A Magical Trip in the Western Caribbean - April 16-23, 2011

[TanyaS]

My trip report from our cruise on the Magic in the Western Caribbean from April 16 to 23. The cruise was absolutely fantastic!!!

The only downside is I have spent this past week walking around sadly sighing, wishing I were still cruising in the Magic.

Our cast of characters:
DH
Me
DS#1 (age 11)
DS#2 (age 9)
DD (age 6)
My mother–in-law
And my niece (age 7) - who is being raised by my mother-in-law

And characters in a supporting role: a friend S, and her daughter, Z, who is in class with my DD, were also on our ship!

We had been late booking our cruise and didn’t have many staterooms to choose from. We knew we wanted a verandah, so DH and I ended up in rooms 6148 and 6150 and MIL and DN ended up in 5144.

Our cabins were plenty spacious for us, and conveniently located. The only thing I would change next time is to book ahead of time and reserve cabins that were connecting and without the white paneling. But having never traveled any other way, we were thrilled and very happy with our accommodations!

Lesson learned: Book earlier!

View of Cabin # 6150

View of Cabin # 6150

Bathroom with tub & shower

Cabin # 6150 - Queen size bed


Prior to the trip I had packed way too many suitcases, but one was full of FE gifts.

We left South Carolina around 1:00 on Friday and drove down to Florida. We stayed at the Radisson. The room would have been nice enough, except that the sofa bed the kids were supposed to sleep on was horridly uncomfortable. Just awful! The main bed, that DH and I claimed, was comfortable, but the kids were miserable, which meant no one got to sleep well.

Saturday Family of the Day

The day began much better that the previous day had ended. The kids and I enjoyed the breakfast buffet. They had an omelet station and plenty of other good choices. We hadn’t known until we checked in the night before that we were supposed to have called the hotel beforehand to reserve a shuttle time, but I was told to check in with the shuttle guy at 9:45. I did and he said to come on down, he could fit us in. An hour later (not pointing fingers, but it wasn’t me slowing us down), we finally got everyone and all the bags to the front of the hotel and sure enough, within ten minutes or so, he had fit us in and all our luggage was put in the trailer and we got on board the shuttle to the terminal. Thank you shuttle guy! After only about a five minute drive, we spotted the Magic and were soon unloading.

The luggage porters told me they couldn’t take on the case of bottled water I had brought, but suggested we could put some in the suitcases. A quick bit of shoving and soon all 24 bottles were put in the suitcases. The porters took our suitcases away and we went up the escalator with our carry on bags through security. It was a simple walk through the metal detectors with no waiting. Then we entered the terminal and were directed to the check-in counter. At the check-in counter, we were sprinkled with a bit of figurative pixie dust and told we were family of the day and would be the first family to board the ship! Hurray! We were escorted to the children’s activity counter where DS#2, DD and DN received wristbands that they would wear for the remainder of the cruise.

Then we were escorted straight to the front of the photo line were we got to have our picture made with both Mickey and Minnie (the characters were about to switch and everyone else only had one or the other). Then a very short wait before we were lead onto the gangplank, posed for a quick picture and then were taken to the ship where crew members applauded as our family was announced and we were the first family on the ship. If you saw me, yes, I was that mom grinning like a crazy person! We were taken directed to Parrot Cay where we ate the buffet lunch and I ordered my first Drink of the Day (Malibu Bay Breeze).

At some point, we were told to report to our station, which was in Animator's Palate, for our safety muster. We did NOT have to put on our life vests.

Safety drill.

After lunch, MIL and I took the girls and DS#2 to the pools while DH and DS#1 explored the ship. We went to the Mickey and Goofy pools where the girls enjoyed swimming. MIL had disappeared for a bit and when she reappeared around 3:40 and she surprised me by announcing she had made a reservation for me to have a facial and massage in the ship’s spa at 4:00. We went to see if our cabins were ready, then DH took the kids to the Adventures Away party on Deck 9 while I went to the spa for a very relaxing hour. The only negative was the attempt to sell me skin care products afterwards, which I personally find annoying.

