December 12 - 19, 2009 Western Magic

[Juney]

Meeting Cherri, Robert and Hannah was a real treat and we all had a wonderful time meeting "Grandpa" one night. LOL

Your family was a huge highlight for our family as well. Our trip could not have began more perfectly! We rarely meet families who we just click with as a family. If only we had a wonderful 20yo daughter (or son!!) with us!! We ran in to grandma and grandpa two more times after that night. When we saw them on CC they had their son with them. He spoke a little big of English, but we didn't even thing to ask their names. Then during breakfast on disembarkation day Grandpa came over and hugged us. We just adored them.

 

[Juney]

yes. Kathleen's mom from Ocean Quest.

Well, please tell Kathleen that Hannah said "hello".

 

[kcashner]

Hi all! We're home, mostly unpacked, laundry mostly done, sort of getting back to normal life.


Highlights of trip--this was a GREAT group. Met some lovely people in person. Juney--are you the mom of Hannah who sat with us at dinner when you went to Palo? She's a lovely young lady, and I'm so glad she joined us.

You guys will laugh at this, but a highlight for me was seeing a child in the hall clutching the one of my FE gifts...I'd worried a bit about my selection, but it was a hit with one person. The FEs were a lot of fun, worth the suitcase space they took. I really liked the size of our group. I've done them with as few as 5 (not enough for real fun) and as many as 70 (way too many). Even 30 cabins was a bit much--it reaches a point of being too costly. Our group was perfect.

Our room steward was a delight...nice surprise that he and DD had many similar interests. Our server was a joy. We have a friend who is a CM (met before his contract) We thought he would be on vacation, and were DELIGHTED to see him on stage on the first night!

And...it's cold here, but at least we weren't among those stranded at airports.

Thanks to everyone for a great cruise!

 

[HallsofVA]

We were able to make it out of Orlando to Washington Dulles airport on the 9:20am United flight on Sunday. The flights before and after that one were both canceled, but we were very glad that we'd asked to be booked on that flight the morning before when we saw the weather report and realized it would be highly unlikely we'd make it out on Saturday.

We arrived home to 2 feet of snow and were only able to get our 4WD Sequoia halfway up our driveway. It was very cold stepping into that snow without snow boots for the walk up the driveway to the house. DH started shovelling as soon as we got home (wouldn't you know it our snowblower broke last year and we still haven't gotten it fixed!) and he's just headed out again to try to make more progress (I still can't get my car out of the garage and down the driveway.)

We really enjoyed this cruise, more so than our 1st Western, though that one did have much better weather. Maybe it's because we just know more this time, and also because it was our first cruise without a true toddler. I could really do without Key West, but it was a great afternoon to swim in the pools without too much crowds. We really loved the Dolphin Encounter in Grand Cayman and I took advantage of being back on the ship that afternoon to do one of the Pamper Packages that the spa offered! That was wonderful!!

On Cozumel we did the Nachi-Cocom beach break on our own and it was fantastic! Given there were 7-8 ships in port that day, it was wonderful having such an empty beach and pool to spend the day in. I think I drank more pina coladas that day than any other, and the nachos and other food was good as well. It was great meeting a couple of others DISers there and seeing them again on Castaway Cay!

We had a couple of our friends who were seasick the first night and again toward the end of the cruise, but both said it wasn't enough to scare them away from booking again. Neither of my kids wanted to leave, and my daughter keeps asking to go back on the cruise ship! (They don't know we're cruising again in January on the Wonder!) We booked 2 dummy cruises while on board - One for 12/3/11 Eastern Caribbean, and a pure dummy date since I wasn't able to rebook my Dream reservation onboard at this time since my category is sold out at the moment. I was also able to rebook some reservations for my FIL and my kids' godparents to join us on future cruises so that worked out well.

I lost track of who gave what with the FE. There was so much it was quite overwhelming!! I know my kids slept with the stuffed dogs each night after they were received, and my daughter loves the princess puzzle. Both kids wore the pirate tattoos and other pirate items on pirate night (I think I even wore some). And the liqueur chocolates were much appreciated by me and DH! The bookmarks have been used, and I can't wait to use the scrapbooking stuff. The little altoid tin memory box was amazing (I just assumed it was altoids with a fancy cover until we actually opened it!) There was a fight over the autograph book but in a good way. There is more but those jump out at me at the moment.

 

[bevtoy]

We booked a New Years dummy double dip for December 29, 2011. I don't know if we will cruise that one or change it for 2012 which will be our 30th wedding anniversary.

The FE gifts were great!

 

[pxlbarrel]

Caribbean Beach -- have you stayed at a moderate before? I think an arguement could be made when comparing Disney resorts to hotels around the country that all of them are overpriced. However, they have one really big thing going for them: LOCATION! I love the feel of Caribbean Beach...love the upgrades to the pool there...the lush grounds etc.

