Back from disney Magic Western 01/23/2010

[bemery1963]

"That really suprised me and I even commented to my wife that I can't believe the pilots wouldn't wear lifejackets for the transfer and that I couldn't figure out why he was getting on the ship when we were leaving the port."


Isn't it funny how we see different things. Well you cleared up one thing for me. I thought the ship was supposed to leave at a later time and was surprised when it had already left the dock. I guess it was a good thing I wasn't still ashore.

Anyway that was the guy. I knew he wasn't a pilot. He looked awful young. I could have sworn I saw a red life jacket with white stripes on him. It was the kind that slips over you head. There was a man that stayed on the boat that walked along the outside of the boat without a life jacket and I thought that was pretty silly. Since I saw the man in the black shirt had a life jacket on, I figurred the woman would soon follow but no such luck. So when that officer told me they were missing a crew member I knew that it must have been that guy in the black shirt. I guess Disney would never take the risk of having a passenger transfer onto the boat that way.

 

[bemery1963]

What part of WI are you from?

We are from the Baraboo area.

 

[bemery1963]

Wow about the stragglers!

I love reading trip reports! We are leaving for the Western this week! I am sorry it was hit and miss but I have a question about the food. One of the things that stood out when reading other TRs was that usually Disney goes all out to be accomodating - even read a story about someone having Indian table mates and the Chef making them authentic Indian dishes. Why not just ask for something with no sauce, spices, etc. - something "simple"? It sounds like the staff wanted to help and make sure you'd enjoy your meal. Of course, I am talking dinner here but how nice of them to make you a "real" breakfast, too!

You are right! They did try. I know that you won't believe me after all of the comments that I made about the food, but we really are not usually picky eaters. I guess I am from the shut up and eat it side of life. But for some reason our taste buds did not want to cooperate this week. But Clive did tell us that he would alter the food for us if we told him the night before what we wanted. Unfortunately we did not get that message unit the 5th night of the cruise. Now we know better.

 

[bemery1963]

I agree with Glnrocker. We were on the same sailing and thought the food was great! It really comes down to a person's own preference. To the person that started the thread: where you able to try Palo's? Curious to know what you thought.

My advice to future cruisers: Don't try to research everything. Let some stuff be a surprise. If you go in expecting this and that, you maybe disappointed.What some may like, others may not. Have fun!

No we did not try Palo's. We would have liked to do the brunch, but like I said we only booked the cruise 9 days before we left so the online reservations were booked and I did not think it was that important to stand in line to book it once I got on the ship.

You are right about the over researching. If I did not know about the dining room changing colors it would have been a nice surprise. But on the other hand I would not have known to tell them I would wait for a table a Parrot Cay when we got on board and I would have gone with the flow along to the Topsider. I also would not have known about the pillow cases or the rib eye sandwhiches which they only serve at the adults only beach when we are on cast Away Cay.

 

[bemery1963]

Was Pikey on the Magic?

I am sorry, I do not know what you mean.

 

[bemery1963]

This was the day we left the boat. We were assigned the 6:45 am breakfast slot. Topsiders was not open so if you wanted to eat breakfast you would have to go to you assigned restaurant. My husband tried to order scattered hash browns and fried bacon again for breakfast, but Wemick was not able to oblige him. I am sure they were very busy getting ready for the new cruisers.

I was really worried about the disembarkation process as it has always been such a zoo on other ships that we have salied. Most of those ships call people by zone numbers or categories when it is time for them to disembark. Disney did not do this. People could leave anytime they wanted. So I was expecting masses of people trying to leave all at once.

We finished our breakfast, sid our goodbyes and walked off the ship at 8:00 a.m. We were through customs and calling for our shuttle to pick us up by 8:15 a.m. The shuttle took about 15 minutes to get there and we were back at Residence Inn by 8:45.

That is when we found out that I must have left the back car door ajar. Our battery was dead. I started to call AAA and went to the lobby to get the correct address. When we were in there my husband asked the clerk if she knew anyone who would be willing to give us a jump. She said that they would do it for us!! Awesome!! They even had a preprinted release of liability form for us to sign. Apparently they have to jump someones car about once a week.

We drove to my husband's uncle's in Tavares FL and visited with them for a while. We left there around 12:00pm. The drive back was uneventful until we were just otside of Nashville. I could not believe how bad the roads were. I drive quite a bit and must admit that sometimes I enjoy driving through snow storms just because it is fun for me. But I had a hard time controlling my car even at 15 miles per hour. I was sure a semi was going to slam into the back of my car. At one point I could see two police cars in my rearview mirror. They were about a half mile behind me. I am not exagerating when I said it took them 15 minutes to catch up and pass me. I told my husband that if the roads were like this north of Nashville we would have to stop because there was no way we would make it down the hill (mountain) outside of Clarksville. So of course as soon as we got out of Nashville the roads were nice and clear. Thank goodness. We drove to Paducah KY and stopped around 11:30pm.

