modlin1024
Freezing mine to protect yours:)
- Joined
- Jan 15, 2008
- Messages
- 52
Introduction
Let me begin first by introducing the travelers, Me (working Air Force Mom, DH, working and wonderful Dad, and DD, 18 months. This was our fourth Disney Cruise and our second Western Caribbean itinerary. We live in North Pole, Alaska so we always take our vacations in January to break up the long Alaskan winters (and boy, can they get looong!) Before our trip, we had experienced two weeks of -40 to -50 below so needless to say, we were ready to get to Florida and the Caribbean! This cruise was booked a year ago when we were onboard the Eastern Caribbean in Jan 2008. ***Important note*** To anyone who is military that reads this trip report, be advised that you can ask for a military discount on your already booked cruise. I wish I had known this on the last 3 cruises because the discount I received was way better than the 10% off and $200 onboard credit you receive when you rebook onboard. We had a Cat 4 room and they ended up crediting my account for $1300.00 after the military discount! I was glad I called and asked since Disney doesnt really advertise it. You just have to fax them a copy of your military ID and they will credit your account within a few days.
Travel
We always book the insurance and ground transportation with the cruise so when we arrived a day early in Orlando, we stayed at the Sheraton (I travel a lot so I have a lot of Starwood points and was able to get a nice suite close to the airport.) We arrived on Friday 23 Jan around 5 pm and checked into the Sheraton, got something to eat, and slept! We were glad to be in nice sunny Florida!
Day 1 Embarkation Day
We woke up the next morning, had breakfast and took the free shuttle to the airport. Upon arrival at Disney Cruise line transportation center, they immediately took our bags and loaded them onto metal cages bound for the Disney Magic. We went inside to check in an of course there were a ton of people in line to check in. I already had all my docs and ground transfers so I didnt have to wait in line, they just stamped my pass and we immediately went in line to board the bus to take us to the ship. I noticed that our bus was not full and the ride went by quickly as I watched the cruise video and DH read and DD napped. About 45 minutes later, we went over the hill and I could see the Disney Magic in all its glory sitting in port! Upon arrival to the port, we went through security which was very quick and efficient as usual and headed on up to the port terminal. DH took DD and they went to look around as I checked us in. I received our Castaway club lanyards and our dinner tickets with the PLAAPLA 8 pm dinner seating and we had boarding #13. We waited for about half an hour and then headed in line to board. I noticed that most of the passengers were from Europe or South America which is common this time of year. ***Note***One thing I noticed that was different from previous cruises is that before you board, they take a photo of everyone in your party so that they have a photo to go with a name for everyone on the cruise. They didnt do this before.
***Another helpful hint If you are shopping for an upgrade, wait until you get to port and go over to see the guest services, guest relations person after checking in. You can ask her if there are any upgrades available and if there are, this will be best the best deal. It is even cheaper than calling a few days before the trip. She told me there were a few category 2s available if I was interested. She quoted me a price of $2012.00 if we wanted to upgrade from a Cat 4 to a Cat 2. Not too bad considering a Cat 2 had two rooms, concierge service, huge balcony, etc.
We took our boarding photos and for once we all didnt look exhausted, then headed across the gangway. Welcome aboard the Modlin family!!! I always love when they announce to everyone that you are boarding and everyone cheers. We headed up to Topsiders for the lunch buffet and also ordered a case of water for the week. Lunch at Topsiders was upper busy as usual (they had closed Parrot Cay because it was full so we had no choice but to go to Topsiders.) I wanted to sit out on deck but it was pretty full so we stayed inside and ate. The food was awesome and the fresh fruit was so good. (We rarely have fresh fruit in Alaska so it doesnt take much to make us happy!) I got a strawberry whip cream cup for dessert and it was sooo good
We decided to check out our room since rooms are ready after 1 and set some of our carry ons down. Our luggage hadnt arrived yet so we decided to walk around deck 4 which has the nice track and it is always quiet. ***Helpful hint Deck 4 is very rarely ever crowded. We always find empty comfy deck chairs to lie in, especially when the ship is pulling out of Port Canaveral. If you want to escape the madness of Decks 9 and 10, go to Deck 4 where it is quiet and relaxing. Deck 4 is usually busiest early morning when folks are up using the jogging track.
