mmouse37
DCL Diva!!
- Joined
- Jun 29, 2001
- Messages
- 34,907
Hey everyone...finally getting around to typing the trip report from th 5/17 cruise!!!
Cast of Characters: Me, hubby, DD19 (plus her friends 18 & 19), DS18, DD15, our friends and their two little ones DS3 and DS7mos. 5/17 was my birthday so at 3:30 am my family sang Happy Birthday to me which started things off to a great start. We have a CD of Mickey Birthday Songs and a family tradition of blaring this one birthday song on the morning of each of our birthdays. My family did not disappoint....it is a song that stays in your head all day. If anyone else has this CD they know what I am talking about!!!
We had to leave our house at 4:00 am so needless to say no one really got any sleep the night before. We flew the new Song airline from JFK to MCO on Saturday morning at 7:00 am which got us into MCO at 10:10. We were a bit nervous since this service only started the week before. I am happy to report that everything went better than expected. The seats were roomier with more leg room, were leather and the staff was very charming and engaging. The best part was they boarded on time and left on time!!! They have a menu that they pass around if you want food, but we just had the complimentary beverages.
Serge from yourride.net met us at the baggage claim area and helped us load our 12 bags for 11 people (pretty good, huhh!!!) into the trailer attached to the van. We needed to stop for babyfood and unfortunately Serge brought us to a gas station convenience store. We tried to explain that we really needed a supermarket, and after one other failed stop at another convenience store I directed him to the Winn-Dixie across from Ron Jon's. Because of the delays in looking for baby food and wine we did not get to the port until about 12:30 or so. Serge had to rush back to the airport for his next pickup which I believe was another DIS family...if he was late in getting you, I apologize!!
This is the first time we have checked in the Port so late. I knew most everyone would have boarded by this time but was quite surprised to see all the check-in lines about 10 people deep. We picked the shortest line, but of course it did not move very quickly. People who got on lines around us all seemed to get to the counter before us. I think a lot had to do with many people not filling in their documents before hand. This really slows down the line so keep that in mind. After waiting about 45 minutes to check in we finally were walking under those beautiful Mickey ears. We were welcomed aboard by the cruise staff. Now, this is our 8th DCL cruise and we always see familiar faces....this time we did not!!! I looked all around but saw all new smiling faces!! A lot of the cruise staff has changed but we did manage to find some old friends later at the sailaway party. Never got to meet up with any Dis'ers at the sailaway but I was constantly on the lookout for lime green Mickey stickers!!
We headed to Parrot Cay for lunch and there was hardly anyone there. I guess most everyone had eaten and left already. It felt a bit strange. Anyway the food was great as always and we soon headed to our rooms. We had 3 cabins booked on a Cat 11 GTY. When we checked in at the port we found out our cabin numbers and I foolishly got very excited thinking we had been upgraded to veranda rooms....imagine my surprise and shame after I had told everyone that we had verandas to find out we in fact had Cat 11's which are inside cabins....after the initial shock and let down we adjusted and unpacked. I felt really bad getting everyone's hopes up!! We had cabins 6045, 6051 and 6053. Our room 6045 was very warm all week even with the temp turned to the coolest setting. The other cabins seemed fine. My DD19 and her friends shared a cabin, our friends had a cabin with their little ones and hubby, I and DD15 and DS18 shared a cabin. The Cat 11's definately have less storage space than the Cat 9's that we have had previously. I do not think I will ever book a Cat 11 again. I really was messed up without natural light coming in. I had forgotten my illuminated clock so I never knew what time it was when I woke up. Our room host was Mario and he was very good. After he learned that we have sailed so many times, he said he was challenged to make us new towel animals that we had never seen before. I am happy to say he did an outstanding job!!!
After we unpacked we went to sign the 7 mos old up for Flounders...there was only one other mom in there and my friend was able to get all the nights she wanted. We then went to OC to sign up the 3 year old. We did not do Palo this trip. My friend was too beat to head up to the spa for any appointments but she checked in later in the week and was able to secure a massage and a manicure...so don't give up hope if you don't make it up to the spa on the first day. This time our safety drill was outside on Deck 4 on the shady side at muster station F. After putting away all the vests IT WAS TIME TO PARTY AT THE SAILAWAY!!!
The weather was glorious and the cruise staff is so awesome in getting everyone in the party mood. Finally found some familiar faces on the cruise staff and said hello. We danced and had our first tropical drinks of the cruise. A great time was had and we stayed until the end. Everyone was a bit frazzled and tired at this point considering we were all up almost 24 hours. We headed back to our cabins for a bit of a rest until the show at 6:30. The rest of the group went to the show but I stayed back and tried to organize the cabin a bit better, not an easy task!! Drink of the day was the Sea Breeze $3.50 and consisted of Vodka, Cranberry, Grapefruit juices.
