April 5-12 Western Magic (w/photo & navigators link) FINISHED - updated 5/5/08

[pooh_mania]

Link to photo album http://picasaweb.google.com/trojales/DisneyMagicCruiseToWesternCaribbean
Link to Navigators for this week http://picasaweb.google.com/trojales/DisneyMagicWesternCarribeanNavigators

This trip report is in several posts...
Day 1 - Embarkation on this post and page 2 post #12
Day 2 - Key West on page 3 post #30
Day 3 - Day at Sea, Formal Night on page 4 post #35
Day 4 - Grand Cayman, page 5, post #45
Day 5 - Cozumel, page 5, post #48
Day 6 - Day at Sea, Semi-Formal, Palo Brunch, page 6, post #55
Day 7 - Castaway Cay, page 7, post #61

I haven't posted much here, but wanted to pay it forward to all those who have posted wonderful trip reports, tips and hints on the boards!! I don't have time to write much now, but if anyone has specific Western Magic questions, please feel free to PM me. I would be happy to answer any questions.

My trip report will be forthcoming, but I wanted to let everyone know that the Magic is wonderful!!

Fri., April 4 - Drive down from Atlanta to the Radisson at Port Canaveral. Played in the pool for a while to get the true vacation feeling. We enjoyed dinner at Uno's Chicago Pizzaria....yummy!

Sat., April 5 - Leave the Radisson at 9:35. Arrive at port at 9:40 AM. The previous cruise must have arrived late, as there were still disembarking guests. The port was a bit confusing, so they allowed my DH to drop us and the bags off early. He headed back to the Radisson to park. We waiting until 10 AM when the porters came to take our bags. We were the VERY FIRST family into the port!! We checked in and received the coveted #2 boarding pass.

There was some delay with the draw bridge coming to port, so several shuttles were delayed. My husband was on at 10:30 AM shuttle back to port, but did not arrive until 11:30. He arrived just in time! We were allowed to board at 11:45. We headed to Parrot's Cay for a yummy seafood buffet lunch. The kids didn't feel like swimming, so we roamed around the ship, taking several photos.

Sun., April 6 - Key West - little bit of shopping. I bought 4 pair of sandals at Kino's. Somehow I forgot to buy black ones though!! Also enjoyed frozen Key Lime pie dipped in chocolate on a stick.

Mon., April 7 - Day at Sea. Lots of R & R!

Tue., April 8 - Grand Cayman - We did our own excursion with Captain Marvin's. We took the 1/2 day snorkeling & Stingray City tour. It was fabulous. I'd highly recommend it!

Wed., April 9 - Cozumel - We did our own excursion to Chakanaab Park. The taxi ride was $11 from port to the park. We had discount coupons that I had downloaded online. It was a wonderful place to snorkel and relax.
It was also Pirate night with a fun party.

Thur, April 10 - Day at Sea. Brunch at Palo.

Fri., April 11 - Castaway Cay - lots of fun!

Sat., April 12 - return home, stuck in I-75 traffic going to Atlanta (not fun!)

Best tips:
- soft sided cooler for excursions. I found an AWESOME bag that kept ice for 3 days and it did not leak!! PM me if you'd like more info on the bag. I just found it myself right before our trip.
- over-the-door shoe holder was great. I brought 2. One went over the bathroom door. One went on the connecting door to the other stateroom (because we weren't connecting to the other room)
- suction cup hooks were great for hanging all the wet swim suits
- a few clips for keeping the curtains closed
- white noise machine to help the kids sleep
- read the Navigator for character appearances. It took me a few days to figure it out. Often times characters are only out for 15 minutes!
- See the bulletin board at Shutters to know what character photo ops would be available that day/night. Mickey & Minnie came out on semi-formal night in their formalwear. So I made the whole family get back into tuxes/dresses so I could get a good photo. I am glad that I did, because they are some of my favorite pictures. I will try to post later.

...That's all I have time for now. I will post more later.

 

[Disney owl]

Thanks for sharing & the great tips

 

[AnnMarie3]

We were on the Magic with you. We are also from Atlanta and got stuck in the I-75 traffic coming home. (took us 12 hours from the port). We were on the 1/2 day Captain Marvin's snorkle and stingray city as well. I wonder if we were on the same boat?

We had a fantastic cruise and I'm looking forward to reading your trip report.

 

[frdeb1999]

Great tips!! Thanks for sharing!!

 

[naner]

Thanks for the report!