At 3:15, we had our DIS meet in Promenade Lounge and I was able to chat with a few folks from Michigan, Pennsylvania, New York I think It was nice to put a face to the person you have been communicating with about the trip for so long! We stayed for about 15 minutes and then headed upstairs to get ready for the lifeboat drill.
At 4 pm we donned our life jackets and proceeded to our meet location for the drill. Helpful hint*** If you have little ones (infants, toddlers) you dont have to put their jackets on, just carry them with you. I always see people with their little ones looking miserable in their life jackets and they dont have to be in them. Our CM checked off our name and cabin number and the drill was over as fast as it had begun.
Next, we headed up to the Sailaway party which was in full swing with singing and dancing and Minnie and Mickey and the whole gang. I was a little disappointed because we got up there about 10 til 5 and they were already doing the countdown so I missed getting the videotape the countdown but at least I was able to see the cheering and hear the horn. I always love hearing the When you wish upon a star horn. We literally pulled out of port at approximately 4:51 which was unusual but I guess if everything was ready to go, why not leave early?
When we were pulling out of Port, we moved down to Deck 4 where it was deserted and quiet and we lounged on the chairs and DH and DD fell asleep and I took photos of the sunset and took in the serenity of the ocean. Around 6 we decided to head up to our room and see if our luggage arrived. It had so we proceeded to unpack and put our stuff away. DDs pack and play was already set up and I noticed my package that I had mailed to the ship a week prior was also sitting on the bed along with our Castaway club gifts and a welcome back letter. I was excited about decorating our door so I got my magnets and stuff out and covered our door with decorations, as well as, put our Fish Extender out. For those of you that do the FE gift exchange, it is a blast! We already had neat little trinkets and magnets added to our door form other DISers soon after I put it up!
After we unpacked and got settled in, we set out on the veranda for awhile. We saw a few dolphins poke up and jump by and swimming next to the boat so that was neat. Oh yeah, for those of you keeping track, we stayed in Room 8556, Deck 8, Category 4. We love this room and have stayed in it 3 times. It is almost midship, so there is not a lot of movement, and it is a very quiet room. It has a great veranda and we actually spend a lot of time on our veranda. I highly recommend this room. It is pretty big and easy for us to walk around. I noticed that there is another fold out bed, a wall bed, and a ceiling bed that will open if you have more people in your party.
We decided to get dressed for dinner which was quick since it was cruise casual night. We walked around and looked in the shops while we were waiting for dinner. We were the first in line for Parrot Cay and right at 8, the doors opened to cheers with the CMs welcoming us. Our table was Table 18 and we had Daniel (from Hungary) and Cassida (from England) as our wait staff. They were awesome and I hope to have them again! What great people! There were several night where we literally closed down the restaurant laughing and having a good time with them. We made such good friends with them that on the last night, we traded e-mails and addresses. They were really great people. Our dinner mates were a family with 2 little kids (ages 3 and 6) and they were a lot of fun. We hit it off immediately and had a great time the entire cruise. Dinner was really good and of course I had beef and DH had seafood. I had the sundae for dessert and it was so good! Of all the restaurants, Parrot Cay is my least favorite but I still love the food. I have never had a bad meal on the cruise. Ever. I am not picky, though, so take that for what you want.
***Helfpul hint For those of you cruisers who travel with infants and toddlers, Disney has everything taken care of. I brought DDs forks and spoons, bibs, etc, and Dis already had everything I needed when we sat down to eat. They had little silverware, bibs, cups, everything. They just know everything! Fascinating! They even cut up her meat and everything when they served her meal. One thing I noticed on the ship is that the CMs really cater to the children. They gout of their way to pay play with them and my DD just loved all of them. She was blowing them kisses by the second night and then every night after that. They just loved her and she loved them.
After dinner, we did our usual walk around the ship a few times (so we didnt go to bed full---yuck!) and then retired to the room for the night. We always sleep with our veranda door open so we can hear the sound of the waves. Plus, the air was so warm.
Up next Day 2! I will also try to post some photos! I took over 2000!