TWO LIMOS?! Yikes! that's a pretty big mistake. and yes the TA should foot the bill with the second company. nice of you to tip the driver.

Luggage Check. Oh no. I can't believe those gus were's trying to get your bags and your money! Now I'll have to remind friends that are going that there is a luggage check. Glad it worked out for you.

Mickey. Although he was available later in the week in his Christmas sweater...this would have been a real bummer after the limo fiasco, dragging luggage through security, only to get in line to see the big cheese and miss him. Sounds like your trip got off to a rocky start.

Yes, we've stayed at the former Dixie Landings (which tells you how long that could have been) and we loved it. And our location at CBR was pretty good...we were in a premium room so very close to the food and gift shop. However, the rooms seemed old to us and a little bit dirty too. We would have liked to have enjoyed the lush gardens except the weather wasn't that cooperative (cold and rainy) so maybe if it had been sunny, we would have had a better opinion. That wouldn't have changed the fact, though, that we thought the room could have been cleaned better. And who the heck decided where to put the internet network cable? They've got it in a place where there's no room for a laptop and no electrical outlet. My dad, who likes to solve puzzles, spent a good amount of time trying to figure out where to plug in the coffee maker!! (I told him to give it a rest, the obsession for finding the outlet was getting a little freaky. )

Talked to my travel agent today and she says she called the first limo company and cancelled them. She's remembers it perfectly and even remembers the name of the person she talked to to cancel it. That's the company we had to go with because they had our cc #. Oh well.... guess we won't be using either of those companies any time soon.

Is it just me or is it just "blah" right now. I feel slightly depressed that I'm not on the ship anymore.

 

[GoBison]

I loved every minute of this cruise and am looking forward to the next. When ever that may be.

Thanks to everyone for the FE gifts. My girls were in heaven. And to Bev for the great pics. Cant wait to show my family. Loved having you with us in Grand Cayman.

And to all the great people I met on the cruise. All who said hi and offered advice. You made it very easy and the ultimate vacation.

 

[Juney]

We are FINALLY home!! It's going to be so nice to sleep in my bed .. especially after waking up at the Marriott Orlando Airport with bedbug bites on my torso. Can you freakin' believe it??

 

[HallsofVA]

We are FINALLY home!! It's going to be so nice to sleep in my bed .. especially after waking up at the Marriott Orlando Airport with bedbug bites on my torso. Can you freakin' believe it??

Yikes! We slept there the night before the cruise but didn't have any problems.

 

[SueEllen]

We noticed that the water was brown after they turned the water back on... My mom always has hot water as a drink for her meals and it was yellow that night. She asked our asst server and he said, "I don't know. I asked that myself." LOL

Our table mate's cabin (on deck 5) was flooded out as well, and they were moved to a cat 4 on deck 8 as well.
I noticed the water was brown too (I got in the shower shortly after the water was back on and it ran brown for a bit.)

So sad that the weather was so rotten for Castaway Cay, but I did manage to spend some time just walking around with my son, which was nice.

We had one of those WOW moments too--my son was the one that lit the Christmas Tree for the cruise. It was fantastic.
While I had some challenges getting around at times, for the most part all went well, and I was really excited that on the last night of the cruise I managed to get up and use my cane and dance Only one song, but it just felt great to do that (I know that sounds silly, but after everything that has happened in the last several months, believe it, it was very welcome!)

Loved seeing so many crew members that we knew from previous cruises and that remembered us as well. Could have used another week though LOL

I missed the water spouts at Castaway. We saw two a few years ago there, but didn't see these. I look forward to seeing the pictures.

Sorry we missed the meet on the first day. I was exhausted and running on only 2 hours of sleep. I fell asleep in the room until just before the lifeboat drill. I did get to meet a couple of you, and it was very nice to do so.

Now, just to figure out when we can go back!! I'm having withdrawal already

 

[bevtoy]

is my user name on Facebook if anyone is interested.

 

[poohfriend]

Did anyone else note that the Wonder sailing that would have been at CC the day after ours wasn't even able to dock!?! I read it it a post that they missed CC day.

Makes me REALLY glad for the lovely few hours on the island. (And for being docked when those high winds and tornados came through.)

That was my fourth trip to the island. and definately the worst weather wise. Still, it managed to be a nice day overall.

I'm with Sue Ellen...gotta figure out when my next trip is ...withdraw

 

[HallsofVA]

Did anyone else note that the Wonder sailing that would have been at CC the day after ours wasn't even able to dock!?! I read it it a post that they missed CC day.

Makes me REALLY glad for the lovely few hours on the island. (And for being docked when those high winds and tornados came through.)

That was my fourth trip to the island. and definately the worst weather wise. Still, it managed to be a nice day overall.

