A Very Cruisin Christmas: December 18 - 29, 2010

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May 26, 2008
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I have read hundreds of trip reports, but I never wrote one. Well, there is a first time for everything, so after five cruises, I decided to go for it.
We sailed on the Holiday 11-day Southern Caribbean Cruise. The whole family cruised: DH, (Mr. Grumpy), DD15 (the princess only child and grandchild), my mom (the matriarch), my dad (Mr. Grumpy 2), my sister (newlywed), her husband (newlywed/first timer), and me (a Disney freak to the core).

Our magical Christmas cruise started very early on the morning of December 17th. My DH and I were up at 4AM to weigh our luggage. Five out of our six suitcases were over 50 lbs. Crisis! We arranged and rearranged our clothes and shoes but no luck. Yes, we were going to pay the overage fees along with the baggage fees. It is vacation so you are supposed to spend money like a rockstar. Well, maybe, like two hard working people, who saved their pennies to have a fabulous vacation.

It was cold and raining (Yes, it does rain in SoCal) when our shuttle picked us up. There was a bit of a crisis. Our 14 pieces of luggage did not fit in the van (really…We were reassured over and over again by Primetime that one van would work for 7 people with 14 pieces of luggage). Well, it wasn’t working this morning. So, what did we do? We stuffed our luggage between seats and on seats. Important fact not now, but later in the trip report: My BIL double-checked his Geo Tracker to make sure it was locked before we departed. He loves that car, and my sister is always planning its demise. Finally, we were off to LAX.

When we got to LAX, we were surprised with a few treats. We did not have to worry about the 50 lbs. limit for each suitcase, as well as there were no charges for our 14 pieces of luggage. Those were the perks of flying first class, and since it was my first and only time probably ever flying first class, I had no idea. So our early morning “musical luggage” routine was all in vain.
After the standard airport gourmet breakfast of McDonald’s, it was time to board our Delta flight to Orlando. Flight was uneventful. Allegedly, there was this actress on our flight. Nobody knew her name, but we knew that she was on that show. What show? We all knew the name but could not recall it to save our lives.

We arrived to Orlando on time with our entire luggage, which was a good thing since last vacation we arrived with only 3 of our 14 suitcases. Yes, indeed we were happy campers, but not for long.
My parents and my family were registered at the Hyatt but not my sister and her husband. Yes, no reservation. My sister called DCL, and they could not find her reservation for the Hyatt or the CRUISE! Crisis! I think we stopped breathing at that moment. After breathing resumed, she gave her information again and our names (ressies were linked), DCL “magically” found her cruise reservation, but no Hyatt. Still don’t understand what happened, but there was a room for them in the inn (a small Christmas miracle).

We checked into the Hyatt right on time for our DisMeet. We had a great time with Leilani, Laurie, Nick and their families. The kids were excited to finally meet after chatting online for months. They ran off to explore the airport while the adults enjoyed a few cocktails. We all turned in fairly early because we all had a big day ahead of us.

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My DD15 (Raven) and I were waiting for our plane at LAX.

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My DD and my mom were getting ready to board the plane.

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My sister and her husband were enjoying the company at our DisMeet.
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It was nice to meet fellow Disers at our Hyatt DisMeet.

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The kids were having a good time exploring the airport and taking pictures.

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My DH (wonder why we call him Grumpy) and DD cannot wait for tomorrow.

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My DD and I posed for one more picture before we called it a night.
 
Let the Magic Begin

The next morning room service woke us up with our breakfast. After our tummies were full, it was time to get ready. DD and I put on our matching shirts when DH asked me where his shirt was. I told him that I did not know. Crisis! His shirt was still in La Habra, CA. He was upset that he would not match with the rest of us. Okay, does this make sense? First, he was upset that he had to wear the shirt. Now, he was upset that he did not have his shirt to wear like everybody else. Confusing…Right? But, thankfully, he had his Santa’s hat so he would kind of look like the rest of us.
We checked in for our cruise at the airport and were finally all ready to head to our Magical Carpet Ride (Magical Express). The whole process from checking out of Hyatt to checking in with DCL was crisis-free. We had to wait a bit, but the waiting was worth it. We were on the first bus, and we received Group 3 for embarkation. Score!

We all boarded the bus for a long winter’s nap. I woke up just in time to see through the fog and rain the MAGIC!