Let me begin first by introducing the travelers, Me (working Air Force Mom, DH, working and wonderful Dad, and DD, 18 months. This was our fourth Disney Cruise and our second Western Caribbean itinerary. We live in North Pole, Alaska so we always take our vacations in January to break up the long Alaskan winters (and boy, can they get looong!) Before our trip, we had experienced two weeks of -40 to -50 below so needless to say, we were ready to get to Florida and the Caribbean! This cruise was booked a year ago when we were onboard the Eastern Caribbean in Jan 2008. ***Important note*** To anyone who is military that reads this trip report, be advised that you can ask for a military discount on your already booked cruise. I wish I had known this on the last 3 cruises because the discount I received was way better than the 10% off and $200 onboard credit you receive when you rebook onboard. We had a Cat 4 room and they ended up crediting my account for $1300.00 after the military discount! I was glad I called and asked since Disney doesnt really advertise it. You just have to fax them a copy of your military ID and they will credit your account within a few days.
Travel
We always book the insurance and ground transportation with the cruise so when we arrived a day early in Orlando, we stayed at the Sheraton (I travel a lot so I have a lot of Starwood points and was able to get a nice suite close to the airport.) We arrived on Friday 23 Jan around 5 pm and checked into the Sheraton, got something to eat, and slept! We were glad to be in nice sunny Florida!
Day 1 Embarkation Day
We woke up the next morning, had breakfast and took the free shuttle to the airport. Upon arrival at Disney Cruise line transportation center, they immediately took our bags and loaded them onto metal cages bound for the Disney Magic. We went inside to check in an of course there were a ton of people in line to check in. I already had all my docs and ground transfers so I didnt have to wait in line, they just stamped my pass and we immediately went in line to board the bus to take us to the ship. I noticed that our bus was not full and the ride went by quickly as I watched the cruise video and DH read and DD napped. About 45 minutes later, we went over the hill and I could see the Disney Magic in all its glory sitting in port! Upon arrival to the port, we went through security which was very quick and efficient as usual and headed on up to the port terminal. DH took DD and they went to look around as I checked us in. I received our Castaway club lanyards and our dinner tickets with the PLAAPLA 8 pm dinner seating and we had boarding #13. We waited for about half an hour and then headed in line to board. I noticed that most of the passengers were from Europe or South America which is common this time of year. ***Note***One thing I noticed that was different from previous cruises is that before you board, they take a photo of everyone in your party so that they have a photo to go with a name for everyone on the cruise. They didnt do this before.
***Another helpful hint If you are shopping for an upgrade, wait until you get to port and go over to see the guest services, guest relations person after checking in. You can ask her if there are any upgrades available and if there are, this will be best the best deal. It is even cheaper than calling a few days before the trip. She told me there were a few category 2s available if I was interested. She quoted me a price of $2012.00 if we wanted to upgrade from a Cat 4 to a Cat 2. Not too bad considering a Cat 2 had two rooms, concierge service, huge balcony, etc.
We took our boarding photos and for once we all didnt look exhausted, then headed across the gangway. Welcome aboard the Modlin family!!! I always love when they announce to everyone that you are boarding and everyone cheers. We headed up to Topsiders for the lunch buffet and also ordered a case of water for the week. Lunch at Topsiders was upper busy as usual (they had closed Parrot Cay because it was full so we had no choice but to go to Topsiders.) I wanted to sit out on deck but it was pretty full so we stayed inside and ate. The food was awesome and the fresh fruit was so good. (We rarely have fresh fruit in Alaska so it doesnt take much to make us happy!) I got a strawberry whip cream cup for dessert and it was sooo good
We decided to check out our room since rooms are ready after 1 and set some of our carry ons down. Our luggage hadnt arrived yet so we decided to walk around deck 4 which has the nice track and it is always quiet. ***Helpful hint Deck 4 is very rarely ever crowded. We always find empty comfy deck chairs to lie in, especially when the ship is pulling out of Port Canaveral. If you want to escape the madness of Decks 9 and 10, go to Deck 4 where it is quiet and relaxing. Deck 4 is usually busiest early morning when folks are up using the jogging track.