After a refreshing shower we all headed to dinner to meet our servers for the week. We had late seating were at a table for 10 in the back of the restaurants...not my favorite area, but it was fine. We had tables 36 & 37 together to make 10. Our servers were Sunil from India and Edwin from the Phillipines...both were good but Edwin needs a bit more experience. Their personalities were great and we laughed quite a bit during the week. As I mentioned today was my birthday so our servers brought me out a cake and sang happy birthday to me. My friends who were onboard the week before had arranged to have a beautiful birthday basket sent to our cabin which had a great autograph pluto and party hats in it with a birthday mug and birthday keychain. I made everyone wear the party hats and we all celebrated my special day...than you Laura and Bobby!!
The adults took a stroll along deck 10 after dinner and the teens headed to the various clubs. DD15 headed to the 411 in Common Grounds and the older teens went to find some music and dancing in Rockin Bar D. We turned in about midnight or so...it felt so good to be back on the Magic!!!
Sun - At sea
I am always the first one up and this cruise was no exception. It was even more difficult to get anyone up because the room was so dark. I gave up and got myself dressed while all the sleeping beauties were still in bed. I went up to have a cup of tea up on deck and I secured a table and chairs near the Mickey pool for our base of operations for the day. Met our friends for breakfast and met up with the teens a bit later. Basically we just hung around the pools all day and warmed our bones in the sun. NY has been unseaonably chilly all year and it felt good to have the sun on our backs. I think we did Bingo this day as well...we did so many sessions of Bingo that I cannot keep track.
Anyone who has sailed DCL in the last year or so knows that Robin from Austrailia used to be the Bingo King. Well, sorry to say that Robin has since left DCL and Big John from Wales is now the Bingo King with Andrea as his Bingo bunny. They are very funny together and John is a super host. He gave us all lessons on Wales during the week and was quite entertaining.
Just wanted to add to the above that Saturday and Sunday nights were the regular rotation menus in the restaurants with Saturday night dress as casual, and Sunday night dress semi-formal. The entertainer tonight was Michael Harrison a ventriloquist and he was very funny. The show tonight was Hercules. After dinner we all got our boogie shoes on for the 50's Rock & Roll party in Rockin Bar D. Be aware that these shows do not start until about 11:00 so take a nap in the afternoon to make sure you attend these. They are tons of fun. The cruise staff all dress up in costume and interact with each other and the guests....lots of nostalgic fun!! Sunday's drink of the day was Cool Breeze, $3.50 and consisted of Vodka, Peach Schnapps, Cranberry juice and Sprite.
Mon - At sea
Well, this was pretty much a repeat of Sunday...we just love the sea days....can stay out late the night before and not feel rushed in the morning. I again got up first and secured a table near the Mickey pool. I was surprised as the ship was full but I did not see too many people hogging chairs around the pool. My teens didn't usually show up on deck until after 10 and they always were able to get sun loungers up on Deck 10 with no problem. Lost some more money at Bingo. Tonight's entertainers were the Hill Brothers and they are one of the world's best juggler team. They are really very good. We always attend the entertainers adult show so not sure what they do at the family show, if it is any different. Tonight was again regular rotation men and casual dress. The show tonight was Morty the Magnificient which are least favorite so we passed and got some much need nap time in. Took our self prescribed mandatory stroll along Deck 10 to feel the wind blow through our hair...ah...to look up at the stars and watch us sail into nothingness is just incredible. You must at least once brave the wind and stand as far forward as you can on Deck 10 and look out into the black abyss...it really makes you feel small and appreciate all life has to offer!!! Drink of the day was a Yellow Bird, $3.50 and consisted of Rum, Creme de banana, Galliano, Pineapple and Orange juice.
Tues - St. Maarten
Again woke up early and took my tea up on deck to see day. Another beautiful weather day and the mountains of St. Maarten looked wonderful in the morning light. As soon as the Captain gave the all clear we got off the ship and found a taxi to take us to Orient Beach which we have been to before and like very much. Yes, you do see some interesting sights, if you know what I mean, but after awhile you realize naked people are people too and you stop staring. We were brought to Bikini Beach Club and the cab fare was $5 per person one-way. It was about a 15 minute ride. No charge to get on the beach and the chairs were $6 each and the umbrellas were $3 each. Still not bad considering what it would cost our group of 7 to do the DCL excursion here. We met Darwin91 and her family on the cab ride over and had a nice little chat. We arranged for the driver to pick us up at 2:00 pm and he was there on time. This time he collected the money each way, where as other times we only paid the driver after he picked us up for the return.