We breezed through security, and we had some time to kill. DD was running around and finding all her friends that she chatted with on the DisBoards and Facebook. It was great to see all the kids meet. After a few pictures with family, friends, and Mickey, it was time to pass through those Mickey Ears. We took our Embarkation Photo, and like magic we were on the Magic…Hearing those words, “Disney Magic, would like to welcome the Thomas, Ramos, and Kalagian Families. The atrium’s Christmas decorations were beautiful. It was a priceless moment, but wait...It’s time for the Palo Dash for brunch reservations. Yes, we got them!

Lunch at Parrot Cay was good. DD was there for about a second before she had to run off to meet the teens. That was a reoccurring theme throughout our cruise.
Stateroom 7122 was ready a bit after 1:30 PM. Our navigator veranda was ready for the Thomas clan. Our stateroom host was Albert. He was attentive to our needs, but I believe he was still in Towel Folding School. We could never really figure out what they were.

4:00 PM it is time for the Drill. No, it was a fashion show for the Kalagian-Thomas girls. We strutted as if we were on a runway. We posed to get that money shot. Since it was raining and cold outside, we were happy that our station was in Animator’s Palate. It was not raining at that time, but SoCal girls hate rain, and any thought of rain could be a crisis if hair products fail to perform.
Drill done…now, it was time to party. We enjoyed our first DOTD. Our Merry Wishes were very good. The party was festive. We danced and sang like rock stars. Then her horn blew, which was music to my ears. Time to sail away, but wait we were still docked. There was a delay due to…who cared I was on the Magic.

It was soon dinnertime (main seating). We were at table 31 in Luimere’s. Our fabulous serving staff was Plamon from Bulgaria (server), Richard from the Philippines (assistant server), and Wayne from South Africa (head server). I had some chicken dish, which was yummy, yummy, and no dessert. I know no dessert, but it is the first night, and I had to pace myself.

After dinner we saw the lighting of the Christmas tree. What a great way to get into the holiday spirit. “All Aboard” variety show was next. John Charles was so funny.
Since we got our luggage very, very late, we still needed to unpack and get organized. DH and I unpacked and decorated our stateroom with holiday cheer. Finally, the ship rocked us to sleep. DD did not appear until 2 AM. Would this be a pattern?

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DD was excited to get aboard the Magic!

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Was that liquid sunshine?

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My mom and dad were waiting in the cruise terminal.
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Posing with Mickey: The girls all became such good friends.
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Mr and Mrs. Kalagian's first picture with Mickey as husband and wife!

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They were working the camera!
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DD was hamming it up trying to get that money shot.
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This was the Money Shot!

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Our Cruise Director, Peter, got us all ready to Sail Away!
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Cheers! Our first DOTD!

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This was our first of many dinners together.
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A Christmas toast to get the party started.

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This was our stateroom's door.
 
I am so excited to read your report. We are scheduled to go on a Christmas cruise this year. We embark on December 24th! And are so excited about it. So I can't wait to hear how yours went and the activities that are on board.

You are doing an excellent job so far and am so ready to ready more. Please keep it up! :thumbsup2
 

I am also SO loving hearing about your trip! The pictures are fabulous as well- thanks for sharing!

I am so excited to read your report. We are scheduled to go on a Christmas cruise this year. We embark on December 24th! And are so excited about it. So I can't wait to hear how yours went and the activities that are on board.

We are also booked on a Christmas cruise for this coming year that leaves on Christmas eve- perhaps we will see you! Sailing on the magic with my parents, husbands parents, and sister in law. Can't wait!
 
Our First Magical Sea Day

It was our first sea day. It started with a walk around deck 4 with fellow Disers, Leilani and JoAnn. Disers planned to meet on sea days to walk at 7AM. This was the first and last time I met them to walk, but I had good intentions too. I swear.

It was a beautiful day. After my walk, DH and I had breakfast at Topsiders. DD was off early to have breakfast with her friends and hangout at the Vibe. What happened in that Vibe? DD was always running off to meet her friends at the Vibe for an “activity”. DH and I had a relaxing morning at the Quiet Cove: memories of peace and quiet, DOTD’s, and relaxing in the sun and in the hot tub. Paradise!

We had our DisMeet and ornament exchange that afternoon in Studio Sea. It was great meeting people that you have been chatting with for so long. The ornaments were quite lovely. My mom received some handmade ornaments from Africa. I received a snowflake ornament with our cruise logo on one side and our cruise itinerary on the other. Good times! Good times! Leilani and JoAnne did a great job with our DisMeet. Unfortunately, I forgot my camera for the meet.

