disney Dreams”.

Ah-h-h-h-h! A day at sea with no reason to get up early and that meant I could sleep in and recover from that early-morning wakeup on Wednesday in St. Thomas! But I did miss Mickey’s voice waking me up “Huh-Huh. Time to go. We’ve got lots of fun things planned for you today!” (or something to that effect – normally I’m too groggy when I wake up to remember the exact words). I managed to roll out of the bunk, shower, pull on my cargo shorts, t-shirt and loafers and still make it to Topsider’s for some breakfast. There was some motion in the ocean on Thursday thanks, in part, to Ophelia’s Atlantic coastline dance, and it turned the Quiet Cove pool into a wave pool! The water would slosh from one end of the pool over the lip and up against the pool-surrounds at the other end and then back again. Cool!!! I spent most of the day riding the waves at Quiet Cove. And everyone was doing the “drunk man walking” thing when trying to negotiate the decks and hallways.

Evening attire was Semi-formal and I fudged a bit. I hadn’t brought a suit or sport coat, only the tux, so it did double duty, formal and semi-formal. I got all tux’d out and staggered down to Walt Disney Theater for the “Disney Dreams” show. Again, I’d seen it on WONDER, but wanted to see it done by MAGIC’s cast – besides, it’s a fun show to watch, everytime. I imagine it was especially challenging for the cast since the ship kept trying to move out from under them. I think Thursday might have seen a few people turning a little green and regretting what they’d eaten on Wednesday night. Dinner rotation had us in AP, and two of my tablemates had opted to try Topsider’s for dinner, as I had on Wednesday night. So it was me, Salbythec and DH at dinner and it was LOBSTER night (I’m not going to mention names, but ONE of the parties at the table ordered TWO tails, and it weren’t me! LOL). After more good food and more fun conversation at dinner I headed back to the stateroom to get out of the penguin suit and back into “normal” clothing. I stepped into Rockin’ Bar D to check out the “70’s Dance Party”, but since I didn’t like 70’s disco much when I was living in the era, I didn’t stay and listen very long. Besides, it was too much fun trying to see how many steps I could take in a straight line up on Deck 9. I saw more than a few people having intimate encounters with the support poles during the day and night on Thursday.

Friday, 9 Sep – Docked at Castaway Cay. Attire was Cruise Casual and evening floorshow was the “Farewell Variety Show” with Gary Delena (music/comedy) and Freddy Fusion (magic). During the day on Thursday the Captain had announced that he had requested a tug to be standing by at Castaway Cay to help bring the ship in on Friday, if needed. He wanted to do everything possible to make sure we got to Castaway Cay. As it was, we docked into a squally day at Castaway. I actually sat inside Topsider’s at breakfast on Friday. I tried going out on deck, but just as I walked through the doors a squall came through and watered down my orange juice, so I went back inside. Rachel, the CD, announced that all the water excursions were cancelled for the day. Bummer! I’ve been trying for three cruises to parasail at Castaway Cay and everytime the excursion has been cancelled for weather! I thoroughly understand the reasons and appreciate DCL’s concern for the safety of the passengers…it’s just FRUSTRATING!

After breakfast I headed for the gangway and people were bunched up there, not wanting to venture out into the wind and rain. I figured, “I’m dressed in my board shorts and a t-shirt, I’m headed for the beach where I will most likely spend most of the morning in the ocean, so what’s a little rain going to hurt” and I bulled my way through the crowd and out into the squall. I walked up to the Palm Central Station tram stop to catch the tram to Serenity Bay (too lazy to walk the whole distance). It was about 10:30 and the chaises and umbrellas were already filling up a good ways down the beach inspite of the weather. I grabbed a chaise and headed for the water…a tad bit cooler than the water at St. Maarten, but still very warm. A shower would appear every once in awhile and we even got to watch a waterspout dance around a thousand or so yards away. By mid-afternoon the squalls blew out and the wind settled down, but I was ready to head back to the ship to start the *UGH* packing. Even after I got back to the ship I procrastinated the rest of the afternoon because PACKING meant the cruise was over and I wasn’t ready for it to end! I skipped the floorshow for the evening to make some headway with the suitcases and then met my tablemates at Parrot Cay for dinner. The food was still great, the conversation still fun and JanDave presented me with a copy of the Pirate Night menu that I had missed due to my PALO ressie. The serving staff put on their farewell parade through the dining room and we hooted and hollered for Plamen, Putu and John, we ate our desserts and then said our goodbyes, well-wishes and hopes to sail together again, soon. After dinner we all agreed that the Pub Night show was not to be missed, but I still had to put the final touches on my *UGH* packing. I sprinted to the stateroom, threw the rest of the stuff in my bags and ran back to Diversion’s for the Pub Night show. Got there just in time to see Jan of JanDave fame doing a jackhammer high-side-step dance! The party was rockin’. I won’t go into detail about the show ‘cuz I don’t want to spoil it for future cruisers. But this is most definitely a “DON’T MISS” show. I was rolling on the floor and holding my sides. After the show it was time to bed down for the last time this cruise…and I dreamt that I was an undertaker. You’ll understand when you see the show. “21 or Bust”.