 

[Joan1]

Thanks for the info
If you could share info the soft side cooler you used that would be most helpful

 

[jenniferlt]

and we got into the same traffic! Yuk! It took us a long time home to Atlanta too. We also had a great time. We did a Stingray and Snorkel tour with a different tour group, forgot name, but loved it also. Marvins was booked up, but can't ask for anything more from our tour. We loved the shows, characters, wonderful Mickey pool for little ones and thought the food was good. My 10 year old son did not like the pool for older kids. Just a very small rectangle. My other small disappointment was that I really didn't like the Pirate party. My two boys, ages 4 and 10, fell asleep in our laps before it started at 9:45 p.m. and it was just a bunch of dancing, no real "show" or story. It was neat to have fireworks, but after Wishes, Spectro and Fantasmic, quite a let down. I probably just expected too much after hearing all the rave reviews. But all in all, a great ship and great experience for the kids especially!

 

[lvstitch]

We were on the Magic with you. We are also from Atlanta and got stuck in the I-75 traffic coming home. (took us 12 hours from the port). We were on the 1/2 day Captain Marvin's snorkle and stingray city as well. I wonder if we were on the same boat?

We had a fantastic cruise and I'm looking forward to reading your trip report.

Did you take the private tour? If not, was it very crowded? I am worried the boats will be packed with people.

 

[dmi188]

I was at Kino's too that day! Bought 5 pair, and wore mine the rest of the cruise. They are very comfy! And such a good buy! Didn't get my chocolate dipped key lime pie, tho. We had just eaten brunch at Palo. Oh well, something to save for next time!

 

[firemans wife]

I was at Kino's too that day! Bought 5 pair, and wore mine the rest of the cruise. They are very comfy! And such a good buy! Didn't get my chocolate dipped key lime pie, tho. We had just eaten brunch at Palo. Oh well, something to save for next time!

I know we go to Key West on Sunday. Do you know how late Kinos is open ? I really want to make sure I stop by there. Is it close to where we dock?

 

[dmi188]

I know we go to Key West on Sunday. Do you know how late Kinos is open ? I really want to make sure I stop by there. Is it close to where we dock?

You really need to go to Kinos first. They told me they open when the ships come in on Sunday, but as soon as they are not busy they will close. I think she told me usually 10-3. But if there is no business, they will close sooner.
If you google their web site, you can get the phone number. If you have a cell phone, you are still in the US, just call them either for hours, or directions.

 

[pooh_mania]

Continuing Sat, April 5 – I am made the family all wear plain red shirts (since it is my favorite color) so that we could take several photos on Day 1. I like to have our clothes coordinate just a little bit so that it doesn’t distract from the photo. That sounds really anal, but I am always happiest with those kind of picture in the end. I am glad that I did that, because as we roamed around the ship it was fun to capture the first time excitement and energy in the kids’ expressions. Everything was so new and exciting to see! I am certain that I would have not had the same kind of pictures if I tried to do them near the end of the cruise.

Our stateroom was ready right on time at 1:30. We were fortunate enough to have a SPH on a completely sold out cruise. Our luggage arrived around 3, so we had time to quick unpack before the mandatory life boat drill. We had 3 HUGE suitcases, a rolling garment bag, and a small rolling carry-on sized bag. My DH did not believe me when I said that it would fit under the bed. Honestly, I wasn’t so sure myself….but it did all fit. So our closest were nice and luggage free. We were able to put the kids clothes in the desk drawers. Our clothes in the “dresser” and hanging in the closet. I also had some things in the steamer trunk. But we mainly used the steamer trunk top shelf to put once worn clothes that could be re-worn. DH is particular about clean clothes not touching dirty clothes , so it worked out well.

The lifeboat drill was very organized. They had us lined up by stateroom, tallest in back, shortest in front of the line. The lines were shoulder to shoulder together and we of course are all wearing the bulky life vests. So there is no room to move at all, especially if you are in the back of the line. Our line is DH in back (even though I AM taller !!), me, DD7 and DS6 in front. Then the little girl (5ish) standing right next to my DS6 turned to her Mommy and said, “Mommy, I don’t feel so well, my tummy hurts.” She did not look so great. The CMs were telling everyone to stand close, and please be quiet. So her Mom says that it will only be for a minute more, please stand in line. About 30 seconds later the little girl turns and gets sick. In my lightening fast mommy reaction, I grab my DS’s life vest and yank him backwards as far as possible. By doing this, I knock my DH over and into one of the benches behind him, so now he is sitting on the bench getting a bird’s eye view of my rear end (but – no pun intended – he is not complaining) ! The little girl’s mother is so sandwiched in that she can’t really move to get out and help the daughter. Everyone in the area keeps saying “She’s sick, she’s sick, get her out of here!” So the mother is then allowed to get out of line and take the little girl away. My DS managed to stay clear of the accident, but after the drill we returned to our cabin to disinfect ourselves!! I made the kids scrub hands twice and then I Purelled them twice. It must have worked because we all stayed healthy all cruise long. It is quite possible the little girl just ate too much ice cream at the lunch buffet.