Got back onboard and took some time in the adult pool which was deserted. Tonight's dress was Tropical and I would say 99% of the passengers were dressed in their tropical best. The menu was called Tropicali. The show tonight was the Lizzie Maguire movie shown in the Walt Disney Theatre. Tonight was also the awesome Tropical Deck Party. I do not know where the cruise staff gets their energy...they must run on energizer batteries like the infamous bunny. They danced for a solid hour and half and got everyone involved! Drink of the day was a Rum Runner, $3.50 and consisted of Rum, Blackberry Brandy, Creme de banana, Orange and Pineapple juice.
Wed - St. Thomas
Did another beach day, this time we went to Megans Bay which I have always wanted to try. We have always gone to Sapphire Beach Club and we really enjoy that but wanted to try somewhere new. Well, I will go back to Sapphire Beach next time. Even though Megans Bay was beautiful, I did not care for the beach because it had lots of debris from foliage. There were also more bugs around and the facilities were not that nice. I also did not like the fact that when you rented a beach chair or float you needed to leave a cash deposit for each item. Beach chairs were $4 each with a $5 each deposit. Floats were $7 each with a $10 deposit. I thought this was a bit much. What were we going to do, bring the chairs and floats back on the ship with us. We figured out it is because the staff does not want to go collect all the chairs from down the beach each evening so by charging you a deposit and requiring you to return the chair they save on work. This cab ride was also about 15-20 minutes and cost $6 per person each way. Same driver met us at our designated time and brought us back to the ship. Again we hung out at the deserted Quiet Cove Pool for a bit. Played some more bingo and didn't win, but our friends did win about $100 at Bingo and I got to jump up and shout BINGO since my friend would have knocked over the table if she jumped up from where she was. That was the closest I ever came to having Bingo. Tonight's entertainer was Rich Purpura who we have seen at least 5 times before...he still makes us laught but did not change his rountine too much. The show tonight was WWTBAM and although I hooped and hollered sadly was not chosen for the panel. I am pretty sure one of our very own DIS'er were up on stage. Kevin and his family from England were contestants who did very well!!Dinner tonight was the Around the World Menu with casual dress. After dinner we headed down to see Rich Purpura and then the Time Warp 80's party where my DD's and her friend were Go Go's in the battle of the bands competition. Our friend was Bon Jovi in the same competition. Danced the night away again!! Drink of the day was a Mai Tai, $3.50 and consisted of Light and Dark Rum, Creme de almond, pineapple and orange juice.
Thursday - At sea
By now I am realizing that this glorious week was soon coming to an end. Why is it that we wait so very long for the cruise to come and then it goes by way to quickly. Even my teens commented that this trip was going by much quicker than the others. I guess it is just a testament as to how much fun we were all having. After attending the Captain's Corner Q&A we spent anothere day doing Bingo and laying about like sea lions on deck. We watched the pool games which I noticed they do not do the scavenger hunt anymore at the adult pool...it is more of a Simon Says type game, more boring but safer. They still do the relay races in the pool and the syncronised swimming competition which my son and his friend participated in. I have enough photos to embarass him for life.
Tonight is formal night and got some good family photos again. Gosh, they look so good all dressed up!!! The show tonight is the famous Disney Dreams...which I have seen 8 times now and still cry at the end when Tinkerbell flys over the Magic and sets it aglow with pixie dust. Tonight's entertainer is Dan Riley who does parodies of popular songs and is very funny. The menu tonight is the Captain's Gala. We had APL rotation so this put us in Lumiere's for Formal night which I liked very much. At some point we played Adult Magic Quest but I cannot remember which night it was. You have to attend this some time because it is very hiliarious. A hint...ladies...bring your purse with just about anything in it. They ask for specific items and the more you have in your bag, the more chance to win!! Tonight was the 70's Disco night in the club and was very well attended. My son was picked to compete in the John Travolta Dance Competition but sadly lost to an older gentleman who did some interesting antics with the white John Travolta jacket...I think he won on a sympathy vote!! LOL!! Todays drink is Bahama Mama, $3.50 which consisted of Light & Dark Rum, Creme de banana, Malibu, orange and pineapple juice.
Friday - Castaway Cay and our last full day onboard.