At 6:15, MIL and I took 3 of the kids to see the show – All Aboard: Let the Magic Begin. DD was chosen to go up on stage with Freddy Fusion for an act with two other audience members (Hi Tim! And the other guy!) in which she was instructed to jump up in the air, do a double axel and catch the Chinese yo-yo with her feet. Or just catch it in the net. It was very cute.

DD in the show (no flash = bad pictures, but it was a cute show!)

Afterwards, back in the cabin, all of our luggage had arrived, so I sorted the FE gifts and DD and I delivered the gifts to decks 1 and 2.

FE gifts!

Then we headed to dinner. Our first dinner in the rotation was the Animator’s Palette show. We had watched a TV program about the Disney ships and were interested to see the light up walls in action. When we sat at out table, DD had a cup of water with her name on it waiting for her. She happily declared that Mickey had left it for her. It would not be the last bit of Disney “magic” that Mickey would get credit for! DD and DN both had pizza and macaroni and cheese. I enjoyed the wild mushroom risotto and veal chop. I especially enjoyed my drink, the Artist's Impression
(Absolut Vanilla, Frangelico, Passion Fruit Purée and Orange Juice).

See, I even took a photo, told you it was yummy!

Our servers were Shontel and Tanner. They provided other Disney touches such as pouring the ketchup in the shape of Mickey ears. For dessert, the kids had Mickey ice cream bars – the first of many.

When we returned to our cabin, DD was thrilled to see that “Mickey” had turned the couch into a bed for her and closed the curtains so that she had her own “room” with a TV in it. She watched some cartoons and we both had a good nights sleep.

 

[TanyaS]

Sunday Key West

In the morning we returned to Parrot’s Cay for Mickey’s Island Jam breakfast at 9:30. When we enjoyed our meal, we had visits at our table from Mickey, Minnie, Chip, Dale and Pluto.

Afterward I stopped by guest services to drop off a photo-mat and Sharpies for signing. I tried to make reservations for tea with Alice, but it was all booked. DD and I delivered the FE gifts to decks 5 & 6.

DD delivering FE gifts.

Then we met up with MIL and DN. MIL suggested that we take the girls to have some braids put in their hair. We headed up to deck 9 where we were told she could do the girls in about 30 minutes. While we waited we went over to Topsiders buffet for a little snack. Then the girls each had a few braids put in their hair. They each got to choose their own beads and number of braids.

Hair braiding on Deck 9


At 1:00 we met up with DH and the boys and headed down the gangplank and into Key West. Everyone was hungry so we headed out looking for somewhere to eat. We stopped at a pizzeria and ordered a pizza and pitcher of Sprite. Then we decided to take the Conch Train tour of the island. As we rode around, the children were most interested in the chickens we saw running around.

Famous Key West chickens - best part of the day for the kids!

It was hot and as the kids got hotter and thirstier, they also got crankier. When the ride was over we got everyone ice cream cones or chocolate covered key lime pie bars and moods improved greatly. I had heard about the chocolate covered key lime pie bars and wasn’t sure if they would be disgusting or delicious. They were definitely the latter!

We headed back to the boat, stopping in a shop or two. DS#1 (my pale skinned red-head) got a floppy brimmed hat to keep the sun off his face and MIL purchased a purse at the Caroloha bamboo store.

At 6:30 I took DD and DS#2 to the Taylor Mason show, we were a minute late and had to sit in the last row. Luckily, we weren’t late enough that he made fun of us and turned us into part of the show like he did other later arriving guests. His puppet and ventriloquism act was quite funny and I enjoyed watching the kids laugh at it.

Afterwards, we dressed for dinner and headed to Parrot’s Cay. My head had started hurting; I get migraines and between the stress of the day, the heat and the noise, I knew I was in for a bad one. I left the table a few minutes after arriving and returned to my cabin to take some medication and head to bed. MIL took DD back to her cabin where she enjoyed a spend the night party with her cousin. I conked out on pain meds and slept until morning.

 

[maggie blossom]

Great trip report Tanya!!! Great photos.

