ruvidu
SC Traveler --- I have spent most of my life fishi
- Joined
- Mar 25, 2001
- Messages
- 806
This is the rest of the trip report. It is long but I wanted to do it while I had the time. We hope it helps someone else along the way.
On Sunday morning I was up and on deck 9 by 6:30 AM. My plan was to continue reading my Sandra Brown who-done-it and have a cup of coffee. When I walked away from the beverage station I was stopped by a young lady who wanted to know what the emblem on my ball cap was. I told her it was the SC palmetto tree and crescent. She then said Russ?. It was whitecrystal from NH. She was sitting with one of CarolRns family and so we had our coffee together. It was really neat meeting up a different Dis Boarder just about every day plus see and speak to the ones we had already met.
Key West We had ordered our Trolley tickets off of the internet so we already had them and a map showing all of the stops along the way. When we got off the ship we headed straight for the trolley stop and started to get on. The driver looked at my ticket and asked where the reboarding pass was. It is a large portion of the ticket with a survey on it and I had torn it off and left it in the room. No problem he said as he led me over to the ticket booth. He informed the ticket seller that I had torn the reboarding ticket off the ticket seller said No Problem, we will just give him the big dummy pass. With that they gave us two stickers to put on our shirts so we could get on and off. Note Here: These trolleys are open air and it was hot. They do give you a fan but it does little to help the situation. The driver was great and we saw a lot of the town. We got off at the Southern Most Point and decided to walk up Duvall back to Mallory Sq. We planned to eat at Blue Heaven for lunch. We stopped at several shops along the way including The Chicken Store. If you see it, go in. It is different. Get you a Save The Chickens shirt. We stopped at Sloppy Joes and got a t-shirt for our son and then went to Margaritaville for a shirt for me. We asked about Blue Heaven and were told it was closed for the season along with several of the other better places. We opted for the Margaritaville restaurant and had a great cheeseburger and margarita. When in Rome.
We then went to find the Key West Aloe store. It is located on Front St. and offers a variety of lotions made from the aloe plant. I got a bottle of after shave that is so soothing and has a very light scent.
From there we went looking for the Blonde Giraffe. We had read that they had great Key Lime pie. It is served on a stick dipped in chocolate. We found it and really like it. We went by Hemingways House and The Little White House on the way back to the ship. Another good place we found that we have not seen mentioned is the Orvis store located right on the dock where the Magic docks. They had some great sale prices on shirts and shorts when we were there and some of the neatest Key West postcards we saw anywhere.
After dropping our goodies in our room and cooling off for a little while we headed to Mallory Sq. for the sundown festivities. I was a little disappointed. There were maybe 4 acts not counting the Elvis imitator everyone was ignoring and some crafts but not the crowd I had figured on. We did see some nice folks pull up in a boat behind the juggler and then flash the crowd. The juggler then mooned her and she did the same right back. Leave the kiddies on the ship. This is no place for them. One of our favorite purchases was made here. It is a hand made tile with the outline of a palm tree and sun pressed into it and then glazed. I go his card so we could order more when we build our next house. The sunset was beautiful and I got some great photos.
Back to the ship and to Topsiders for dinner. We knew we were going to be late so we had informed our servers and dinning companions of our plans to to go to Topsiders. It was a pleasant surprise. We wore our shorts and tennis shoes and really felt under dressed. The tables were set, the lights were low and the servers were excellent. You select your appetizer from the bar and then you can see plates with the entrees for the night on display. When we sat down I asked if I could get the pasta dish as an appetizer and the server immediately brought it to me. We both had rib eye steaks and baked potatoes with veggies. The desserts are on the bar and you help yourself. Our server brought coffee and it was an excellent experience. We walked around deck and then headed off to the room. From our veranda we watched as the Magic left port. It was great.
Day at sea Nothing eventful. We laid in the shade and read our books after going to the character breakfast. All of the photos made during this breakfast were terrible. Heads cut off and off center. That saved us some money. The lady from Austin hit Bingo for $210.00 the night before so we tried our hand. I dont think we got two numbers together on any card.