Woke up today with conflicting emotions....yes, we were on our way to Castaway Cay, heaven on earth but also knew it was our last full day onboard. Better make the most of it. Weather was gorgeous again...quite different than our last cruise in January where we had to bundle up at CC. Watched us back in about 8:30 or so and soon the all clear was given. Made sure everyone was up and ready this morning because I wanted to be off the ship early. Had a short wait to get off because most everyone wants to get off the ship at the same time on this day. Found a lovely area near the snorkeling area but it became crowded quickly. If we did not have the two little ones along we probably would have walked to the far end of the family beach which stayed pretty much empty all morning. If you were willing to walk all the way down there you could splash in the surf without much company. This was the only day where you realized you were cruising with 2600 or so other people. Even though it was crowded we still spent most of the day in the water and enjoyed every minute of being on that island. Headed back to she ship about 3:15 and started to pack because I wanted to enjoy our last evening without rushing. So glad I did because we attended the Farwell Variety Show which also makes me cry and then caught the game show Walk The Plank which Luigi hosted as the mean pirate captain. Even though it is a corny game we still enjoy it!! We also enjoyed Sailor's Tales earlier in the week. Both these game shows were held in Studio Sea. Also had to attend the final jackpot Bingo game which one woman won and she was so very surprised and shocked. She won over $8,000 and literall fell to her knees up on stage when John the Bingo King confirmed she had a valid call of Bingo. This was a new Magic record for Bingo. Betty from Pennsylvania....enjoy your winnings!!!
Dinner tonight was casual with the Best of Menu. I have to say...every night we had delicious meals with no complaints but everyone at our table agreed that this menu was not up to par. We all had gotten different items any no one enjoyed their meal. We noted it on the comment card. Handed out our tip envelopes and took some photos. A funny side note....my son met many people on this cruise and one set of girls had the same dining rotation as us and were seated on the other side of the dining room. Being the charmer that he is and not being of legal drinking age onboard, he decided to send over a tray of Shirley Temples to the girls at their table. He arranged it with our Assistant server and pointed out the table he wanted the Shirley Temples sent to....we all watched for their reaction with anticipation when our server delivered the tray of drinks....much to our surprise and shock our server delivered them to the wrong table!!!! He delivered them to a table with a dad and two young daughters and you should have seen the dad's face when the server said...Brian is sending these to the ladies. We could not contain ourselvers and had a laughing fit....we went into even deeper laughter when our server came back to us very proud that he accomplished his mission and told Brian....all done sir and they were very surprised!!!! Heck, I bet they were surprised since they had no idea who Brian was!!! After composing ourselves Brian went over to the table with the dad and explained that he was not a stalker but the drinks went to the wrong table....the Dad said he was wondering who this Brian was and why he was sending things over to their table. They both had a good laugh. He then turned to the intended recipients and explained things to them as well. Everyone had a really good laugh. It was priceless to see our server so happy he accomplished his task...we never had the heart to tell him they went to wrong table!!! He just thought we were a bunch of kooks for laughing so hard.
Do not miss the Till We Meet Again photo op in the Atrium at 10:15 pm. It really is one of the best chances to get some great shots of all the Disney Characters and show performers. Some of the best areas to get photos would be around Deck 4. We were down on Deck 3 right in front of the Mickey statue and also got some great shots. This only lasts about 15 minutes but well worth it, especially when you are standing under falling pixie dust from the decks above!!! This kept some kids busy for half an hour later picking up all the "dust"!! Drink of the day is Paradise Cocktail, $3.50 which consisted of Gin, Apricot Brandy, sour mix, and Grenadine.
Now it's time to say goodbye to all our company.....we didn't want to leave!!!
Saturday morning we had breakfast in Animator's Palate and said our goodbyes to our servers and sadly left the ship.
Collected our luggage in the terminal and had a porter take us to the Delta check in. The line was quite long and we had to wait a good 45 minutes to check in. We then waited across the street in the parking lost under the white tent for the Budget shuttle which never came. I talk about this whole problem in another thread on the regular cruise board. Bottom line was Budget never showed so hubby took a taxi there and the office was in chaos...not enough cars and the help was less than competent. Will stick with Avis from now on. Why mess with a sure thing.
Spent our shortened day at WDW but had a wonderful time. Boy was it packed at the Magic Kingdom...worse than during the summer months!!!
Caught out flight back home to New York and landed about 9:40 pm, 20 minutes ahead of schedule. We really enjoyed our Song flights.
In closing....I hope I did not bore anyone with this trip report. I know it is very long but I wanted to share everything we experienced. I even left a ton of stuff out. Suffice it to say we tried to participate and enjoy all the Magic had to offer. This time we did not do any of the Art of Entertaining series or Palos, but still managed to fill our days with activities.
A lot of the cruise staff that we have grown to know have sadly left the Magic but we met a whole new bunch. We had met Andrea in January and again last week and she is a sweetheart. John is great as Bingo King but we hear he is also leaving in a few weeks to go home to Wales for good. Met for the first time was Quentin and he really is a teddy bear. All the cruise staff goes out of their way and deserve much recognition as well as all the crew on the Magic.
If anyone has any specific questions on the Eastern itinerary, just let me know Thanks for bearing with me!!!
