Disney Magic 3/21-3/28

[delo4]

Cast of characters
Myself - 14 Disney cruises
Husband - 6 Disney Cruises
Mom - 14 Disney Cruises
Mom's Husband - 12 Disney Cruises
Daughter # 1 - 8 Disney Cruises
Daughter # 1's husband and great son-in law -5 Disney Cruises
Daughter # 2 - 5 Disney Cruises

All of us have sailed numerous times so we are official Disney Cruise Addicts!

We arrived at the terminal about 9:50 and only had to wait a few minutes before they opened. We were in two cars and wouldn't you know it, the car I was in with my Mom and her husband go the "new girl". Since we have sailed a few times, we knew the drill - have your photo id's ready to show. Well, this lady apparently did not know the English alphabet very well. She could not figure out what letters came after each other in the alphabet. It was a windy day and our photo id's kept blowing off of her clipboard and she couldn't locate our names. After watching her try to find the names, I finally took the clipboard and showed her where our names were. Only problem - my name was not on the manifest anywhere. I didn't start to panic though because I had documents and my on-line check in sheets that say I was supposed to be on this sailing. Well, she needed to call someone and she still couldn't get the letters right in my last name. It was very frustrating, but finally we were on our way. Our other car and already unloaded, parked and part of them were already up in the terminal. They were beginning to get concerned about what happened to us, but finally we were allowed in. We got boarding card number 5 after all the drama. It didn't take long at all to check in, get our picture taken and for them to start boarding.

We were announced and then we proceeded to Parrot Cay for lunch. Daughter # 1 went to Rockin Bar D to make sure we had a table to ourselves. She also wanted to make sure that since we were a party of 7, that we didn't have a table for 6 with a person stuck on the end. Last cruise that happened and when you have several guys all over 6 feet, and girls not far behind - a table for 6 is not good. We asked for a larger table for the leg room. Mission accomplished and we all met at Parrot Cay for lunch. We enjoy going to Parrot Cay for lunch. Some of us just hang out there until our rooms are ready. Others go exploring until time to go to the room.

To be continued

 

[delo4]

We arrive at our cabins on Deck 9. We have outside rooms with the big porthole - three rooms in a row. We meet our stateroom host, Arya whom we have had before. He is great, called us by name whenever he saw us, always friendly.

We dropped off our bags and headed up to Decks 9 and 10 to go exploring. Ended up at the Cove Cafe. We spend alot of time up there hanging out and I think our names were engraved on the seats before the end of the week. It was a great place to relax and meet up with others from our group.

Our bags arrived before the lifeboat drill and we got everything put away before the drill began. The drill seemed much shorter to us this time, but its usually pretty painless. Next stop - Deck 10 for the Sailaway party.

The day was really sunny, but a bit windy. I think our whole trip was windy, but it didn't bother us! After the sailaway party, back to our Cove Cafe spots to hang out until the Welcome Aboard Show. We managed to hit all the "variety" type shows, but we have seen the production shows many times and usually don't go to those.

Next up - Dinner

 

[delo4]

Dinner rotation was LAPPLAP, second seating. We like second seating better. Our servers were Joyce from St. Vincent and Miki (I don't remember where he was from). Our head server shall remain nameless. We didn't care much for him right from the start and we didn't change our mind as the week went on. We saw our favorite head server, Jeevan in the dining room and he recognized us and spoke to us whenever he saw us. We had him last cruise and he was terrific. We should have asked for him!!!

The menus were pretty much the same as the last time. One night the chef was walking around the dining room and he stopped at our table to chat. Asked us what was our favorite menu. We all like the Island Dinner in Parrot Cay. He asked us what we liked about it and my daughter said the "chicken wings". He said they were no longer on the menu. Darn!! However, he told us he would have some ready for us the night we came to Parrot Cay. Sure enough- when we arrived there were 7 plates of chicken wings made just for us! Now that is the Disney difference!!! It was a special treat and we made sure to thank him and put his name on the comment card at the end of the week. There is a place where you can put any "wow" moments you experienced. Well, that fit the bill for us. He came out after dinner and asked how we liked them. It was great and so nice of him to do.

We went to most of the shows in Rockin Bar D after dinner and really enjoyed them. We did manage to go to the Chocolate Buffet that week, but we can never eat, its too soon after dinner, but everything looked great.

Key West - we have been several times and one of our favorite things to do is to remain onboard when everyone else gets off. We took a quick walk to Key West, but were back on board in about 30 min. We have done the excursions before and we really enjoy the quiet boat. We didn't even get off the ship in either Cozumel or Grand Cayman.