Dinner was at Parrot Cay and was pretty good. The service was still not up to par. Our server asked which appetizer I wanted. When I told him they all looked good he said he would make me a sampler plate so all the table could try everything. When they brought it out, everyone else had already started on their entrees. They had piled all kind of stuff on a plate and covered it with Caesar salad. I ended up eating off of my wifes entrée and when I had finished and everyone was getting dessert our server asked if I wanted my entree now. Thanks but no thanks. I did meet hnokes and family today. She recognized me from a photo I had posted plus they said they saw me in the terminal with my orange shirt.
Grand Cayman - We were up early and off the ship around 8:30. We walked up to Capt. Marvins and asked about our 11:15 reservations for the 3 stop snorkel tour. They asked if we wanted to go around 10:15 so we waited. While waiting we talked to a family waiting with us. When the lady asked how I found out about Capt. Marvins, I said on the Disboards. She looked at me and said Russ? It was jazzbran from Georgia. She hugged me right there on Main St. Two ladies came up about the time we got in the van and they started talking to jazzbran and she pointed to me and asked if they knew me. Come to find our it was NativeTxn and Karen from NY. We had a great tour and visit with the stingrays. We would do this again. Shopping is not too good here. My wife did get a gold stingray charm to commemorate the day.
Cozumel We should have done an excursion here. We planned to shop and go to Mr. Sanchos but it was too hot for the beach. I dont mind people greeting me outside of stores but these folk would step in front of you and try to direct you inside. We did buy some jewelry, a hammock and a couple of the Mexican Survivor Kits. Good deal on all of these. Now, about the credit card. We had just brought one credit card so we would not have any problems if we lost a wallet. While trying to buy the hammock, my card was declined. We headed back to ship and the phones on the dock. My card has a collect number to call when out of the US. It did not work so we headed to guest services. I explained my situation and the CM made a call and then connected me with the 1-800 number on my card. My bank people told me that they had stopped my card because I did not normally use it but was using it now. Call your credit card company before you leave home and let them know where you are going. This wasted a good two hours out of our day.
The menu for tonight was the best of the cruise. Mexicalifragi whatever was a fun time. We had another couple join us tonight. They had not been pleased with their early dinning and had requested a change. Our server told them he knew where they could sit and enjoy an evening. He was right. He was a doctor from Las Vegas. What a diverse crowd we had. Again, we closed down the restaurant, partially due to great conversation and partially due to super slow service. We were next to last to leave every night.
Second Day At Sea - We laid out on the deck 7 aft overlook and enjoyed that. I did notice that the ash trays were full to overflowing and you had to sit upwind of them. I had purchased a map of the Caribbean showing all of the DCL ports of call. I had Captain Tom sign it during his autograph time. Tonight was our semi-formal night and we were in Parrot Cay. A big turn off here with the service was when we ordered a diet Coke each and the assistant server looked down her nose at us and said your are not going to drink Coke while eating lobster are you? We will if you bring it I said. We found out that our tablemates from Austin had hit another round of bingo and had won another $250. I asked for a second lobster tail and was given another entire dinner. This has never happened before.
I need to mention here that from lunch time on the seas had got higher and the winds stronger. We were running from Isidora and had thoughts of not being able to get into Castaway Cay.
Castaway Cay The morning dawned beautiful with slight seas and a light breeze. We had our breakfast at Topsiders as we usually do and watched the Magic backing into the dock. We then went down stairs and watched from the deck 7 overlook. We left the cabin about 8:45 and headed down to deck 1. We made it as far as deck 3 before the crowds were sitting in the stairways waiting for the doors to open. We waited our turn and then stepped onto Castaway Cay for the fourth time. It was like coming home. We loved it. We found chairs on the adult beach just a short ways from the bar and restrooms. We snorkeled, we floated on our floats and just enjoyed the day. We normally go back over to Corkeys for lunch but decided to try the food at the beach today. We were disappointed. Some salad and sandwiches, (hamburgers, hot dogs, gilled steak and grilled salmon) and a ice cream machine. No ribs, no lobster, no lobster burgers and no shelter. There were umbrellas at each table but they did not keep the afternoon sun off. We cleaned our own tables because we did not see anyone else doing it. I will say that this was the largest crowd we have ever seen on the adult beach in our 4 trips. The tide was out and you could walk out to the wreck where all the fish hang out.