We stayed at the Holiday Inn express off of Exit #4. The desk clerk was very nice and helpful. The rooms were very clean and much bigger than what I expected. But remember we just spent seven nights in an inside cabin of a ship. The next morning we got up and had a nice hot breakfast and went home.

I must say that the Disney cruise was very nice trip. I usually book vacations with the thought of relaxing only to find out that there is so much to do that I run around and wear myself out. This is the first time in a long long time that I can say that I actually relaxed on vacation. I was actually well rested and ready to come home. There are just a couple of more comments I want to add.

I think I saw a couple of posts that the children are well occupide and you hardly see them on the ship. I must say that for the most part the children are well behaved but they are definitely noticable. Before someone calls me a child hater I just want to let you know that I have 6 kids between the ages of 12 and 33. We brought our 12 year old daughter with us. I just wanted to throw it out there that yes where ever you go you will see children period. This is a Disney cruise.

I don't know how to say this in a politically correct manner so I will just say it. I am a cheap person. I am alway scouring the internet for deals. If I find a cheap vacation I jump on it. However we have always wanted to go on a Disney Cruise. When ever we saw the ships in a port that we were visiting we would always stop take pictures and say some day. I am very glad that we took this cruise. Nice ship, mostly nice staff, some good entertainment, Cast Away Cay was also nice. Would I do it again? Only if their prices became more in line witht the rest of the cruise industry. There are quite a few nice ships out there and I did not feel that I received a product that justified the extra cost. I could have taken a two week back to back cruise for the amount of money we spent on this cruise, and probably even had an oceanview room.

 

[DMMarla07860]

Was Pikey on the Magic?

Pikey is on the Wonder and get off February 14th, from what I last heard from him

 

[Pinkandproud]

You know I was on this same cruise and am seriously wondering if we were on the same ship? Wow, nothing like our experience. The entertainment, service, staff & food was excellent! We were so busy we didn't have time to hang out at the movies. Maybe a Disney cruise isn't what's best for you guys. Interesting the different perspectives. Sorry, but I just had to add my 2 cents worth, as many first time cruisers are reading this report.

 

[bemery1963]

I'm interested to see how the rest of the trip was! Was this your first Disney cruise? As you can see, I am from WI too! We are going on the Westers in October, so I am especially enjoying this report!

Technically this is our second Disney Cruise. Our first one was in 1992 on the Big Red Boat with Premier Cruise Line. We also have sailed on RCL and Carnival.

 

[bemery1963]

You know I was on this same cruise and am seriously wondering if we were on the same ship? Wow, nothing like our experience. The entertainment, service, staff & food was excellent! We were so busy we didn't have time to hang out at the movies. Maybe a Disney cruise isn't what's best for you guys. Interesting the different perspectives. Sorry, but I just had to add my 2 cents worth, as many first time cruisers are reading this report.

I guess I griped too much in my comments. I want to emphasise the cruise was a nice trip. It is just that I had just as nice a time on other trips along with better food.

The movies I went to were at 10:30 at night except for the Princes and the Frog which is what the ship viewed as their main entertainment show instead of having a live entertainment show. I have never gone to movies on other cruises because like you we were always too busy. Once Upon a Dream and Twice Charmed were great shows which were what I would classify as Disney caliber. I also liked the Welcome Aboard party and Pirate night. The Jugglers, comedians and magicians were also very entertaining. I am just saying they have just as talented jugglers and comedians on other ships as well. As far as the other family shows they has they were more geared towards families with younger children. Let say between 6 and 8. Character greetings were also available, but I have been to Disney World at least twice a year for the last 17 years. With six kids you can believe me we have volumes of autographs. I was not interested in spending ship time standing in line for autographs and neither was my 12 year old daughter.

Again I would like to emphasise the cruise was very nice!! Was it worth the extra price??? Not to me.

 

[bemery1963]

I just wanted to add that I just booked a 2 week b2b cruise eastern and western caribbean cruise for three on Carnival Liberty starting November 13, 2010. Please note that this includes Thanksgiving. Total price for both weeks? CCL cty 4D $2992.60. DCL cty 11 room $6696.43 total difference $3703.83.

 

[lmhall2000]

I just want to thank you for the tip about breakfast, I could not tolerate powdered tasting eggs, microwave bacon and Mcd's hash browns, it sounds silly, but they really give me indigestion...the real thing does not affect me that way at all...happy to know we can ask...hope they won't be too offended if we ask for real breakfast!

