ThreeCircles
<font color=blue>Stays up past 3:00 am (have you s
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- Sep 29, 2002
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August 16th Disney Magic Trip Report
August 20th Welcome to Cozumel
Cozumel is probably one of my most favorite ports to visit out of both the Eastern and Western cruise itineraries. Something about the atmosphere, the people, and the city just make it seem festive and fun. Travis especially likes the port as well.
We awoke around 9:00 a.m. and decided to take our showers and then head down to Parrot Cay for breakfast. Neither of us were exceptionally hungry and I just nibbled on a selection of items that I had chosen from the buffet. Travis selected some cold cereal and we sat down to enjoy the view of the Magic docking and being cleared by the local authorities. The dinning room seemed very quite this morning with very few of the many tables being occupied. We attributed this to the fact that many people may have early excursion meeting times and may have caught an earlier breakfast at Topsiders or may have opted for room service breakfast. (Something Travis and I have never done yet!) During my trip through the buffet I noticed that several items had been changed from the previous morning. Instead of offering the square-style hash browns they were now serving a more traditional type of hash browns with vegetables.
We finished up our coffee and decided to head out into the Mexican heat and sun. We had already gathered all of our needed items into our backpack and had loaded up on the sunscreen so we just headed back to the room to grab our stuff.
We didnt have any concrete plans for the day and on the way to the Forward gangway Travis decided he wanted to check on the availability of some of the excursions. The Stingray City snorkeling in Grand Cayman was so enjoyable that we wanted to see if there were any snorkeling options still open that we might have a chance to join. We had narrowed it down to two choices, the Chankanaab Snorkeling or the Fury Catamaran. The former had been canceled for some reason and the latter was open. After talking it over we decided that we would just venture out on our own and see if we could organize our own little snorkeling excursion!
Heading across the open-air mall and towards the main shopping strip we stopped in a dive shop to see if they offered any trips to the local reefs. The shopkeeper was exceptionally nice and we spoke at length about the various trips they offered. The prices seemed very reasonable but we were still undecided on what we wanted to do. We told the owner that we would keep him in mind and if we decided we wanted to go out we would come back.
The streets of Cozumel are filled with wonderfully friendly vendors who have many stories to tell and a myriad of wears to offer. Many people have said that they are turned off by the pushy shop owners but I find them a delight. Its wonderful to talk to them and find out where theyre originally from, what its like in various parts of Mexico, and such. Given that the entire island of Cozumel is driven by the tourism industry, one can not possibly expect to walk through the streets of the city and not expect to be offered deals on merchandise and such.
By 2:00 p.m. we had managed to acquire a small treasure-trove of Cozumel merchandise. These things included two new Cozumel magnets for our growing magnet collection, a new polo with Cozumel, Mexico stitched on the front, and several Cozumel key chains for Traviss friend. I also have a tradition of buying a new necklace on each cruise for the Tropical/Mexical Deck party and this trip was no exception.
Famished, we took leave of the merchants and headed back to the Magic for a lunch. Upon arriving we were dismayed to discover that Lumieres and Topsiders were both closed for the lunch hour and that we had missed our chance at a scrumptious meal. Instead we headed to Plutos for some fries. I had a margarita (Were in Mexico! What else are you going to drink?!) and we sat on Deck 9 looking at the Mexican coastline while discussing what we wanted to do next.
After finishing lunch we ran into Chris, someone Travis had met earlier in the cruise, and we talked on Deck 9 for a while. He didnt have any plans either and we asked if he would like to join us in a quick trip to discover the beaches of Chankanaab. He did and soon we were off.
We hailed a taxi and held our breath as we raced through the narrow streets of Cozumel toward our destination. The taxi drivers, and perhaps drivers in general, seem to be especially adept at travelling through these streets at a heart-pounding speed and taking sharp turns left and right. And, to make matters worse, it seemed that the seatbelts in the back of the taxi had been disabled for some reason!
Taxi drive: $10.00 for three. Arriving in one piece, priceless.
