A second hand "Live Report from the Magic 1-22-05"

[Verandah Man]

I have a friend that is on the Magic this week. He is not part of the DIS, but I thought I would share a few e-mails that I received from him since Saturday, here with you folk. I just e-mailed him back and asked him about what he had to say about St. Maarten and St. Thomas. As we all know, the Magic usually stops at St. Maarten before St. Thomas. When I hear more, I will share info here.

(first message-Saturday:1/22)

We made it! We're on the ship. Had a small calamity - Karen broke a bone in her foot last night - crutches and wheelchair...AAAGGGHHHHH!!! But it did get us special checkin and extra help. Sad thing is she's kind of out for most activities and excursions - oh well, at least we're here.

Thanks for the help - we'll keep you posted!

PS - how did you get that picture from the webcam????

Randy



(second message-Sunday:1/23)

Hey!

We ended up in 7568 and were whisked aboard because of Karen being in a wheelchair (that's the secret to a quick boarding!) It's definitely harder without the ability to walk but still fun. Haven't figured out what to do about St. Thomas and John yet. What did you guys do? Many things aren't available because of Camme's age or Karen's disability. I hope the towns are able to handle wheelchairs.

Our dining rotation is PLAPLAP - we're doing Palos on Friday, brunch on Thursday. Went to church this morning - 2500 people, 23 in church. Led by a spanish girl - very interdenominational but she had a great heart for God. Cammie got hair done today and is loving the 3-4 year old kids program. Man, churches could learn how to work with kids from Disney!

Tonight is the first stage show - ought to be fun.

Thanks for your help - you're awesome and made it easier for us.

God's best!

Randy


(third message-Monday:1/24)

The cruise has been great so far - actually been a real smooth ride. Sorry we can't send pictures - no way to download into the ship's system - probably some virus protection thing.

Karen's out of the wheelchair and on just one crutch. She moves pretty good for someone her age.

How's the weather up there? Don't worry, we are experiencing cooler temp too. The temp here is 75 - 80ish.

Tomorrow we hit St Thomas, then on Wednesday St. Marteen. Not sure what we can do now that Karen's somewhat incapacitated but I found a hot Sr. Citizen's group that said I could go with them! (smile). We were thinking of doing a tour with Sunny Liston Tours - a safari bus ($20 per person) - recommended by a friend or going ourselves to St. John. Karen wants to see Trunk Bay. We'll see.

Watched the game on the ship's satellite system. It was very cool. We got the feed directly from Fox's satellite so there were no commercials. Instead, we saw the cameras practicing shots, saw the reporters practicing their lines and fixing make-up and best of all, during the actual game, while you saw commercials, we saw them rolling tape of the previous few minutes of play (picking out the best plays) and heard the comments and joking of the guys in the booth. Very interesting and very funny!

We'll be back Saturday. This Sunday is our second anniversary at the Voorhees campus. Can you believe it???? Time flies!

Let me know what's up - I can check e-mail on AOL anytime. Nice benefit.

See ya!

Randy

 

[faireygod mother]

You are so thoughtful to share this. I am even more excited, even though it is a 3 day cruise.

 

[Verandah Man]

Monday 1/24 12:45pm

You were right - I messed up - it is St. Marteen's tomorrow.

The show last night was the Mickey's. Very entertaining. I heard talk that there was some kind of program in the wind for Vacation Club members to buy points exclusive for cruising - could be a rumor, I'm going to call the desk to find out - I'll let you know.

Sorry about the cold - it's cooler here too (82 degrees!) Wow! I can't believe how cold it is at home. Our services got cancelled by the school. Did you have church Sunday?

Already have lots of pictures - I'll send some of the best when we get home.

Talk to you!

Randy

PS - I'm getting FAT!!!!!!!!!!

 

[castlegazer]

Having severly spraigned my ankle on my last cruise - its interesting hearing about someone else, not used to impaired mobility, deal with a wheel chair existence on a cruise. Not easy. It provides you with a new insight into the difficulties of the mobility impaired. But also provides you with insight that not all is lost and there are plenty of ways to make the most of your time.

Thanks for sharing.

 

[DisneyPoly]

Thanks Verandah Man for posting -- we have friends on that cruise and we've been wondering how its going -- they're not too computer friendly, except for the daugther (15) who is a "girl" friend of my son's. We were hoping they were having good weather.

Sounds like all is going well. I was reading where recent 7 night cruises have been a little rough with the seas.

I look forward to hearing more!

Take care!

Maureen

 

[westjones]

Thanks for posting! We have friends onboard too and I am SO hoping they make it to Castaway Cay. My friends think they are jinxed because every cruise they have been on has had to skip the private island because of weather. We sailed with them in September and it was when Hurricane Jeanne came through and we missed CC (that was our 5th cruise and the first time we had missed CC--so they think it was because of them).

I am really wishing and hoping that they make it to CC and break the jinx they think if following them on the cruises .

Glad to hear everything is going well so far. Thanks again for posting!
DJ

 

[Hygiene99]

Thank you Andy .. We also Have Chris and Erica Brother inLaw and Sister Inlaw Onboard this Week.. And We are So happy that all Seems to Be Going Well... Chris is just a Lurker Here.... But sometimes tells me things that I did not See Or Read..


Peter

 

[Verandah Man]

Thanks to "HumanCookie" we have a photo of the Magic docked at St. Maarten today.

The Disney Magic docked at St. Maarten January 25, 2005

 

[Hygiene99]

Calm As Glass, looks like this trip is going well..

 

[HumanCookie]

Another port camera angle

 

[WDWLVR]

What a great shot. Looks like a busy day in St. Thomas. Hope they are having fun!

 

[staylor]

Andy, thanks for posting the reports. They are great to read. Especially from a non Diser. Looks like they are tendering today in St. Thomas. That is too bad. That will be a total pain for Karen with her leg and all. Oh well, I hope they are having a great time.
Staci

 

[MamaCrush]

Isn't it nice how the Magic stands out from the other ships?? Such an elegant design...

 

[DCLgodess]

Isn't it nice how the Magic stands out from the other ships?? Such an elegant design...

It definetly looks different from the newer designs sailing the high seas now. I agree, it is flashy..

 

[Verandah Man]

Thanks so much "HumanCookie" for posting these photos of the Magic in St. Thomas. I just got in for lunch and haven't had time to check the St. Thomas port cams. It sure looks nice there, considering I've been walking around through snow covered yards all morning reading water meters with a bum knee!!!

 

[castlegazer]

Hey Andy, and anyone else who might know - in the St. Thomas cam photo, it appears that DCL is the last ship in and looks like everyone had to tender in. Does this happen often, and if so, where do you tender to - the normal dock area or over to the Charlotte Amalie shopping area?

 

[Verandah Man]

Hey Andy, and anyone else who might know - in the St. Thomas cam photo, it appears that DCL is the last ship in and looks like everyone had to tender in. Does this happen often, and if so, where do you tender to - the normal dock area or over to the Charlotte Amalie shopping area?

I don't know the answer to that as we have never had to tender in at St. Thomas. I'm sure someone else would have the answer to that question though.

 

[Lisa]

We tendered to Charlotte Amalie area on the 1/8/05 Eastern Cruise.

Actually we took the Beach and Snorkle Excursion to St. John. The ferry that transported us to St. John came right to the Magic and we left from there.

Returning we tendered back to the Magic from Charlotte Amalie, after of course doing a little shopping.

 

[HumanCookie]

 

[Verandah Man]

HumanCookie, What a great pic, Thanks again!!! I just e-mailed it to my friend that is on the Magic, along with the other pics from earlier today. Oh, to be on my way to CC again!!!