Pics of the cruise:
http://community.webshots.com/album/74573094mVGtnZ
Here is another link to some pics from the cruise
http://community.webshots.com/album/76180824QGGyRx
MJ
Cast of Characters: Me, hubby, DD19 (plus her friends 18 & 19), DS18, DD15, our friends and their two little ones DS3 and DS7mos. 5/17 was my birthday so at 3:30 am my family sang Happy Birthday to me which started things off to a great start. We have a CD of Mickey Birthday Songs and a family tradition of blaring this one birthday song on the morning of each of our birthdays. My family did not disappoint....it is a song that stays in your head all day. If anyone else has this CD they know what I am talking about!!!
We had to leave our house at 4:00 am so needless to say no one really got any sleep the night before. We flew the new Song airline from JFK to MCO on Saturday morning at 7:00 am which got us into MCO at 10:10. We were a bit nervous since this service only started the week before. I am happy to report that everything went better than expected. The seats were roomier with more leg room, were leather and the staff was very charming and engaging. The best part was they boarded on time and left on time!!! They have a menu that they pass around if you want food, but we just had the complimentary beverages.
Serge from yourride.net met us at the baggage claim area and helped us load our 12 bags for 11 people (pretty good, huhh!!!) into the trailer attached to the van. We needed to stop for babyfood and unfortunately Serge brought us to a gas station convenience store. We tried to explain that we really needed a supermarket, and after one other failed stop at another convenience store I directed him to the Winn-Dixie across from Ron Jon's. Because of the delays in looking for baby food and wine we did not get to the port until about 12:30 or so. Serge had to rush back to the airport for his next pickup which I believe was another DIS family...if he was late in getting you, I apologize!!
This is the first time we have checked in the Port so late. I knew most everyone would have boarded by this time but was quite surprised to see all the check-in lines about 10 people deep. We picked the shortest line, but of course it did not move very quickly. People who got on lines around us all seemed to get to the counter before us. I think a lot had to do with many people not filling in their documents before hand. This really slows down the line so keep that in mind. After waiting about 45 minutes to check in we finally were walking under those beautiful Mickey ears. We were welcomed aboard by the cruise staff. Now, this is our 8th DCL cruise and we always see familiar faces....this time we did not!!! I looked all around but saw all new smiling faces!! A lot of the cruise staff has changed but we did manage to find some old friends later at the sailaway party. Never got to meet up with any Dis'ers at the sailaway but I was constantly on the lookout for lime green Mickey stickers!!
We headed to Parrot Cay for lunch and there was hardly anyone there. I guess most everyone had eaten and left already. It felt a bit strange. Anyway the food was great as always and we soon headed to our rooms. We had 3 cabins booked on a Cat 11 GTY. When we checked in at the port we found out our cabin numbers and I foolishly got very excited thinking we had been upgraded to veranda rooms....imagine my surprise and shame after I had told everyone that we had verandas to find out we in fact had Cat 11's which are inside cabins....after the initial shock and let down we adjusted and unpacked. I felt really bad getting everyone's hopes up!! We had cabins 6045, 6051 and 6053. Our room 6045 was very warm all week even with the temp turned to the coolest setting. The other cabins seemed fine. My DD19 and her friends shared a cabin, our friends had a cabin with their little ones and hubby, I and DD15 and DS18 shared a cabin. The Cat 11's definately have less storage space than the Cat 9's that we have had previously. I do not think I will ever book a Cat 11 again. I really was messed up without natural light coming in. I had forgotten my illuminated clock so I never knew what time it was when I woke up. Our room host was Mario and he was very good. After he learned that we have sailed so many times, he said he was challenged to make us new towel animals that we had never seen before. I am happy to say he did an outstanding job!!!
After we unpacked we went to sign the 7 mos old up for Flounders...there was only one other mom in there and my friend was able to get all the nights she wanted. We then went to OC to sign up the 3 year old. We did not do Palo this trip. My friend was too beat to head up to the spa for any appointments but she checked in later in the week and was able to secure a massage and a manicure...so don't give up hope if you don't make it up to the spa on the first day. This time our safety drill was outside on Deck 4 on the shady side at muster station F. After putting away all the vests IT WAS TIME TO PARTY AT THE SAILAWAY!!!
The weather was glorious and the cruise staff is so awesome in getting everyone in the party mood. Finally found some familiar faces on the cruise staff and said hello. We danced and had our first tropical drinks of the cruise. A great time was had and we stayed until the end. Everyone was a bit frazzled and tired at this point considering we were all up almost 24 hours. We headed back to our cabins for a bit of a rest until the show at 6:30. The rest of the group went to the show but I stayed back and tried to organize the cabin a bit better, not an easy task!! Drink of the day was the Sea Breeze $3.50 and consisted of Vodka, Cranberry, Grapefruit juices.