The Chankanaab park was a very cool little place. It has several vendors that rent everything from floats to snorkeling and scuba equipment and sell things like drinks and underwater cameras. The park also features botanical gradens, some hiking trails, a mini-golf course, and several shows. We didnt arrive until later in the afternoon and really had no other plans than to laze on the beach. We ventured into the water and talked for some time. Please be warned prior to travelling to this park, the beaches are not the traditional sandy beach. They are more like rocky drop-offs into the water. You cannot wade out but rather step off a ledge into water thats 6-8 feet deep. If you cant swim or tread water, you may want to skip the park. (And, from what I hear, this is true of all beaches on the island. If you want a traditional beach you will have to venture to the mainland.)
After arriving back on the Magic we had just enough time to shower, change into our tropical attire (which did not include shorts, as DCL asks), and head for the show, Who Wants to be a Mousketeer. Although we tend to like this show, we didnt end up staying the entire time because the Cast Member acting as the host didnt do much for us.
Dinner was great as usual and both Philip and Chantol really got into the Congo line. Chantol also shared pictures of her family back home in Jamaica with us. She mentioned that it was very hard being away from her children for such a long period of time but that she gets through it by focusing on the future. We were both touched by her caring personality and imagined that she must be an ace of a mom to her children!
After dinner we ventured up to Deck 10 to watch the Mexicalifragilistic Deck Party. I very much enjoyed the show and the band, Spirit, did an outstanding job! This was the first chance I had gotten to witness the band on this cruise and they were very good. They had the whole audience dancing and singing along and played a great selection of tunes. It seemed that they did a better job than the Charles Marshall band had done on our previous cruises. During the deck party we saw several of the crew out and about and it was good to see that they were able to enjoy their time off. Anton from Dueling Pianos was watching the show and Erika, our server from Palo, was there as well.
After the deck party Chris, Travis and I headed down to Adult Karaoke. I was very surprised by the talent that was displayed during the show. Many singers did exceptionally well when they went to sing! (You would never catch me up there! In fact, I had already conceived plans to bolt out the nearby door if Trevor, the host, looked to be headed in my direction for the next singer.)
With the end of Karaoke we headed out to Deck 4 to enjoy the night and watch the sea roll by. With Cozumel down, we were saddened by the fact that we only had one more port before our departure from the most Magical ship on the sea.
August 20th Welcome to Cozumel
Cozumel is probably one of my most favorite ports to visit out of both the Eastern and Western cruise itineraries. Something about the atmosphere, the people, and the city just make it seem festive and fun. Travis especially likes the port as well.
We awoke around 9:00 a.m. and decided to take our showers and then head down to Parrot Cay for breakfast. Neither of us were exceptionally hungry and I just nibbled on a selection of items that I had chosen from the buffet. Travis selected some cold cereal and we sat down to enjoy the view of the Magic docking and being cleared by the local authorities. The dinning room seemed very quite this morning with very few of the many tables being occupied. We attributed this to the fact that many people may have early excursion meeting times and may have caught an earlier breakfast at Topsiders or may have opted for room service breakfast. (Something Travis and I have never done yet!) During my trip through the buffet I noticed that several items had been changed from the previous morning. Instead of offering the square-style hash browns they were now serving a more traditional type of hash browns with vegetables.
We finished up our coffee and decided to head out into the Mexican heat and sun. We had already gathered all of our needed items into our backpack and had loaded up on the sunscreen so we just headed back to the room to grab our stuff.
We didnt have any concrete plans for the day and on the way to the Forward gangway Travis decided he wanted to check on the availability of some of the excursions. The Stingray City snorkeling in Grand Cayman was so enjoyable that we wanted to see if there were any snorkeling options still open that we might have a chance to join. We had narrowed it down to two choices, the Chankanaab Snorkeling or the Fury Catamaran. The former had been canceled for some reason and the latter was open. After talking it over we decided that we would just venture out on our own and see if we could organize our own little snorkeling excursion!
Heading across the open-air mall and towards the main shopping strip we stopped in a dive shop to see if they offered any trips to the local reefs. The shopkeeper was exceptionally nice and we spoke at length about the various trips they offered. The prices seemed very reasonable but we were still undecided on what we wanted to do. We told the owner that we would keep him in mind and if we decided we wanted to go out we would come back.