At 3:15, we had our DIS meet in Promenade Lounge and I was able to chat with a few folks from Michigan, Pennsylvania, New York I think It was nice to put a face to the person you have been communicating with about the trip for so long! We stayed for about 15 minutes and then headed upstairs to get ready for the lifeboat drill.
At 4 pm we donned our life jackets and proceeded to our meet location for the drill. Helpful hint*** If you have little ones (infants, toddlers) you dont have to put their jackets on, just carry them with you. I always see people with their little ones looking miserable in their life jackets and they dont have to be in them. Our CM checked off our name and cabin number and the drill was over as fast as it had begun.
Next, we headed up to the Sailaway party which was in full swing with singing and dancing and Minnie and Mickey and the whole gang. I was a little disappointed because we got up there about 10 til 5 and they were already doing the countdown so I missed getting the videotape the countdown but at least I was able to see the cheering and hear the horn. I always love hearing the When you wish upon a star horn. We literally pulled out of port at approximately 4:51 which was unusual but I guess if everything was ready to go, why not leave early?
When we were pulling out of Port, we moved down to Deck 4 where it was deserted and quiet and we lounged on the chairs and DH and DD fell asleep and I took photos of the sunset and took in the serenity of the ocean. Around 6 we decided to head up to our room and see if our luggage arrived. It had so we proceeded to unpack and put our stuff away. DDs pack and play was already set up and I noticed my package that I had mailed to the ship a week prior was also sitting on the bed along with our Castaway club gifts and a welcome back letter. I was excited about decorating our door so I got my magnets and stuff out and covered our door with decorations, as well as, put our Fish Extender out. For those of you that do the FE gift exchange, it is a blast! We already had neat little trinkets and magnets added to our door form other DISers soon after I put it up!
After we unpacked and got settled in, we set out on the veranda for awhile. We saw a few dolphins poke up and jump by and swimming next to the boat so that was neat. Oh yeah, for those of you keeping track, we stayed in Room 8556, Deck 8, Category 4. We love this room and have stayed in it 3 times. It is almost midship, so there is not a lot of movement, and it is a very quiet room. It has a great veranda and we actually spend a lot of time on our veranda. I highly recommend this room. It is pretty big and easy for us to walk around. I noticed that there is another fold out bed, a wall bed, and a ceiling bed that will open if you have more people in your party.
We decided to get dressed for dinner which was quick since it was cruise casual night. We walked around and looked in the shops while we were waiting for dinner. We were the first in line for Parrot Cay and right at 8, the doors opened to cheers with the CMs welcoming us. Our table was Table 18 and we had Daniel (from Hungary) and Cassida (from England) as our wait staff. They were awesome and I hope to have them again! What great people! There were several night where we literally closed down the restaurant laughing and having a good time with them. We made such good friends with them that on the last night, we traded e-mails and addresses. They were really great people. Our dinner mates were a family with 2 little kids (ages 3 and 6) and they were a lot of fun. We hit it off immediately and had a great time the entire cruise. Dinner was really good and of course I had beef and DH had seafood. I had the sundae for dessert and it was so good! Of all the restaurants, Parrot Cay is my least favorite but I still love the food. I have never had a bad meal on the cruise. Ever. I am not picky, though, so take that for what you want.
***Helfpul hint For those of you cruisers who travel with infants and toddlers, Disney has everything taken care of. I brought DDs forks and spoons, bibs, etc, and Dis already had everything I needed when we sat down to eat. They had little silverware, bibs, cups, everything. They just know everything! Fascinating! They even cut up her meat and everything when they served her meal. One thing I noticed on the ship is that the CMs really cater to the children. They gout of their way to pay play with them and my DD just loved all of them. She was blowing them kisses by the second night and then every night after that. They just loved her and she loved them.
After dinner, we did our usual walk around the ship a few times (so we didnt go to bed full---yuck!) and then retired to the room for the night. We always sleep with our veranda door open so we can hear the sound of the waves. Plus, the air was so warm.
Up next Day 2! I will also try to post some photos! I took over 2000!
. I'm looking forward to more. It's a hoot to compare other's experience on the same boat to my own.