After a refreshing shower we all headed to dinner to meet our servers for the week. We had late seating were at a table for 10 in the back of the restaurants...not my favorite area, but it was fine. We had tables 36 & 37 together to make 10. Our servers were Sunil from India and Edwin from the Phillipines...both were good but Edwin needs a bit more experience. Their personalities were great and we laughed quite a bit during the week. As I mentioned today was my birthday so our servers brought me out a cake and sang happy birthday to me. My friends who were onboard the week before had arranged to have a beautiful birthday basket sent to our cabin which had a great autograph pluto and party hats in it with a birthday mug and birthday keychain. I made everyone wear the party hats and we all celebrated my special day...than you Laura and Bobby!!
The adults took a stroll along deck 10 after dinner and the teens headed to the various clubs. DD15 headed to the 411 in Common Grounds and the older teens went to find some music and dancing in Rockin Bar D. We turned in about midnight or so...it felt so good to be back on the Magic!!!
Sun - At sea
I am always the first one up and this cruise was no exception. It was even more difficult to get anyone up because the room was so dark. I gave up and got myself dressed while all the sleeping beauties were still in bed. I went up to have a cup of tea up on deck and I secured a table and chairs near the Mickey pool for our base of operations for the day. Met our friends for breakfast and met up with the teens a bit later. Basically we just hung around the pools all day and warmed our bones in the sun. NY has been unseaonably chilly all year and it felt good to have the sun on our backs. I think we did Bingo this day as well...we did so many sessions of Bingo that I cannot keep track.
Anyone who has sailed DCL in the last year or so knows that Robin from Austrailia used to be the Bingo King. Well, sorry to say that Robin has since left DCL and Big John from Wales is now the Bingo King with Andrea as his Bingo bunny. They are very funny together and John is a super host. He gave us all lessons on Wales during the week and was quite entertaining.
Just wanted to add to the above that Saturday and Sunday nights were the regular rotation menus in the restaurants with Saturday night dress as casual, and Sunday night dress semi-formal. The entertainer tonight was Michael Harrison a ventriloquist and he was very funny. The show tonight was Hercules. After dinner we all got our boogie shoes on for the 50's Rock & Roll party in Rockin Bar D. Be aware that these shows do not start until about 11:00 so take a nap in the afternoon to make sure you attend these. They are tons of fun. The cruise staff all dress up in costume and interact with each other and the guests....lots of nostalgic fun!! Sunday's drink of the day was Cool Breeze, $3.50 and consisted of Vodka, Peach Schnapps, Cranberry juice and Sprite.
Mon - At sea
Well, this was pretty much a repeat of Sunday...we just love the sea days....can stay out late the night before and not feel rushed in the morning. I again got up first and secured a table near the Mickey pool. I was surprised as the ship was full but I did not see too many people hogging chairs around the pool. My teens didn't usually show up on deck until after 10 and they always were able to get sun loungers up on Deck 10 with no problem. Lost some more money at Bingo. Tonight's entertainers were the Hill Brothers and they are one of the world's best juggler team. They are really very good. We always attend the entertainers adult show so not sure what they do at the family show, if it is any different. Tonight was again regular rotation men and casual dress. The show tonight was Morty the Magnificient which are least favorite so we passed and got some much need nap time in. Took our self prescribed mandatory stroll along Deck 10 to feel the wind blow through our hair...ah...to look up at the stars and watch us sail into nothingness is just incredible. You must at least once brave the wind and stand as far forward as you can on Deck 10 and look out into the black abyss...it really makes you feel small and appreciate all life has to offer!!! Drink of the day was a Yellow Bird, $3.50 and consisted of Rum, Creme de banana, Galliano, Pineapple and Orange juice.
Tues - St. Maarten
Again woke up early and took my tea up on deck to see day. Another beautiful weather day and the mountains of St. Maarten looked wonderful in the morning light. As soon as the Captain gave the all clear we got off the ship and found a taxi to take us to Orient Beach which we have been to before and like very much. Yes, you do see some interesting sights, if you know what I mean, but after awhile you realize naked people are people too and you stop staring. We were brought to Bikini Beach Club and the cab fare was $5 per person one-way. It was about a 15 minute ride. No charge to get on the beach and the chairs were $6 each and the umbrellas were $3 each. Still not bad considering what it would cost our group of 7 to do the DCL excursion here. We met Darwin91 and her family on the cab ride over and had a nice little chat. We arranged for the driver to pick us up at 2:00 pm and he was there on time. This time he collected the money each way, where as other times we only paid the driver after he picked us up for the return.
Got back onboard and took some time in the adult pool which was deserted. Tonight's dress was Tropical and I would say 99% of the passengers were dressed in their tropical best. The menu was called Tropicali. The show tonight was the Lizzie Maguire movie shown in the Walt Disney Theatre. Tonight was also the awesome Tropical Deck Party. I do not know where the cruise staff gets their energy...they must run on energizer batteries like the infamous bunny. They danced for a solid hour and half and got everyone involved! Drink of the day was a Rum Runner, $3.50 and consisted of Rum, Blackberry Brandy, Creme de banana, Orange and Pineapple juice.