We finished up tonight at Luminaires and had a great dinner, prime rib and baked potato. We presented our tips giving our room host a little extra. The assistant server got less than recommended mostly for the Coke/Lobster remark but also for the total lack of service during the week.
We skipped breakfast the next morning and were two of the first off of the ship. We had DCL transfers to the airport and a 12:15 PM flight. We were not sure how much time we would have and did not want to take any chances. We walked off the ship at 7:30 AM, grabbed a porter as we got down the steps and handed up our customs sheet. He found our luggage, dropped the sheet in a box and had us to the US Air desk at the bus area in about 5 minutes. We got our ticket and got on the bus. We left about 8:10 and arrived at the airport around 9:00. It took about 10 minutes to clear the X-Ray and Metal Dectectors and then we were on our way for a 2.5 hour wait. I wish now I had booked the 10:15 flight.
In ending let me state an opinion on something. DCL has started broadcasting both CNN and HNN on the TVs outside of the theater near Preludes as well as on some of the TVs in the Promenade lounge all day and part of the evening. I know the situation of the world and our country but I came on this cruise to get away from it for a while. I had a TV in our room and I would usually try to catch up on the news in the mornings and evenings. During the day I wanted a little magic, maybe see a cartoon to lighten things up. I asked our dinning companions about this and they agreed as well. Leave the news to the room unless something big is happening.
The Magic has lost a little of her shine since we first sailed on her the inaugural year. The varnish is missing on a lot of rails. The menus are getting dog eared and the beds are a little lumpier than before but we believe it is still the best vacation you can buy. We are going to Alaska next year for a 7 day cruise so another 7 day Magical vacation is out of the question. I did book a 4 day Wonder trip for May.
I will try to answer any questions you may have that will help in your trip planning.
Russ
On Sunday morning I was up and on deck 9 by 6:30 AM. My plan was to continue reading my Sandra Brown who-done-it and have a cup of coffee. When I walked away from the beverage station I was stopped by a young lady who wanted to know what the emblem on my ball cap was. I told her it was the SC palmetto tree and crescent. She then said Russ?. It was whitecrystal from NH. She was sitting with one of CarolRns family and so we had our coffee together. It was really neat meeting up a different Dis Boarder just about every day plus see and speak to the ones we had already met.
Key West We had ordered our Trolley tickets off of the internet so we already had them and a map showing all of the stops along the way. When we got off the ship we headed straight for the trolley stop and started to get on. The driver looked at my ticket and asked where the reboarding pass was. It is a large portion of the ticket with a survey on it and I had torn it off and left it in the room. No problem he said as he led me over to the ticket booth. He informed the ticket seller that I had torn the reboarding ticket off the ticket seller said No Problem, we will just give him the big dummy pass. With that they gave us two stickers to put on our shirts so we could get on and off. Note Here: These trolleys are open air and it was hot. They do give you a fan but it does little to help the situation. The driver was great and we saw a lot of the town. We got off at the Southern Most Point and decided to walk up Duvall back to Mallory Sq. We planned to eat at Blue Heaven for lunch. We stopped at several shops along the way including The Chicken Store. If you see it, go in. It is different. Get you a Save The Chickens shirt. We stopped at Sloppy Joes and got a t-shirt for our son and then went to Margaritaville for a shirt for me. We asked about Blue Heaven and were told it was closed for the season along with several of the other better places. We opted for the Margaritaville restaurant and had a great cheeseburger and margarita. When in Rome.
We then went to find the Key West Aloe store. It is located on Front St. and offers a variety of lotions made from the aloe plant. I got a bottle of after shave that is so soothing and has a very light scent.
