December 24, 2011 Celebrating a Magical 6-Night Caribbean Christmas Cruise

[dvc4life]

Hello. I'm excited to say that we will be joining all of you on this very exciting Christmas Cruise in 2011. We love to cruise. We booked this cruise while we were on the SSMC2010 in September and can't wait.

I would liketo introduce our family it will be me, DH, DD1 and DD2. The girls will be 18 and 15 and me and DH are a little older than them .

I see so far that many of you are from Missouri, well, we are just a state away from you up north and are from Iowa. So it looks like we all can't wait to get out of the cold for Christmas time.

Can't wait to get to know everyone (as we have a long time to go).

Have a great day!

 

[tinkerbell_29]

Hi everyone! We just booked this cruise yesterday and are looking forward to it. This will be our 2nd Christmas cruise. We loved the first one and can not wait to repeat the experience. Traveling will be me, my mom and my brother all adults and if things go the way I hope they do I will be bringing along an extra passenger.
Melissa

 

[HFC1969]

Hi everyone! We just booked this cruise yesterday and are looking forward to it. This will be our 2nd Christmas cruise. We loved the first one and can not wait to repeat the experience. Traveling will be me, my mom and my brother all adults and if things go the way I hope they do I will be bringing along an extra passenger.
Melissa

Welcome aboard...

We leave for our 2010 Christmas Cruise in 2 weeks from today.. Again this is the cruise we will be booking while on board... Can't wait.. Merry Christmas..

 

[HFC1969]

Just had a super Christmas on the Magic...

They have 11 months to recover from The Frids invading them for 11 days..

Service was a bit sketchy on the dining side. Was told they took 30% from each boat to get the Dream up and running...

Oh well... we are booked... 8540 is our room.. stop by and see us..

 

[BigHugsForEeyore]

.

 

[jitsb]

Hello again everyone! Missed you all!

We're just starting to recover from our trans-atlantic move... and it was *not* about a DCL boat, as I'd originally hoped because they went and made us move in December. So stressful!!

Anyways, with a sorry excuse for Christmas behind us, we are SO looking forward to this year's MAGICal holiday!!

I know I have the trip papers here somewheres... if I can just figure out what box it's in...

Service was a bit sketchy on the dining side. Was told they took 30% from each boat to get the Dream up and running
That's really interesting! I know one of our favorite servers was leaving for the Dream but hope there will be some decent recommendations for who to request by the time we get there in December!

Looking forward to hearing some fun ideas of ways to make the holiday special onboard!

 

[HFC1969]

Did anyone get any snow yesterday??

We got about a foot.

Haven't had that much snow in awhile. Passed down the rights to the tractor to DS 11.. We had to plow Gma's driveway and ours.

 

[tinkerbell_29]

hi everyone! After spending Christmas and NYE at WDW we are so looking forward to this cruise. While we had a great time it was unbelievable crowded and we had a few problems exiting the park NYE. We decided to add thew 8 night NY cruise on to our trip. I'm excited to get to spend 14 straight nights on the Magic.

We got a years worth of snow in a matter of 3 days. Everything was shut down due to not being able to clear most of the roads. I'm ready for summer.

Melissa

 

[HFC1969]

hi everyone! After spending Christmas and NYE at WDW we are so looking forward to this cruise.

Melissa

This is our 7th Christmas Cruise... it is so much nicer than WDW at

We always go to WDW before the cruise and it reminds us why at we cruise instead..

NYE is also great on ,, last year we were off the coast of Miami watching about a half dozen sets of fireworks.. including our on on the Magic.

18 days til we get to leave the snow in STL for hopefully the warmth at WDW.

Glad to get to know you and your family..

 

[KaryCam]

I am considering booking this cruise. It will be our first cruise.
DH is just not sure it is worth the money.
We've never taken a big vacation before.
Every year we go to the Smoky mountains and stay with his parents. Two years ago we got Florida Resident Seasonal tickets and went to Disney World a few times in a year.
That's it.

DH just doesn't know what the big deal is about. (he really doesn't care about traveling)
He doesn't know if he might get seasick, wonders if there will be enough to do or something that will interest him, the ship will be too crowded, etc, etc. Lots of excuses.