I remember your daughter from the show, she was adorable. That part of the show was so funny with the man who couldn't make it work. I never laughed so hard!

Are you the one who put the "nips" in the FE? Hard to tell from your pic. Love the nips! Everything from the FE was awesome.

Can't wait to read more.

 

[TanyaS]

I awoke at 6:30 with my head still hurting a little, so I took another half a pill and went back to sleep until 9:30. Then I met up with DH and the boys and we went up to the breakfast buffet at Topsiders. Afterwards we signed up for a Port Excursion and then DH took the boys swimming while I read a book, first on the “secret” deck on 7, then at the (not-so-quiet) Cove. MIL had ordered room service for the girls for breakfast and then had taken them to the Oceaneer’s Club.

Around noon we checked the girls out of the club and everyone went to lunch at Topsiders. Then we went to see the Twice Charmed show, which was very cute and entertaining. Then I took the girls to the Mickey pool where we ran into my friend S and her daughter. The three girls enjoyed swimming until 5:00. Then I took DN back to her cabin and DD and I returned to our cabin where we chilled and ordered room service. This was very enjoyable! DD got cookies in a Mickey shape with some milk, as well as a plate of watermelon. I got the Drink of the Day (a High Tide) and the “All Hands on Deck” cheese platter. We showered and dressed for dinner as it was formal night.

DD with her room service order

My room service order

and where I enjoyed it!

We meet up on level three and meet Captain John and had our picture taken. Then we went to dinner (formal night) at Lumiere’s. DD was exhausted and just wanted to lie on my lap. The boys were tired and acting up. We had planned on the younger kids doing Dine-n-Play, but DN and DS#2 didn't want to go to the kids club. Eventually MIL took DN and DS#2 back to the rooms before her entrée even arrived. I had ordered the prime rib, which DD perked up enough to eat half of.

We returned to the room around 9:45 and got ready for bed, after setting the clocks back an hour and making sure our wake up call and room service orders were in.

DD with the towel elephant that "Mickey" had left us

 

[TanyaS]

Wake up call at 7:00, Mickey telling us to get up there was lots to do! I had ordered room service the night before to be delivered between 6:30 and 7. At 6:31, I had just gotten out of the shower when I heard a knock on the door. I ask the server through the closed door if he can leave our tray in the hall, but he tells me he isn’t allowed to. Poor guy comes in with tray over his head, looking up at the ceiling, quickly puts it on the table, eyes averted the whole time as I’m apologizing for not having any tip money for him. I was wearing a towel, and was not going to start digging around looking for it in that attire. Oops!

Next trip, I am definitely packing a robe!

We met up in the Promenade Lounge for our excursion on the Nautilus Undersea Tour and Reef Snorkel. Our group met at 7:30, was given instructions and stickers, and headed down to the tender boat.

The tender boat

Tender tethered to the Magic

We rode to Grand Cayman, followed someone holding a Sebastian sign to a bus, rode about 4 minutes to the Nautilus. We went aboard, walked down some stairs and were in an underwater room with plenty of benches for everyone and glass windows to look into the clear Caribbean water. We rode past a shipwreck. One of the guides chummed the water for fish and hundreds appeared.

We then went atop and were handed our life vests, masks, snorkels and fins. It took the little girls a bit to figure out how to bite the snorkel properly and breathe through it but we were able to float and see several different types of fish.

It was a very pleasant excursion and I would definitely do it again. Although next time I would have the children practice holding the snorkel in their mouth while still on the boat, instead of trying to teach them while in the ocean.

I took lots of pictures with a disposable underwater camera, but had to take the film to be developed and haven’t gotten the pictures back yet.

Walking towards town, MIL stumbled and fell, but fortunately wasn’t injured. This quickened our decision to just eat at Margaritaville, which was close by. We went upstairs and ordered Cheeseburgers in Paradise, but I opted for a Bahama Mama to drink.

After lunch we caught a taxi/van to take us to the Turtle Farm. We rode with another couple. The driver first stopped at Hell, a limestone deposit that looked like volcanic remains.