The streets of Cozumel are filled with wonderfully friendly vendors who have many stories to tell and a myriad of wears to offer. Many people have said that they are turned off by the pushy shop owners but I find them a delight. Its wonderful to talk to them and find out where theyre originally from, what its like in various parts of Mexico, and such. Given that the entire island of Cozumel is driven by the tourism industry, one can not possibly expect to walk through the streets of the city and not expect to be offered deals on merchandise and such.
By 2:00 p.m. we had managed to acquire a small treasure-trove of Cozumel merchandise. These things included two new Cozumel magnets for our growing magnet collection, a new polo with Cozumel, Mexico stitched on the front, and several Cozumel key chains for Traviss friend. I also have a tradition of buying a new necklace on each cruise for the Tropical/Mexical Deck party and this trip was no exception.
Famished, we took leave of the merchants and headed back to the Magic for a lunch. Upon arriving we were dismayed to discover that Lumieres and Topsiders were both closed for the lunch hour and that we had missed our chance at a scrumptious meal. Instead we headed to Plutos for some fries. I had a margarita (Were in Mexico! What else are you going to drink?!) and we sat on Deck 9 looking at the Mexican coastline while discussing what we wanted to do next.
After finishing lunch we ran into Chris, someone Travis had met earlier in the cruise, and we talked on Deck 9 for a while. He didnt have any plans either and we asked if he would like to join us in a quick trip to discover the beaches of Chankanaab. He did and soon we were off.
We hailed a taxi and held our breath as we raced through the narrow streets of Cozumel toward our destination. The taxi drivers, and perhaps drivers in general, seem to be especially adept at travelling through these streets at a heart-pounding speed and taking sharp turns left and right. And, to make matters worse, it seemed that the seatbelts in the back of the taxi had been disabled for some reason!
Taxi drive: $10.00 for three. Arriving in one piece, priceless. The Chankanaab park was a very cool little place. It has several vendors that rent everything from floats to snorkeling and scuba equipment and sell things like drinks and underwater cameras. The park also features botanical gradens, some hiking trails, a mini-golf course, and several shows. We didnt arrive until later in the afternoon and really had no other plans than to laze on the beach. We ventured into the water and talked for some time. Please be warned prior to travelling to this park, the beaches are not the traditional sandy beach. They are more like rocky drop-offs into the water. You cannot wade out but rather step off a ledge into water thats 6-8 feet deep. If you cant swim or tread water, you may want to skip the park. (And, from what I hear, this is true of all beaches on the island. If you want a traditional beach you will have to venture to the mainland.)
After arriving back on the Magic we had just enough time to shower, change into our tropical attire (which did not include shorts, as DCL asks), and head for the show, Who Wants to be a Mousketeer. Although we tend to like this show, we didnt end up staying the entire time because the Cast Member acting as the host didnt do much for us.
Dinner was great as usual and both Philip and Chantol really got into the Congo line. Chantol also shared pictures of her family back home in Jamaica with us. She mentioned that it was very hard being away from her children for such a long period of time but that she gets through it by focusing on the future. We were both touched by her caring personality and imagined that she must be an ace of a mom to her children!
After dinner we ventured up to Deck 10 to watch the Mexicalifragilistic Deck Party. I very much enjoyed the show and the band, Spirit, did an outstanding job! This was the first chance I had gotten to witness the band on this cruise and they were very good. They had the whole audience dancing and singing along and played a great selection of tunes. It seemed that they did a better job than the Charles Marshall band had done on our previous cruises. During the deck party we saw several of the crew out and about and it was good to see that they were able to enjoy their time off. Anton from Dueling Pianos was watching the show and Erika, our server from Palo, was there as well.
After the deck party Chris, Travis and I headed down to Adult Karaoke. I was very surprised by the talent that was displayed during the show. Many singers did exceptionally well when they went to sing! (You would never catch me up there! In fact, I had already conceived plans to bolt out the nearby door if Trevor, the host, looked to be headed in my direction for the next singer.)
With the end of Karaoke we headed out to Deck 4 to enjoy the night and watch the sea roll by. With Cozumel down, we were saddened by the fact that we only had one more port before our departure from the most Magical ship on the sea.