I'm with Sue Ellen...gotta figure out when my next trip is ...withdraw

This was our 3rd trip to Castaway Cay in December, and I'd rank the morning 2nd of the three in terms of weather and conditions. Our Dec 2005 stop was fantastic in all ways. The water was chilly, but plenty of sunshine to make up for it. December 2008 was cloudy and overcast all day though it never rained. When the sun peeked through, it was comfortable enough, but when the sun went away it was coverup time for warmth.

We were very glad we were some of the first off the ship this time since it gave us plenty of time to enjoy the beach while the weather was good. MY son was sad the stingrays were canceled, but oh well. By the time we broke for lunch, we were ready to head back to the ship, so when it started raining, we just grabbed our stuff and headed back after we ate. I think we were back on the ship by 1:30 or 2pm having had a full day (for us) on the beach.

 

[pxlbarrel]

I'm obsessed with all things Magic right now.

I found this video on the making of the Magic fascinating!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dy6kW1YE0aE&feature=related

 

[poohfriend]

because the kids don't have much to open on Christmas!

I keep saying...but we went on a cruise....

He's on Amazon taking advantage of our "free-trial" prime account. He keeps saying...10 minutes of free shipping remain...it's gotta be like 3 minutes now. Estimated arrival day is Dec. 24th. I bet part of it arrives nexxt Monday.

I think I'll try to go get some picutes developed tomorrow and wrap those up..."Remember the cruise" pics.

oh well, hope they do like the few things we do have.

(part of him freaking is that my parents sent $$ this year and they usually send lots of little wrapped stuff.)

 

[Juney]

I'm wrapping Hannah's pillow case signed by the characters. She has no idea we had it done. I also have a few other cruise souvenirs that she doesn't know about that will be Christmas gifts. But, it's going to be shallow this year. That's OK. Last year we did 7 days in the parks during the same week. I think we all prefer the vacations to the whole over-the-top Christmas thing.

 

[Shoog]

Wow - maybe I will be able to finish up the laundry tomorrow. Arrived home on Sunday - 16 days of laundry about put me over the top (yes we did do it once in DW). I can't believe we missed the tornado on Castaway - I am going to have to check out the pics - someone post them here or on facebook. Tonight I caught my husband checking out the Med cruises - I think he may have found a vacation he prefers over the parks. I wouldn't mind in the least. He was at work today and a coworker started talking about the neat cruise ship they saw pull in once to Cozumel - it was us on the Magic. Small world. I would have to say Cozumel was our favorite port. We lucked out with an excursion we booked on our own - swam with sea turtles, sharks, barracuda, 100's of fishes in the schools that we saw. Have snorkeled many times, but must say this was the best yet. I think a lot of it had to do with our guide.
It was fun to meet many of you. Bri has picks of several of the girls together - that I will have her send to their email addresses. The 11 / 12 year group of girls was great.
I hope all of you have a wonderful Christmas. I need to go find frames and print off pics for the kids tomorrow as a surprise.

 

[bevtoy]

I'm wrapping Hannah's pillow case signed by the characters. She has no idea we had it done. I also have a few other cruise souvenirs that she doesn't know about that will be Christmas gifts. But, it's going to be shallow this year. That's OK. Last year we did 7 days in the parks during the same week. I think we all prefer the vacations to the whole over-the-top Christmas thing.

We only have two and Christmas stockings I asked mine "Do you want a cruise or presents?" and they choose the cruise.

This is the second year we have done this and the family is loving it!

 

[bevtoy]

Heres the tornado picture and video.

The video is poor quality. There is a slender pencil shaped tornado and one that is pillar/funnel shaped. There were actually 5 of them but they were very light colored wouldn't show up on my camera. We were in quite grave danger and the top deck was sealed off so no one would go up there and yes people tried and were turned away.

 

[poohfriend]

I'm wrapping Hannah's pillow case signed by the characters. She has no idea we had it done. I also have a few other cruise souvenirs that she doesn't know about that will be Christmas gifts. But, it's going to be shallow this year. That's OK. Last year we did 7 days in the parks during the same week. I think we all prefer the vacations to the whole over-the-top Christmas thing.

however, our wonderful stateroom host had them draped across our bed the last night. Looked beautiful...but kinda took care of a Christmas present. The kids love them!

We usually have a simple Christmas anyway...but with the grandparents not sending anything and the aunts and uncles sending a family gift....they were going to get 1 santa gift and a stocking...which was fine with me...but hubby wanted to watch them unwrap some stuff.

Fortunately everything he ordered is stuff we would have purchased eventually anyway. We have only 13 channels with cable...so we buy old TV seasons. He found Gilligan's Island and Beverly Hillbillies. And we love the old Mission Impossible TV show. All 3 kids...an extra gift to unwrap-- and since they are multi-dvd packs we may have more than that!

The cruise was a complete surprise for all of us. We have dreamed of doing a 7 day...so glad it worked out for us to be on this cruise. Someone from the clubs told me that THIS week, (Christmas) there are twice as many kids in the clubs. The clubs made our week. The kids really loved their clubs this trip.