The climax of that afternoon was High Tea at Palo’s with my DH, sister and her husband. High tea, we thought was a light afternoon snack so what did we do? We had lunch at Pluto’s: Hamburger and fries, what else would we have. Right? That was a bad move. High Tea was not a light afternoon snack. It was more like an elaborate three-course meal. First, we were served tea and scones with cream and jelly. Every time our scones disappeared on our plates, Annie Marie quickly replaced it with another and another and another. Next, it was the three tier plates of sandwiches. I was a big fan of the cucumber sandwiches. Then, it was time for the three tier plates of desserts. The chocolate treats were the best. Now, finally, Annie Marie served us this cream and strawberry dessert. Yummy, Yummy! We were stuffed! No worries…Dinner was not for another two hours! So what to do, what to do? We grabbed our tennis shoes and walked deck 4.

Don’t worry we were ready to eat again just in time for the Prince and Princess dinner at Animator’s Palate. Yummy, Yummy! What did I eat? No clue. I just remembered that I was stuffed, stuffed, stuffed. We had to have dessert this evening. We promised Plamon that we would since we skipped it the day before. Dessert was good: cheesecake with a chocolate Princess Aurora.

It was also formal night. We all looked fabulous in our finest attire.

My DH and I topped the evening off with John Charles’s adult cabaret show. He was very funny! Loved it: Phantom of the Opera, classic and Celine Dion, hilarious!

That was the evening that FE madness started. Wow! The FE items were so wonderful: scrapbooks; personalized magnets and bookmarks; CD’s, bags, and Disney memorable. I loved the book made of lunch bags. It was so creative. DD loved the gum. Every time gum was left in our FE. She commandeered it. We had over 50 participants, which made this the best FE ever!

Also, tonight was the night I fell in love with the Wave Phones. We were assigned two phones: our DD had one, and we had the other. We were able to call her or text DD. It was great to keep track of her whereabouts and happenings. DD loved it because she could text her friends on the ship. My only concern was if we lost the phone, we would be charged $250.00 (I think that is the amount). I am happy to report we did not lose one single Wave Phone (another Christmas miracle).

Nighty Night. I got to get ready to relax more and eat more. And where was DD? She was at the Vibe.

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Good Morning Raven! It was our first full day on the Magic.

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High Tea Time. Please notice our pinkies.
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Walking off High Tea to make room for dinner.

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The Thomas family was all dressed to impress.

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Raven and our assistant server, Richard...Her kept her Shirley Temples coming.
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Scott was finding his prince inside.
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Yummy Dessert

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Our FE
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Our FE's treasures
 
I am so excited to read your report. We are scheduled to go on a Christmas cruise this year. We embark on December 24th! And are so excited about it. So I can't wait to hear how yours went and the activities that are on board.

You are doing an excellent job so far and am so ready to ready more. Please keep it up! :thumbsup2

We truly had a magical time. Christmas Eve an Christmas Day were the best two days on our 11-day cruise. You will have an amazing time.
 
I am also SO loving hearing about your trip! The pictures are fabulous as well- thanks for sharing!



We are also booked on a Christmas cruise for this coming year that leaves on Christmas eve- perhaps we will see you! Sailing on the magic with my parents, husbands parents, and sister in law. Can't wait!

You will have an wonderful time. I cannot wait to share with you our Christmas Eve and Christmas Day.
 
Wonderful start!! I'm really enjoying your report and pics! Can't wait to read more....:yay:
 
Loving your report!! You all looked fabulous on formal night!

Kristen
 
I met your parents! I explained how Bingo works to them during one of the sessions. Did they ever win?
 
I am also SO loving hearing about your trip! The pictures are fabulous as well- thanks for sharing!



We are also booked on a Christmas cruise for this coming year that leaves on Christmas eve- perhaps we will see you! Sailing on the magic with my parents, husbands parents, and sister in law. Can't wait!

:yay: That is exciting! Perhaps we will meet. Have you checked out the cruise thread for that cruise yet? Last time I checked there wasn't much happening but I haven't checked for a while. Maybe we'll meet up over there! Have fun planning.
 
IceSk8ersMom - Just wanted to let you know you have a beautiful family. Can't wait to read more!
 
Yay!! Love your report!
Now your shirts??
Did you get Millie Pie or Jordak to make you the pattern... or did you do it yourself?
Looking for something to make for all of us for my 40th this may. Any suggestions would be most welcome :)
 
Your report is great! I am glad I found it! I am so interested to find out what the cruise is like for Christmas!
 

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