On the other side of the coin is DS11 and I who would love to go.
Wish me luck.
Next week I'll go by AAA to see if there are any specials going on right now. Do you think it's better to book through AAA or DCL website?
Thanks

 

[HFC1969]

I am considering booking this cruise. It will be our first cruise.
DH is just not sure it is worth the money.
We've never taken a big vacation before.
Every year we go to the Smoky mountains and stay with his parents. Two years ago we got Florida Resident Seasonal tickets and went to Disney World a few times in a year.
That's it.

DH just doesn't know what the big deal is about. (he really doesn't care about traveling)
He doesn't know if he might get seasick, wonders if there will be enough to do or something that will interest him, the ship will be too crowded, etc, etc. Lots of excuses.

On the other side of the coin is DS11 and I who would love to go.
Wish me luck.
Next week I'll go by AAA to see if there are any specials going on right now. Do you think it's better to book through AAA or DCL website?
Thanks

I will take a shot an giving you our opinion on the questions you asked.

This will be our 10th DCL and 7th .. wow..

It will be our first cruise. Awesome its your first DCL ,, you will be spoiled! However,, its your first cruise... people can become seasick... we had 20' seas last month at Christmas... it serperated the men from boys..

Another misconception by alot of first time cruisers.. Its not cold in the Bahammas in DEC.. Each I am surprised at how many people think it will be 90 air temp and 80 water temp at CC... Its not.. Our day on CC was about 65 with water temp close to that. Not many people swimming.

DH is just not sure it is worth the money. The Chirstmas or special cruises are ussually the most expensive.

We've never taken a big vacation before. Its only a six day cruise... but again.. ITS A SIX DAY DCL... There are so many activities you can become heavily involved in. Example.. we pack pirate costumes for the entire family (im the DH and have a blast) which takes up a suitcase in itself. FE's are another story.. on the the 2010 we had 72 participants.. it was awesome. Don't forget each stop you can or can not book an excursion.. The prices of excursions are not included, niether is alcohol.. but thats another story.

DH just doesn't know what the big deal is about. (he really doesn't care about traveling) Sounds like an uphill battle.. But hands down ask any of our family members from me the DH (41) to our DD (4) its the best vacation and favorite. Hands down.

Next week I'll go by AAA to see if there are any specials going on right now. Do you think it's better to book through AAA or DCL website? Sadly the only place to recieve discounts is on a DCL. They offer 10% discount on future bookings. There are price cuts sometimes when DCL tries to fill a cruise.

Again its our favorite vacation each year.. We love it better then the parks and we go to the parks 5 or so times a year.. When the parks are full its a pain!! The ship is built to operate full.

Hope that helps.. sorry for typos... iphone keyboards are small

 

[jitsb]

HFC1969: Please share details! With so many cruises under your belt, I bet you've got some great ideas for an awesome trip. Love to hear them so I can start planning!

Sounds like Mike has given you some great advice, KaryCam and he's far more experienced that I am. This will be our 3rd DCL trip in 3 years...yes, we have come to love it that much! My DH was also never interested in cruising and I got him to agree to our 1st one as we'd been so long without a vacation together. I'll go ahead and share some of our experiences and see if that helps you out any!

I am considering booking this cruise. It will be our first cruise. DH is just not sure it is worth the money. We've never taken a big vacation before.

Cruising is expensive; there's really no way around it. I try to be honest with people who ask, it's going to cost you and DCL is one of the most expensive -- BUT, it's worth it!! I really mean that -- it's a big upfront cost, but you get so much in return, lots to do, good food and outstanding service. I would say if you're going to "try" cruising, this is the place to do it. The Magic is an awesome ship (I have no interest in the bigger boats) and you'll be experiencing the cream of the crop to help you decide if you like cruising.

Just to share, we convinced some friends of ours, while living in Europe, to take an 11 night Med cruise on the Magic, and the husband is...shall we say, thrifty? He was so impressed with DCL, he actually did a rough estimate of what it would have cost the 4 of them to go to all those places seperately, including airfare, hotels, food entertainment, and he concluded it was a bargain!! He went back to work and spend hours telling everyone what an amazingly good deal it was and recommending it... they were so shocked!

