April 18th, 2009! - PATRIOT'S OF THE CARIBBEAN - Western Magic!

[cctimmom]

my question of the day...

what are your favorite activites to do on the Magic?

 

[castlegazer]

My husband answered this one:

Dinner with my wife in Palo
Watching the kids meet the characters and get all excited

 

[o4me2playn]

my question of the day...

what are your favorite activites to do on the Magic?

Some of our favorite activities is spending time in the adult pool and hot tubs in the evening. Very few other folks around and the sound of the ship moving thru the water is very relaxing. We also like to walk around Deck 4 and take in all the sights!

 

[castlegazer]

CELEBRATION, Fla. – An exciting collection of enhancements awaits the Disney Magic as the ship heads into dry dock Sept. 6-24, 2008. The 2,700 passenger cruise ship will undergo a series of upgrades for guests of all ages.

Here is a glimpse at what’s in store:


Indulgence and Relaxation
Quiet Cove, the serene pool retreat reserved for the enjoyment of adults, will undergo a makeover including upgrades to Cove Café, the pool and the deck area. Cove Café, the ship’s sophisticated coffee lounge, will incorporate a new seating area with plush, comfortable chairs providing the perfect venue to relax while sipping a cup of gourmet coffee. Meanwhile, the adult pool will be outfitted with soothing, cascading waterfalls from the two hot tubs. Teak deck and lounge chairs with plush cushions will line the pool, creating an inviting, stylish ambiance in line with the Vista Spa and Salon.

Fun for the Little Ones
The Oceaneer Club, a Neverland-themed play space for 3-7 year olds, and the Oceaneer Lab, a whacky and interactive laboratory exclusively for 8-12 year olds, will be enhanced with new registration areas that make the check-in process more efficient and hassle-free. This sets the stage for incorporating Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) technology in the youth activity areas later this year, which will further enhance and streamline the check-in process. The technology uses RFID tags embedded on wristbands, allowing children to simply tap a sensor to check in and out of the clubs.
Even the youngest cruisers will have a splashtacular time in “Mickey’s Splash Zone,” a new toddler water playground inspired by Fantasia’s Sorcerer’s Apprentice. This 385-square-foot extension to the Mickey Pool on deck 9 will feature star- and moon-shaped interactive fountains, a soft play surface and whimsical splash zones; creating an inviting environment for children not yet toilet trained and in swim diapers.

New Conveniences
The guest staterooms onboard the Disney Magic are receiving an infusion of technology with the installation of flat-screen LCD television sets. The new 22-inch units will be mounted on a swivel arm to allow easy viewing from multiple locations within the stateroom.

- They are also upgrading the theater, animator's palette, and rugs.

 

[o4me2playn]

- They are also upgrading the theater, animator's palette, and rugs.

I'm thinking the flat screens will give "us" more room to set things in or around the vanity..correct???

 

[castlegazer]

Let's all hope - although, I didn't find I had much trouble with space issues. We had the overthedoor shoe holder withus too, though.


Here ye, here ye!!!!! I bid you all (Mass people, that is) good hunting for airfares with this news announcement today!!!!!!:

[FONT=verdana,arial]
New air service planned

[/FONT][FONT=verdana,arial]WORCESTER - The Massachusetts Port Authority today released initial schedules for flights from Worcester Regional Airport to Florida that will be offered by Direct Air beginning Nov. 22, the newest attempt to re-establish commercial air service at the airport.
Massport said in a news release that flights from Worcester to Punta Gorda and Orlando Sanford International Airport will be offered three times a week. Flights will depart Worcester for Punta Gorda at 5:15 p.m. on Thursdays, Saturdays and Sundays. Return flights from Punta Gorda are scheduled for 7 a.m. Thursdays, Saturdays and Sundays. Flights to Orlando are scheduled to depart from Worcester at 10:35 a.m. on Thursdays, Saturdays and Sundays. Return flights on the same days will leave Orlando at 2 p.m., Massport reported. Direct Air plans to use 149-seat Airbus-320 planes leased from and staffed by Virgin America. Massport reported that Direct Air plans to offer flights from Worcester to Myrtle Beach, S.C., in spring 2009, although dates have not yet been announced. Direct Air is a charter service based in Myrtle Beach. It offers flights out of Newark, N.J.; Columbus, Ohio; Niagara Falls and Plattsburgh, N.Y.; and Pittsburgh.

[/FONT]

 

[castlegazer]

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1942544

GO GO GO!!!!