Saturday, 10 Sep – Docked at Port Canaveral. Attire was “I don’t wanta get off the ship” casual and the floor show was me kicking and screaming. Got up, threw the last couple of items into my carry-on and joined the throng debarking the ship. I hate long goodbyes as much as I hated leaving the ship, so I got off and out of the terminal as quickly as possible, before I changed my mind and tried to stow away for the next sailing. Picked up the bags and cleared Customs in no time at all, caught the shuttle over to Budget and picked up my rental and hit the road for WDW. I like to get in a last ride on my favorites at a couple of the parks before I head for home so I try to fly out the day after the cruise – it serves to kinda wean me from the mouse and the excitement of the cruise (and the disappointment that it’s over). I was parked in the MGM Studios lot by 9:30 and after riding Tower of Terror and Rockin’ Roller Coaster I headed for Shades of Green to check in. Put my bags down and split for EPCOT to get a Mission: Space fix. I spent some time (and money) at Downtown Disney and then back to Shades of Green for room service and bedtime.

Sunday, 11 Sep – Checked out and headed for MCO, turned in the Budget rental and caught my flight home. The cruise is over and now I have to somehow survive until I can do it again! How am I ever gonna make it to next year????

 

[E&BMom]

Thanks for the great report!!!!! I loved reading it. Hopefully on your next DCL you can parasail.

 

[mc'smommy]

Just wondering if you had rough seas heading back into Port Canaveral on Friday night ?

 

[tekmnky]

Just wondering if you had rough seas heading back into Port Canaveral on Friday night ?

I don't remember it being any rougher than the normal chop associated with the Gulf Stream - maybe a little bit. It was pretty breezy, though, and I think that was partially due to Ophelia.

 

[tekmnky]

Thanks for the great report!!!!! I loved reading it. Hopefully on your next DCL you can parasail.

Thanks for the comments! I keep booking that parasailing excursion for every cruise...eventually, I'll get to actually do it! Pixie dust, pixie dust, pixie dust.

 

[tekmnky]

Great trip report, so far!

Thanks for the comment. Hope it entertains or informs!

 

[tekmnky]

Bill: Keep on writing! You're bringing back great memories of our cruise. We did have a great table for dinner, didn't we?

Jan

Yup, we had a great table and meeting everyone at the table and the DIS meet definitely made for some great memories; not to mention the food, the ship, the ports of call, the characters, the food, the CMs, the weather, the excursions, the food and all the other cruisers onboard. Did I mention the food?

 

[E&BMom]

For your next cruises!!!!!!

 

[DisneyNutMary]

Great Trip Report
I really enjoyed reading about your experiences.
I'm sorry we didn't get to meet, but I was so busy with my kids at the DIS Meet, helping them find their friends, that I didn't meet many of the adults.
All in all it was a great cruise with great weather.

 

[tekmnky]

Great Trip Report
I really enjoyed reading about your experiences.
I'm sorry we didn't get to meet, but I was so busy with my kids at the DIS Meet, helping them find their friends, that I didn't meet many of the adults.
All in all it was a great cruise with great weather.

DisneyNutMary,

Sorry I didn't get to meet you at the DISmeet. Glad you had a great cruise...and maybe we'll get a chance to meet again on a future cruise! Thanks for your comments on the trip report. It was fun to re-live the cruise while putting the report together!

 

[only1t]

Great report!
We are also going on the eastern cruise. We are renting a car at Budget and going directly to MGM Studios and we want to get there ASAP. Did you have breakfast the last morning? What time did you leave the ship?