From there we went looking for the Blonde Giraffe. We had read that they had great Key Lime pie. It is served on a stick dipped in chocolate. We found it and really like it. We went by Hemingways House and The Little White House on the way back to the ship. Another good place we found that we have not seen mentioned is the Orvis store located right on the dock where the Magic docks. They had some great sale prices on shirts and shorts when we were there and some of the neatest Key West postcards we saw anywhere.
After dropping our goodies in our room and cooling off for a little while we headed to Mallory Sq. for the sundown festivities. I was a little disappointed. There were maybe 4 acts not counting the Elvis imitator everyone was ignoring and some crafts but not the crowd I had figured on. We did see some nice folks pull up in a boat behind the juggler and then flash the crowd. The juggler then mooned her and she did the same right back. Leave the kiddies on the ship. This is no place for them. One of our favorite purchases was made here. It is a hand made tile with the outline of a palm tree and sun pressed into it and then glazed. I go his card so we could order more when we build our next house. The sunset was beautiful and I got some great photos.
Back to the ship and to Topsiders for dinner. We knew we were going to be late so we had informed our servers and dinning companions of our plans to to go to Topsiders. It was a pleasant surprise. We wore our shorts and tennis shoes and really felt under dressed. The tables were set, the lights were low and the servers were excellent. You select your appetizer from the bar and then you can see plates with the entrees for the night on display. When we sat down I asked if I could get the pasta dish as an appetizer and the server immediately brought it to me. We both had rib eye steaks and baked potatoes with veggies. The desserts are on the bar and you help yourself. Our server brought coffee and it was an excellent experience. We walked around deck and then headed off to the room. From our veranda we watched as the Magic left port. It was great.
Day at sea Nothing eventful. We laid in the shade and read our books after going to the character breakfast. All of the photos made during this breakfast were terrible. Heads cut off and off center. That saved us some money. The lady from Austin hit Bingo for $210.00 the night before so we tried our hand. I dont think we got two numbers together on any card.
Dinner was at Parrot Cay and was pretty good. The service was still not up to par. Our server asked which appetizer I wanted. When I told him they all looked good he said he would make me a sampler plate so all the table could try everything. When they brought it out, everyone else had already started on their entrees. They had piled all kind of stuff on a plate and covered it with Caesar salad. I ended up eating off of my wifes entrée and when I had finished and everyone was getting dessert our server asked if I wanted my entree now. Thanks but no thanks. I did meet hnokes and family today. She recognized me from a photo I had posted plus they said they saw me in the terminal with my orange shirt.
Grand Cayman - We were up early and off the ship around 8:30. We walked up to Capt. Marvins and asked about our 11:15 reservations for the 3 stop snorkel tour. They asked if we wanted to go around 10:15 so we waited. While waiting we talked to a family waiting with us. When the lady asked how I found out about Capt. Marvins, I said on the Disboards. She looked at me and said Russ? It was jazzbran from Georgia. She hugged me right there on Main St. Two ladies came up about the time we got in the van and they started talking to jazzbran and she pointed to me and asked if they knew me. Come to find our it was NativeTxn and Karen from NY. We had a great tour and visit with the stingrays. We would do this again. Shopping is not too good here. My wife did get a gold stingray charm to commemorate the day.
Cozumel We should have done an excursion here. We planned to shop and go to Mr. Sanchos but it was too hot for the beach. I dont mind people greeting me outside of stores but these folk would step in front of you and try to direct you inside. We did buy some jewelry, a hammock and a couple of the Mexican Survivor Kits. Good deal on all of these. Now, about the credit card. We had just brought one credit card so we would not have any problems if we lost a wallet. While trying to buy the hammock, my card was declined. We headed back to ship and the phones on the dock. My card has a collect number to call when out of the US. It did not work so we headed to guest services. I explained my situation and the CM made a call and then connected me with the 1-800 number on my card. My bank people told me that they had stopped my card because I did not normally use it but was using it now. Call your credit card company before you leave home and let them know where you are going. This wasted a good two hours out of our day.