We loved hanging around the ship, sitting at the Cove, reading, hanging out with the family. The weather was good this week, although a bit windy. The first night out was a little rough, but it usually is. No one got sick but you could feel the ship moving. We especially noticed it if we woke up in the middle of the night. I wonder if they don't use the stabilizers at night. You could feel us rocking a few nights.

Next up - Highlights and other things

 

[delo4]

Favorite Things -

We ate in the Dining rooms each night. Everyone loves getting dressed for dinner and being together. Joyce and Miki were very busy during dinner. I think there were 19 people in their station and they were kept hopping. They were very professional, but no time for chatting! It didn't bother us, but we have had servers before who liked to talk with you. They were not unfriendly at all, just busy making sure everyone had what they needed.

Loved the Cove Cafe - like I said, we spent alot of time up there. Great place to hang out.

Drink Station - so convenient

Daughter #2 got a swedish massage at the spa and I think she is now addicted!!

New TV's were nice, but channels were hard to get used to.

Christian - the Cruise Director - loved seeing him again, yeah he's our favorite!!!

Castaway Cay - had a great day. When we checked the outside temp in the morning, it said 66 degrees, but it seemed much warmer than that. The wind was pretty strong, but we headed out to the Adult beach and there was no wind over there at all. We stayed out until almost 4:00. This was one of the best days we have had on Castaway Cay. We really hated to give up and go back on the ship, but we got the hint when they started cleaning up the beach around us.

Maybe some not-so favorite things -

The adult pool was way too warm - actually the water was hot. I thought it was the same temp at the hot tub. You couldn't stand to stay in the water. Now, I like warm water, but hot was crazy. It was like that all week, but its the first time I have ever known it to be like that. Weird!!

Servers in the dining rooms at breakfast and lunch were hit or miss. Some were really nice, others acted like you were bothering them. We ate breakfast in Parrot Cay 3 times, Lumiere's once and Topsiders the other times. We really like Parrot Cay the best. Its really hard to find scrambled eggs that are cooked. Most were really runny. Our family opted for omelets most of the time if they wanted eggs.

We tried to have steak at Castaway Cay for lunch, but whoever was cooking them that day could not get them cooked. Now, I like mine medium and can eat them a bit on the rare side, but not raw. He tried 3 times with my steak and I even got a new one once. I asked for it well done thinking maybe it would be cooked medium. Well, it was still raw and cold inside. My husband tried twice. We finally gave up and ate burgers. I think they were having trouble regulating the flame because of the wind and it kept flaring up, charcoaling the outside and not cooking the inside. No matter, we didn't go hungry!

I'll have to add things as I think of them later, or I'm sure my daughters will chime in with their thoughts. Can't wait to go again, we had a great week.

 

[disneyfaninaz]

Sounds like a great trip. We too had Joyce. She was wonderful. Our head server was fine, but I wasn't thrilled with our Asst. Server, which was different than the one you had.

 

[cdfl30]

We did manage to go to the Chocolate Buffet that week, but we can never eat, its too soon after dinner, but everything looked great.

I haven't heard of the Chocolate Buffet before but you have me interested. Where and when is this? We are going on a 7-night western in a couple weeks.

Thanks!

 

[O2BONDCL]

hey there!! this is delo4's daughter #2

I think this was the best cruise I have been on. It was so nice to just relax and not fee pressured to do anything!

I did get a Sweedish Massage, and it was wonderful! The spa is very nice and relaxing. If you have the opportunity to get you, you should!

We did use the gym a few times on this cruise, which was new for us! We had never been in there, and working out isn't nearly as awful when you have a beautiful ocean to look at!! They were offering several "fitness" classes, and nutrition classes, but we didn't go to any of them...

The Sail Away and Pirate party's are my favorite events on a Disney cruise. The Sail Away gets you in the mood for a cruise and gets your excitement level high! The Pirate party went off without a hitch...the fireworks were amazing, Mickey flying from stack to stack was great, and the pirate buffet was good as well. Everytime I hear the song "i need a hero" I think of Mickey and the fireworks!

We did take advantage of the ironing and dry cleaning service. It is very cheap and well worth it! You just put it in the laundry bag, leave it on your bed and the stateroom host will take it out and deliveri the next day! It was very convenient!

My dad and I are huge explorers! We love to roam the ship to see what is going on, try to go to places we have never been...and we did that again this cruise! If you can, take some time to just walk around the ship and enjoy it! We always seem to find something new that we haven't seen before.