Wed - St. Thomas
Did another beach day, this time we went to Megans Bay which I have always wanted to try. We have always gone to Sapphire Beach Club and we really enjoy that but wanted to try somewhere new. Well, I will go back to Sapphire Beach next time. Even though Megans Bay was beautiful, I did not care for the beach because it had lots of debris from foliage. There were also more bugs around and the facilities were not that nice. I also did not like the fact that when you rented a beach chair or float you needed to leave a cash deposit for each item. Beach chairs were $4 each with a $5 each deposit. Floats were $7 each with a $10 deposit. I thought this was a bit much. What were we going to do, bring the chairs and floats back on the ship with us. We figured out it is because the staff does not want to go collect all the chairs from down the beach each evening so by charging you a deposit and requiring you to return the chair they save on work. This cab ride was also about 15-20 minutes and cost $6 per person each way. Same driver met us at our designated time and brought us back to the ship. Again we hung out at the deserted Quiet Cove Pool for a bit. Played some more bingo and didn't win, but our friends did win about $100 at Bingo and I got to jump up and shout BINGO since my friend would have knocked over the table if she jumped up from where she was. That was the closest I ever came to having Bingo. Tonight's entertainer was Rich Purpura who we have seen at least 5 times before...he still makes us laught but did not change his rountine too much. The show tonight was WWTBAM and although I hooped and hollered sadly was not chosen for the panel. I am pretty sure one of our very own DIS'er were up on stage. Kevin and his family from England were contestants who did very well!!Dinner tonight was the Around the World Menu with casual dress. After dinner we headed down to see Rich Purpura and then the Time Warp 80's party where my DD's and her friend were Go Go's in the battle of the bands competition. Our friend was Bon Jovi in the same competition. Danced the night away again!! Drink of the day was a Mai Tai, $3.50 and consisted of Light and Dark Rum, Creme de almond, pineapple and orange juice.
Thursday - At sea
By now I am realizing that this glorious week was soon coming to an end. Why is it that we wait so very long for the cruise to come and then it goes by way to quickly. Even my teens commented that this trip was going by much quicker than the others. I guess it is just a testament as to how much fun we were all having. After attending the Captain's Corner Q&A we spent anothere day doing Bingo and laying about like sea lions on deck. We watched the pool games which I noticed they do not do the scavenger hunt anymore at the adult pool...it is more of a Simon Says type game, more boring but safer. They still do the relay races in the pool and the syncronised swimming competition which my son and his friend participated in. I have enough photos to embarass him for life.
Tonight is formal night and got some good family photos again. Gosh, they look so good all dressed up!!! The show tonight is the famous Disney Dreams...which I have seen 8 times now and still cry at the end when Tinkerbell flys over the Magic and sets it aglow with pixie dust. Tonight's entertainer is Dan Riley who does parodies of popular songs and is very funny. The menu tonight is the Captain's Gala. We had APL rotation so this put us in Lumiere's for Formal night which I liked very much. At some point we played Adult Magic Quest but I cannot remember which night it was. You have to attend this some time because it is very hiliarious. A hint...ladies...bring your purse with just about anything in it. They ask for specific items and the more you have in your bag, the more chance to win!! Tonight was the 70's Disco night in the club and was very well attended. My son was picked to compete in the John Travolta Dance Competition but sadly lost to an older gentleman who did some interesting antics with the white John Travolta jacket...I think he won on a sympathy vote!! LOL!! Todays drink is Bahama Mama, $3.50 which consisted of Light & Dark Rum, Creme de banana, Malibu, orange and pineapple juice.
Friday - Castaway Cay and our last full day onboard.
Woke up today with conflicting emotions....yes, we were on our way to Castaway Cay, heaven on earth but also knew it was our last full day onboard. Better make the most of it. Weather was gorgeous again...quite different than our last cruise in January where we had to bundle up at CC. Watched us back in about 8:30 or so and soon the all clear was given. Made sure everyone was up and ready this morning because I wanted to be off the ship early. Had a short wait to get off because most everyone wants to get off the ship at the same time on this day. Found a lovely area near the snorkeling area but it became crowded quickly. If we did not have the two little ones along we probably would have walked to the far end of the family beach which stayed pretty much empty all morning. If you were willing to walk all the way down there you could splash in the surf without much company. This was the only day where you realized you were cruising with 2600 or so other people. Even though it was crowded we still spent most of the day in the water and enjoyed every minute of being on that island. Headed back to she ship about 3:15 and started to pack because I wanted to enjoy our last evening without rushing. So glad I did because we attended the Farwell Variety Show which also makes me cry and then caught the game show Walk The Plank which Luigi hosted as the mean pirate captain. Even though it is a corny game we still enjoy it!! We also enjoyed Sailor's Tales earlier in the week. Both these game shows were held in Studio Sea. Also had to attend the final jackpot Bingo game which one woman won and she was so very surprised and shocked. She won over $8,000 and literall fell to her knees up on stage when John the Bingo King confirmed she had a valid call of Bingo. This was a new Magic record for Bingo. Betty from Pennsylvania....enjoy your winnings!!!