Then we rode to the Cayman Turtle Farm. The turtles were in large concrete pens. We were surprised by the number of large sized turtles they had. At the touch tank we were able to reach in and pick up turtles to hold.

DS#2 holding a turtle

Lesson learned: We enjoyed seeing the Turtle Farm, but would have probably enjoyed being on the DCL excursion bus tour better. By just getting a taxi, we didn’t get the “spiel” and I think we would have liked more information about the area and the turtle farm.

Once back on the ship, we went up to Deck 9 for ice cream and ice cream floats. The pools weren’t very full, so I told the girls they could get their suits on and I took them to the Goofy pool. My friend and her daughter showed up shortly after and we ended up staying for almost three hours. We listened to the band playing music at the launch party and watched Minnie and Daisy dance.

It's been a good day when you have two sets of swimsuits drying in the shower!

After returning to our rooms and showering, we delivered the last of our FE gifts then headed to dinner. We had decided to not attempt the late dinner this evening and went instead to Topsiders where we met up my friend and her daughter and everyone ate together. At dinner Topsiders has servers, not a buffet, but it was quicker that the rotational dining meals.

After the kids ate, I walked the three girls and DS#2 down to the Oceanner’s Club and the adults and DS#1 were able to eat our dinner in peace. Of course, about the time we ordered desert we received a page that DS#2 was ready to be picked up. DH quickly ate his crème brulee and went to retrieve DS#2 and take him back to the room. The girls wanted to keep playing in the club, so MIL, DS#1 and I went to see the Villans Tonight show. The theater was almost completely full with only a few single seats scattered around. Happily, a very nice family on the back row offered to have their two children sit on their parent's laps so that DS#1 and I could sit by each other during the show.

 

[TanyaS]

A few minutes after my wake up call, the phone rang again. It was room service, warning me that they were on their way up with our food. I guess I hadn’t heard the call the day before since I had been in the shower. Ha ha ha!

We ate and headed to the Buena Vista theater where three excursions heading to the mainland where gathered for instructions and stickers. Disney also had towels for us to take along.

Our family was booked for the Xcaret Eco Archeological Park. MIL and DN opted instead for a shorter excursion and had booked a tour of the ruins in Cozumel that left later in the day.

We walked down the gangplank into Cozumel, were we took a ferryboat to Playa Del Carmen. The boat ride was slightly choppy, but not too bad. The kids enjoyed using some of the FE treats they had received - word find puzzle books and coloring sheets - to occupy the time until we came ashore.

Ferry boat to the mainland

When we arrived, we meet our guide, Jesus, who very politely, but firmly, shepherded us along, making sure that parents didn’t lose their children in the market place we walked through on the way to the tour bus. We boarded the bus and rode for about 30 minutes during which time Jesus explained about the park and what we would be able to do that day.

The Xcaret Eco Archeological Park turned out to be a very large park, and somewhat confusing to navigate. Our whole excursion group was ushered to the underground river swim. We were given large bags to put all our belongings and shoes in, which we locked up and we were given the key to wear on a cord. We then got our lifejackets and proceeded down the steps into the river. Brrrr. The water was colder than I had expected, but we quickly adjusted and off we floated. The river was deep enough that none us could touch the bottom. The water was very clear, like a swimming pool. The river was crowded with lots of people, most wearing flippers so they could move along faster than our group. It was interesting swimming down through the underground river. At many times we were under rock about 12 to 15 feet deep, although there were enough opening we never felt claustrophobic. It took about 30-40 minutes to swim to the end. There were extra exits along the way, and DH used one of those to take DD and DS#2 out a little earlier when they were tired of the swimming. DS#1 and I kept going until the end.

Swimming in the underground river

Upon exiting the river, we turned in our lifejackets and retrieved our bags and shoes. Jesus then led everyone to a restaurant, Dos Playas, and within a few minutes we were seated at a table in the midst of a tropical paradise setting. Tiki huts and views of blue water surrounded us. We had been given vouchers to receive an included lunch of hot dog, hamburger, or salad. You could also order from the menu and pay for whatever you wanted if you so desired.