 

[castlegazer]

We are currently accepting air reservations through March 6, 2009. On November 20, we plan to open the schedule for purchase through May 8, 2009. This date is subject to change. Please check back frequently.

Just an FYI!!! It's an all air all the time kind of day today!!!

 

[castlegazer]

Sorry guys, JetBlue opened up at 3 am EST. I just tried looking at prices, and I get nothing less than $2,500 for four people.

Everyone on-line last night booking the flights here on the DIS were also getting those types of fares for April vacation week.

Not good.

I am looking like a brainiac right now - even though I was swallowing so hard at paying $1,500 for four on Delta. But I have direct flights!!!

cctimmom, this should make you feel good too!!!!

 

[castlegazer]

I am fascinated by the dry dock changes, so I post again photos to show what the Wonder looks like and how the Magic will be changed:

Nice chairs:

 

[o4me2playn]

I am fascinated by the dry dock changes, so I post again photos to show what the Wonder looks like and how the Magic will be changed:

Nice chairs:

Those ARE nice chairs! I wonder how the "waterfall" from hot tub into pool is going to work? I'll also be looking forward to pics of the stateroom changes!

 

[bdwk1997]

IS IT APRIL YET!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[o4me2playn]

IS IT APRIL YET!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I've been thinking the SAME THING ALL day today!!!!

 

[cctimmom]

dang board wasn't sending me updates again.... just got this right now.

YES... I'm feeling AWESOME about my decision to book (yet still hesitant that they aren't going to bash me over the head with changes)... I just went on JB and saw $399 each way... HA! I NEVER have good luck with JB or SW on fares.

Thanks for the Dry Dock information... that sounds so cool!

Having a really tough week with work (too many meetings, can barely even breathe)... I'm hoping that come Friday, with very little planned, I'm going to and just read up on everything DCL!

 

[castlegazer]

I posted earlier, but lost it, that I have been swamped too so sorry about the lag in info...

BUT... I am watching such a cool show tonight! Elton Brown's new show Feasting on Waves is AWESOME!!!!!! On the Food Network. The first show is about St. Kitts - my absolutely favorite Caribbean Island!!!!! This show rocks!!!!! I love St. Kitts for everything that he is showing - its such a real island! The people are very nice, kind and amazing.

I know this isn't where we are going, but I just have toi have pics here

This island is fabulous!!!!! If you ever get a chance GOOOOOOO!!!

 

[cctimmom]

aw man... now I want to go THERE!

we're leading in to the winter months (it'll be 40 one of these mornings and then it's REALLY winter IMO)... I'll be dreaming of these far off HOT places

 

[aljsmom]

My hubby, who lurks but is too chicken to post his own questions wants to know why people are always talking about bringing their own water? Is this something we need to do?

 

[cctimmom]

lol... yeah... I'm trying to get MH to get his own log-in so that he can post too (although he's still in the "it's too far off" phase... it'll be a couple more months before he has a lot of questions... in the meantime, he uses my log-in if he wants to get some 411)

anyway... I thought on our RCCL cruise that we should bring some water... and honestly I didn't feel we REALLY needed it. The only time I felt we could use it was for the excursions (before our Cozumel one, we bought two big bottles on the ship and they charged $3 or $4 per bottle... RIPPPPPPPPPPPPPPOFFFFFFFFFFFFFF).

Other than that, I felt the water on the ship was fine.

Maybe DCL is differents?????

 

[o4me2playn]

The bottled water on the ship is more expensive than what you would normally pay but the water, water itself was just fine and was very refreshing.

For us, we'll pay the higher prices on the ship as I just can't justify bringing water with us from CA.

 

[castlegazer]

We do not bring water.

The water tasted just fine to me, I think - and I am wateraholic too and have a very picky palette about water tastes. We did bring our own water bottles to have with us on excursions - this became important.

I did bring too much wine and alcohol on the last cruise. We ended up leaving some - oh the shame.... But we made a very concerted effort to finish what we brought. My poor husband has the greatest story about going through the security scanners at the port with all the wine and stuff - the security staff just laughed and said have a great week! I think we had about 5 bottles of wine and some other stuff that escapes me now as to exactly what we brought. But I do know we went overboard with it - not literally. I think we finished most of the wine. We liked to sit out on the verandah and have a bottle during the day while the kids napped and we read our books.

Its up to you whether you want to lug water on board. I can't really remember exactly how the water on the ship tasted, but I can't remember that it was bad either.