DH just doesn't know what the big deal is about. (he really doesn't care about traveling) He doesn't know if he might get seasick, wonders if there will be enough to do or something that will interest him, the ship will be too crowded, etc, etc.

I've heard that the holiday cruises are some of the fullest, but I've never felt crowded on the Magic; especially on port days! If your DH isn't particularly interested in Nassau, Bahamas (or anywhere else) hanging out on the boat that day is awesome! No one's around and you practically have the ship to yourself! My biggest problem on DCL is finding the time to do ALL that I want, not being bored!

My DH literally *hates* beaches. He has a whole rant about them and why he dislikes them... but he LOVED Castaway Cay! He's actually looking forward to going back on this trip. It may indeed be a tough sell for you if your DH doesn't like traveling, but if you do book it, at least it will be truly memorable and you'll know for sure how you feel about cruising.

There were 20' swells in Europe this last year, and there were times when my stomach was a little off... but I've never gotten sick on the Magic -- she's a well-built boat! And I'm someone who gets both car sick and air sick.

Ok, so that's all I have to share. Let us know if there's anything else that'll help get you on the boat. The more the merrier!

 

[CanyonRider]

Hi Shipmates! We did our 1st ever cruise - on Magic over New Years. DH-46, DW-47, DD-16, DD-13. All we can say is WOW! We had such a great time, we booked this one for Xmas while we were onboard. Can't believe we have to wait almost a whole year . . . see you then!

 

[TimmyTown]

Greetings all! We are thrilled to report that we'll be on the 6-night Holiday Cruise this December. It will be me (Tim), my wife & son, my mom, sister and niece. This will be the 4th DCL cruise (just got off Eastern Caribbean cruise on 1/22) for me, DW and DS. My mom will be on her 2nd DCL cruise and my sister & niece are rookies to DCL. We're thrilled to have all of the family together on a Christmas cruise.

We're looking forward to Fish Extenders, meets, and lots and lots of fun! See y'all (yes, we're from the south) onboard!

 

[TimmyTown]

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[HFC1969]

Welcome to all the new cruisers!!

Here is my family...

DW Amy & DD Vika

Yours truly Mike & DD Vika

DS Justin

 

[Bursley2010]

Hi Everyone! Just found this thread, and so glad I did!

We will be joining you all for this magical 6-day cruise through the holiday to paradise and can't wait! All in all will be: Me, DH, DM, DD, DMiL, DFiL, DSiL. All of us are from the land of the north (Michigan) with the exception of DSiL who will be joining us from Cali. My parents and I have done one DCL before on the Wonder, but everyone else has not yet experienced the magic of a Disney vacation!

We will be taking this cruise through Christmas and then spending a few days at the parks afterwards. I am a HUGE Disney nut, been to the parks many many times, but have not yet had the opportunity to actually go to the parks with my DH yet (we were just married in April 2010), so we are very excited for our big holiday trip!

Can't wait to meet you all! I've read so much about the FE idea and this it looks adorable!

 

[HFC1969]

Hi Everyone! Can't wait to meet you all! I've read so much about the FE idea and this it looks adorable!

Ahoy! and welcome aboard...

 

[dvc4life]

Hi All! Thought I would hop on since I haven't been here since like September. Excited to see so many more joining in. We are a family of 4, me, DH, DD1 (18) and DD2 (15), who will be cruising on this Christmas cruise. This will be our 7th DCL cruise. But our first Christmas Cruise.

We will be staying at BLT from Dec 22-24. Then cruise. Then we will be going back to SSR from Dec 30-Jan 1. We have never been to WDW during the actual Christmas season and can't wait to see the decorations. We have been down during the first two weeks of November and not everything is up yet so this will be a first for us and are so excited.

 

[tinkerbell_29]

CanyonRider what did they do special for new years eve on the magic? We are going to do both the Christmas cruise and the new years cruise and are hoping they do at least fireworks for NYE.

Melissa