Thanks!
Tara

 

[NancyIL]

I don't know how to say this in a politically correct manner so I will just say it. I am a cheap person. I am alway scouring the internet for deals. If I find a cheap vacation I jump on it. However we have always wanted to go on a Disney Cruise. When ever we saw the ships in a port that we were visiting we would always stop take pictures and say some day. I am very glad that we took this cruise. Nice ship, mostly nice staff, some good entertainment, Cast Away Cay was also nice. Would I do it again? Only if their prices became more in line witht the rest of the cruise industry. There are quite a few nice ships out there and I did not feel that I received a product that justified the extra cost. I could have taken a two week back to back cruise for the amount of money we spent on this cruise, and probably even had an oceanview room.

Thank you for your honest review. You and I think a lot alike! I love Disney theme parks and really enjoy cruising. However, while my second Disney Bahamas cruise was very nice, it didn't turn me into a DCL convert.

I am looking forward to two bargain cruises on Royal Caribbean this year, and some day I may give Carnival a try.

 

[PURTYPAT1]

I guess I griped too much in my comments. I want to emphasise the cruise was a nice trip. It is just that I had just as nice a time on other trips along with better food.

Again I would like to emphasise the cruise was very nice!! Was it worth the extra price??? Not to me.

Thank you for sharing a great honest report. I enjoyed it very much.

Have a great time in Nov.(I'm jealous!!!)

 

[glnrcker]

I too enjoyed reading it, brought back all of our memories from the exact cruise date. The only thing I agree with is how expensive the food in Grand Cayman was. After our DCL Grand Cayman Island excursion (which was to be 2 hours and somehow ended up being 4) we were starving! We met a family member who lives in GC and ended up at Breezes for 1 soup, 2 appetizers, 1 kids meal, 1 sandwich and 4 margaritas. The bill was about $140, of course we also made the mistake of over tipping because we didn't realize the tip was already included. Thank you for taking the time to write your opinions.

On the subject of other cruise lines though, things seemed to have changed. I was a travel agent for 20+ years and Carnival was always considered the very bottom of the "cruise class ladder".

 

[PURTYPAT1]

On the subject of other cruise lines though, things seemed to have changed. I was a travel agent for 20+ years and Carnival was always considered the very bottom of the "cruise class ladder".

Hay glnrcker,

Are you from Glen rock by any chance? I have a quick question for you. Do you have an opinion on the Celebrity Century?

 

[glnrcker]

Hey Patricia,
I am from Glen Rock, what's your connection??
I don't know anything about the Celebrity Century. I've been in corporate travel (not leisure) for the past 12 years. That's why I stated that things seem to have changed. Way back when, Carnival was the tacky "fun ship", Celebrity had a good following, Holland America was for the old folks, kids had the Big Red Boat, NCL was one step above Carnival, and RCCL was somewhere in the middle with Radisson, Crystal, Seabourn, and Cunard being at the top. Windstar was different (sailboat) but considered pretty good back then too. I've cruised once on NCL, twice on HAL, once on Windstar, once on Bermuda Star Lines (I'm really dating myself now) and now on Disney (with the little ones) and Disney has really become my favorite with Windstar second.

 

[PURTYPAT1]

Hey Patricia,
I am from Glen Rock, what's your connection??
I don't know anything about the Celebrity Century. I've been in corporate travel (not leisure) for the past 12 years. That's why I stated that things seem to have changed. Way back when, Carnival was the tacky "fun ship", Celebrity had a good following, Holland America was for the old folks, kids had the Big Red Boat, NCL was one step above Carnival, and RCCL was somewhere in the middle with Radisson, Crystal, Seabourn, and Cunard being at the top. Windstar was different (sailboat) but considered pretty good back then too. I've cruised once on NCL, twice on HAL, once on Windstar, once on Bermuda Star Lines (I'm really dating myself now) and now on Disney (with the little ones) and Disney has really become my favorite with Windstar second.

I'm your neighbor, I live in Teaneck All my cruises (6) have been with Disney. This December, going on a girls HS reuion will be on the Celebrity. Haven't heard many reveiews. Thanks for the info above. That's just want I wanted to know.

 

[glnrcker]

I used to work in Teaneck when I worked for Bermuda Star Lines before they moved to FL many moons ago. The reunion sounds like fun, I'm sure you'll have a great time (and at least it's not on a Carnival ship-HAHA)!

 

[bemery1963]

Thank you for your honest review. You and I think a lot alike! I love Disney theme parks and really enjoy cruising. However, while my second Disney Bahamas cruise was very nice, it didn't turn me into a DCL convert.

I am looking forward to two bargain cruises on Royal Caribbean this year, and some day I may give Carnival a try.

Have fun on your RCL. Although it has been quite awhile since we have been on RCL. It is my personal belief that they are a step above Carnival. At least they were back then.