What a setting!!

We decided we did desire one of those big frozen drinks that are served in pineapples and ordered some daiquiris, which came promptly. We were also quickly given some chips and guacamole.

'Cause it's not a vacation until you drink out of a pineapple!

The only real negative of the day was that it took about 45 minutes for our lunch order to arrive. The setting was beautiful, so it wasn’t terrible to sit and wait, but we were anxious to see the rest of the park. Eventually our lunch did arrive and we ate our hamburgers. DS#2 had accidently ordered a hamburger, but had really wanted a hot dog. He fussed about this and we teased him about it for the rest of our cruise; every time he ordered sometime, we’d ask him if he was sure. Was he positive he didn’t want a hot dog instead?

After lunch we set off to explore the park. We wanted to see the jaguars, monkeys and ruins. We eventually, after much meandering and side trips to watch the dolphins and look at the bats and a tapir, we did see the three things we had wanted. I had been hoping the ruin visit would be educational, but the signs provided limited information about them and the kids didn’t get the educational experience I had been anticipating. But we did have fun as a family!

Mayan ruins

The dolphin swim that other park guests were doing looked like fantastic fun. The next time I take a trip to the Caribbean, I am definitely signing up for a dolphin swim!

Lastly we headed into the gift shop near the exit, were we exchanged our Disney provided vouchers for frozen fruit bars, which we enjoyed before setting off to board the bus.

When we walked out to the bus, I was about to ask the driver if it was the bus for the Magic, when I noticed that he was standing there holding a can of hand wipes. Yup. It was definitely a Disney bus! We rode the bus back to the ferry and were soon back on the Magic.

I took DD to the Mickey pool for a swim and then ordered room service for DD for dinner, and then took her to play at the Oceaneer’s club with DN and her friend, Z.

DD playing in the Mickey pool

The adults and the boys ate our pirate night dinner at Parrot Cay. After dinner I got the girls from the club and we went up to Deck 10 to watch the pirate show. Because we were so late getting there, we didn’t have a great spot to see everything. But we did enjoy watching the fireworks. A great ending to a great day!

 

[TanyaS]

DN had spent the night with DD and me, so I took both girls to breakfast at Lumiere’s.

Here is the photo that I think best demonstrates why I loved our Disney Cruise:

One waiter pouring syrup on pancakes for DD while another cut up DN’s waffles for her. I actually got to sit and eat and enjoy my Eggs Benedict and cups of coffee. Now that’s some Disney Magic!

After breakfast the girls wanted to go to the pool, but DN didn’t have a swimsuit with her and MIL wasn’t in the room (she had gone for a massage in the spa). I took the girls to the store and bought then each a Minnie Mouse set as a souvenir. We went back to my cabin where the girls enjoyed playing together while I read my book on the deck.

After lunch at Topsiders, we went to the show in the Walt Disney theater – Disney Dreams: An Enchanted Classic. We enjoyed the show, in which our server, Shontel performed and sang a song from the Lion King. We had planned to go see Tangled after the show, but there was a technical problem during the show and it ended about 15 minutes later than scheduled as we missed seeing the movie (didn't want to miss that much of the beginning.

That night we again took DD and DN to the Oceaneer’s Club while the rest of us had dinner at Animator’s Palate.

That night there was a midnight premiere of African Cats. DS#1 wanted to go see it and was thrilled that we permitted him to attend by himself. He enjoyed having the extra bit of freedom that being on the cruise provided him.

It was a relaxing day and very enjoyable. The only negative was that we were starting to be given information about the disembarkation procedures, a sad reminder that our trip wouldn’t last forever!

 

[iloverags2]

Enjoying your report! We took this same cruise in Nov/Dec last year and LOVED it!

 

[verygfy]

Great report! I really enjoyed hearing about your excursions in Grand Cayman and Cozumel. Would you rebook both excursions again?

 

[MommaMouse411]

cool...I've been wanting to read more TRs for the western caribe.