We went up for the Adventures Away party. It was a bit crowded, but it got us in the spirit of having fun. The characters made an appearance and then you feel like it is Disney! After the party we went back to the stateroom to get ready for dinner.

Our dinner rotation was LAAPLAP at 5:30. It was just fine for our schedule because we tried to get the kids to nap from 3-5ish, and then get ready for dinner. A few times we tried to get character photos before or during dinner (5:15, 5:30, 5:45) before we realized that the same characters make an appearance around 7, 7:15, 7:30 for those of us with the early dinner seating. So, it was a lot less rushed when we did the character meets AFTER dinner. I chalk it up to a first time cruiser learning experience.

I have to admit that our servers at dinner were definitely competent, but they didn’t really “WOW” us. Our server basically had the same quick speech of the menus and recommendations to each table that he served. He sounded like a recording and never really did anything that made us feel special. Now, in a regular restaurant I would have been more than pleased with the service. But I was a little disappointed because on a previous Carnival cruise we had spectacular servers who made us (and our kids) feel so special by the personalized attention. I had the impression that our assistant server was new, and the main server was responsible for coaching him through the ropes. So that really puts a huge burden on the regular server who already has quite a lot to do. On a more positive note, we did meet a darling sweet assistant server named Enika from Hungary. She was our asst server for lunch one day in Parrot Cay and then again at a breakfast at Lumiere’s. She was AMAZING. So sweet, talking with the kids, asking them how they were doing, making them little animals out of the napkins. That was a little bitter sweet because we were glad to meet her, but made us wish we could have had her for our regular dinners too!

After dinner we roamed the ship, browsed the gift shops, and then headed to the “All Aboard: Let the Magic Begin” show. This was a variety show with musical comedy of John Charles, science and comedy of Freddie Fusion, and an appearance of the characters and Disney Magic performers. It was a nice show to get things started, but not like the “can’t miss” Broadway style shows during the week. After the show the kids were tired and headed to bed.

I am disappointed that I missed the 2:30 Walking Ship Tour. Next time I cruise (and there will be a next time), I will make a point to do that tour. I didn’t read the Navigator that close because I didn’t realize organized activities would already be happening on-board.

That's it for Day 1. I will post a link to my photo album later.

 

[pooh_mania]

We were the Asian family with the 2 young kids, DD7 and DS6. Were you the family with the teen girls? We arrived at Captain Marvin's office at the pier at 9:30 AM. Our boat went from 10-1 and we did get caught in a few rain showers headed out to snorkel.

We were on the Magic with you. We are also from Atlanta and got stuck in the I-75 traffic coming home. (took us 12 hours from the port). We were on the 1/2 day Captain Marvin's snorkle and stingray city as well. I wonder if we were on the same boat?

We had a fantastic cruise and I'm looking forward to reading your trip report.

 

[pooh_mania]

We did not reserve a private tour with Captain Marvins. We just reserved online for their 1/2 day tour, for 2 adults, 2 kids. It was significantly cheaper to do it on our own. I think we had less than 20 passengers on our tour. I believe it was our family and 2 other families on the boat. It was not at all crowded! The guides were very friendly and helpful.

Did you take the private tour? If not, was it very crowded? I am worried the boats will be packed with people.

 

[pooh_mania]

Here is a link to several photos of our week. Enjoy!

http://picasaweb.google.com/trojales/DisneyMagicCruiseToWesternCaribbean

 

[TotallyAngelic]

I have just had a look at your photos - they are great - you have really captured the essence of the cruise - and your kids are so cute!

 

[dmi188]

Great report!
Beautiful pictures! Now that I see them, I know I saw your family several times. I remember your DD in that dress!

 

[magictrickboy71]

We were on that cruise as well. Who was your server? I thought the same about mine server. He did a good job but was not wonderful. Last year our servers were great. I hope next time we have a more enthusiastic server.

Your photos were great.

Thanks,
Frank

 

[metzfan64]

Pooh Mania, what great pictures. You have a lovely family. Thanks for sharing!

 

[metzfan64]

We had the 8:30 Late Seating and we had the same experience with our servers, nice but no WOW factor. Plus they were very slow. We were always the last table to leave, never getting out earlier than 10:15 everynight. Our Head server was David from the Czech Republic. This was our 3rd DCL cruise and we had the same experience the last cruise. Our first cruise the servers were fantastic. They went out of their way to entertain us and the kids. They were very personable. Not at all this time and when you are spending close to 2 hours everynight at dinner, it would've been a much better experience to have better service. We wound up skipping dinner 2 nights (once for Palo and the other Pirate night), because it was becoming more of an ordeal to sit there and wait and wait and wait.