Dinner tonight was casual with the Best of Menu. I have to say...every night we had delicious meals with no complaints but everyone at our table agreed that this menu was not up to par. We all had gotten different items any no one enjoyed their meal. We noted it on the comment card. Handed out our tip envelopes and took some photos. A funny side note....my son met many people on this cruise and one set of girls had the same dining rotation as us and were seated on the other side of the dining room. Being the charmer that he is and not being of legal drinking age onboard, he decided to send over a tray of Shirley Temples to the girls at their table. He arranged it with our Assistant server and pointed out the table he wanted the Shirley Temples sent to....we all watched for their reaction with anticipation when our server delivered the tray of drinks....much to our surprise and shock our server delivered them to the wrong table!!!! He delivered them to a table with a dad and two young daughters and you should have seen the dad's face when the server said...Brian is sending these to the ladies. We could not contain ourselvers and had a laughing fit....we went into even deeper laughter when our server came back to us very proud that he accomplished his mission and told Brian....all done sir and they were very surprised!!!! Heck, I bet they were surprised since they had no idea who Brian was!!! After composing ourselves Brian went over to the table with the dad and explained that he was not a stalker but the drinks went to the wrong table....the Dad said he was wondering who this Brian was and why he was sending things over to their table. They both had a good laugh. He then turned to the intended recipients and explained things to them as well. Everyone had a really good laugh. It was priceless to see our server so happy he accomplished his task...we never had the heart to tell him they went to wrong table!!! He just thought we were a bunch of kooks for laughing so hard.
Do not miss the Till We Meet Again photo op in the Atrium at 10:15 pm. It really is one of the best chances to get some great shots of all the Disney Characters and show performers. Some of the best areas to get photos would be around Deck 4. We were down on Deck 3 right in front of the Mickey statue and also got some great shots. This only lasts about 15 minutes but well worth it, especially when you are standing under falling pixie dust from the decks above!!! This kept some kids busy for half an hour later picking up all the "dust"!! Drink of the day is Paradise Cocktail, $3.50 which consisted of Gin, Apricot Brandy, sour mix, and Grenadine.
Now it's time to say goodbye to all our company.....we didn't want to leave!!!
Saturday morning we had breakfast in Animator's Palate and said our goodbyes to our servers and sadly left the ship.
Collected our luggage in the terminal and had a porter take us to the Delta check in. The line was quite long and we had to wait a good 45 minutes to check in. We then waited across the street in the parking lost under the white tent for the Budget shuttle which never came. I talk about this whole problem in another thread on the regular cruise board. Bottom line was Budget never showed so hubby took a taxi there and the office was in chaos...not enough cars and the help was less than competent. Will stick with Avis from now on. Why mess with a sure thing.
Spent our shortened day at WDW but had a wonderful time. Boy was it packed at the Magic Kingdom...worse than during the summer months!!!
Caught out flight back home to New York and landed about 9:40 pm, 20 minutes ahead of schedule. We really enjoyed our Song flights.
In closing....I hope I did not bore anyone with this trip report. I know it is very long but I wanted to share everything we experienced. I even left a ton of stuff out. Suffice it to say we tried to participate and enjoy all the Magic had to offer. This time we did not do any of the Art of Entertaining series or Palos, but still managed to fill our days with activities.
A lot of the cruise staff that we have grown to know have sadly left the Magic but we met a whole new bunch. We had met Andrea in January and again last week and she is a sweetheart. John is great as Bingo King but we hear he is also leaving in a few weeks to go home to Wales for good. Met for the first time was Quentin and he really is a teddy bear. All the cruise staff goes out of their way and deserve much recognition as well as all the crew on the Magic.
If anyone has any specific questions on the Eastern itinerary, just let me know Thanks for bearing with me!!!
Pics of the cruise:
http://community.webshots.com/album/74573094mVGtnZ
Here is another link to some pics from the cruise
http://community.webshots.com/album/76180824QGGyRx
MJ
). The oldest will be in her second year of college and won't be of an age to go into any of the teen clubs (nor would she probably want to), and the younger one is a social butterfly that will probably live there. Will my oldest be totally bored? My husband will only consider going on a cruise if it is the Disney Cruise since he is a Disney fanatic...not that there is anything wrong with that! 
Just curious if your teens would choose another line instead of Disney.