The menu for tonight was the best of the cruise. Mexicalifragi whatever was a fun time. We had another couple join us tonight. They had not been pleased with their early dinning and had requested a change. Our server told them he knew where they could sit and enjoy an evening. He was right. He was a doctor from Las Vegas. What a diverse crowd we had. Again, we closed down the restaurant, partially due to great conversation and partially due to super slow service. We were next to last to leave every night.
Second Day At Sea - We laid out on the deck 7 aft overlook and enjoyed that. I did notice that the ash trays were full to overflowing and you had to sit upwind of them. I had purchased a map of the Caribbean showing all of the DCL ports of call. I had Captain Tom sign it during his autograph time. Tonight was our semi-formal night and we were in Parrot Cay. A big turn off here with the service was when we ordered a diet Coke each and the assistant server looked down her nose at us and said your are not going to drink Coke while eating lobster are you? We will if you bring it I said. We found out that our tablemates from Austin had hit another round of bingo and had won another $250. I asked for a second lobster tail and was given another entire dinner. This has never happened before.
I need to mention here that from lunch time on the seas had got higher and the winds stronger. We were running from Isidora and had thoughts of not being able to get into Castaway Cay.
Castaway Cay The morning dawned beautiful with slight seas and a light breeze. We had our breakfast at Topsiders as we usually do and watched the Magic backing into the dock. We then went down stairs and watched from the deck 7 overlook. We left the cabin about 8:45 and headed down to deck 1. We made it as far as deck 3 before the crowds were sitting in the stairways waiting for the doors to open. We waited our turn and then stepped onto Castaway Cay for the fourth time. It was like coming home. We loved it. We found chairs on the adult beach just a short ways from the bar and restrooms. We snorkeled, we floated on our floats and just enjoyed the day. We normally go back over to Corkeys for lunch but decided to try the food at the beach today. We were disappointed. Some salad and sandwiches, (hamburgers, hot dogs, gilled steak and grilled salmon) and a ice cream machine. No ribs, no lobster, no lobster burgers and no shelter. There were umbrellas at each table but they did not keep the afternoon sun off. We cleaned our own tables because we did not see anyone else doing it. I will say that this was the largest crowd we have ever seen on the adult beach in our 4 trips. The tide was out and you could walk out to the wreck where all the fish hang out.
We finished up tonight at Luminaires and had a great dinner, prime rib and baked potato. We presented our tips giving our room host a little extra. The assistant server got less than recommended mostly for the Coke/Lobster remark but also for the total lack of service during the week.
We skipped breakfast the next morning and were two of the first off of the ship. We had DCL transfers to the airport and a 12:15 PM flight. We were not sure how much time we would have and did not want to take any chances. We walked off the ship at 7:30 AM, grabbed a porter as we got down the steps and handed up our customs sheet. He found our luggage, dropped the sheet in a box and had us to the US Air desk at the bus area in about 5 minutes. We got our ticket and got on the bus. We left about 8:10 and arrived at the airport around 9:00. It took about 10 minutes to clear the X-Ray and Metal Dectectors and then we were on our way for a 2.5 hour wait. I wish now I had booked the 10:15 flight.
In ending let me state an opinion on something. DCL has started broadcasting both CNN and HNN on the TVs outside of the theater near Preludes as well as on some of the TVs in the Promenade lounge all day and part of the evening. I know the situation of the world and our country but I came on this cruise to get away from it for a while. I had a TV in our room and I would usually try to catch up on the news in the mornings and evenings. During the day I wanted a little magic, maybe see a cartoon to lighten things up. I asked our dinning companions about this and they agreed as well. Leave the news to the room unless something big is happening.
The Magic has lost a little of her shine since we first sailed on her the inaugural year. The varnish is missing on a lot of rails. The menus are getting dog eared and the beds are a little lumpier than before but we believe it is still the best vacation you can buy. We are going to Alaska next year for a 7 day cruise so another 7 day Magical vacation is out of the question. I did book a 4 day Wonder trip for May.
I will try to answer any questions you may have that will help in your trip planning.
Russ
I really tried but I just couldn't stay in the water.