My dad and I did the galley tour. That is always fun for us! We love getting the "behind the scenes" access to things, so we try to do this every time. We had a chef from Jamaica as our tour guide, and he was so informative. We were able to ask any and all kinds of questions, and he welcomed each one and answered the best that he could. He is the longest running chef on both the Wonder and the Magic. He has been on board since the maiden voyages.

Most of the time, we stayed up on deck 9 by the adult pool and read and slept and read some more. That is my idea of a vacation! Nothing to do and all day to do it!!

 

[delo4]

The chocolate/dessert buffet I think was on Thursday night. It is in Lumiere'e and starts around 11:00-11:30. It is beautiful to look at, but we can never eat since we are still too full from dinner. They have chocolate fountains of milk and white chocolate and maybe even dark chocolate. Lots of goodies to dip in the fountains as well. Its good to go and take pictures even if you don't eat anything.

 

[delo4]

Just a couple more things

The public rooms on the ship were very cold - bring a lightweight jacket.

We got to ride down the elevator with the harbor pilot. If you can, watch him jump off the Magic onto the Pilot boat after taking us out of the harbor. Its a fun thing to watch!

The Cove cafe has great pastries during the day. You can just walk in and help yourself. A nice little treat in the morning or afternoon.

Make sure to visit the stores on the ship each day. They offer different specials on different days. My daughter found a great purse for $5.00

 

[kileybeth]

Thank You so much for sharing such great reports with us newbies! I love that you are veterans and still find fun things to share.

Some of the things you pointed out I had not thought of, hadn't heard of or just loved that you gave little reminders.

I am sooooo looking forward to just relaxing, I hope I can actually keep myself from overplanning our time and do so despite it being our first cruise.

Sounds like Cove Cafe and the adult pool are favorite hangouts for nice relaxing times. How about Deck 4? I hear others like that area.

Do tell what you saw/did that was "new" to you this cruise! My DH and I love to just walk where ever we go and find hidden or not so obvious things.

 

[Grumpyismyfavorite]

Thank You so much for sharing such great reports with us newbies! I love that you are veterans and still find fun things to share.

Some of the things you pointed out I had not thought of, hadn't heard of or just loved that you gave little reminders.

I am sooooo looking forward to just relaxing, I hope I can actually keep myself from overplanning our time and do so despite it being our first cruise.

Sounds like Cove Cafe and the adult pool are favorite hangouts for nice relaxing times. How about Deck 4? I hear others like that area.

Do tell what you saw/did that was "new" to you this cruise! My DH and I love to just walk where ever we go and find hidden or not so obvious things.

I also want to thank all of you veteran cruisers for the great tips on the DIS. May 28th will be our 4th DCL cruise and I never knew about free treats in Cove Cafe, Mickey Bars from room service (and cake of the day), or the great ideas like over the door organizers.

Reading this trip reports and the cruise forum has me so obsessed that I can hardly think of anything else but being on the ship. (Of course, I'm so hokey that just the thought of the ship's horn blowing When You Wish Upon a Star can make me teary.)

 

[delo4]

Kileybeth - deck 4 is a great hangout spot. We didn't hang out there as much this time -we didn't seem to be able to get away from the Cove Cafe. The chairs were so comfortable, there was always a breeze and it was near all the snacks.

Part of the reason that we keep going back is that Disney always finds new ways of doing things. They really listen to their guests and the suggestions that guests make are really taken into consideration. We have seen many many changes in the 10 years we have been sailing with them.

There is always something new or different to do. This trip we visited the fitness center a few times, my daughter got a massage, we ate in the dining rooms for breakfast more than Topsiders, stayed on the ship for most ports of call, and ate in the dining rooms for lunch.

This vacation never gets old. The best part is spending time with our family. My husband and daughter #2 love to just walk around the ship and find things they have never seen before. You just never know who you might run into.

We can't wait until we can go again, like I said before, it doesn't get old!

 

[Special K's Mom]

I also want to thank all of you veteran cruisers for the great tips on the DIS. May 28th will be our 4th DCL cruise and I never knew about free treats in Cove Cafe, Mickey Bars from room service (and cake of the day), or the great ideas like over the door organizers.

Reading this trip reports and the cruise forum has me so obsessed that I can hardly think of anything else but being on the ship. (Of course, I'm so hokey that just the thought of the ship's horn blowing When You Wish Upon a Star can make me teary.)

I can't wait to hear that horn again......and yes - I cried last year when I heard it for the first time....and the last time too!

I also love all of the TR's and great insider tips and information!! It is really going to make this year's cruise MAGICal......even though last year's was also WONDERful!!!!!

 

[SCDizneyDawn]

I have a question about Cove Cafe since you spent a lot of time in there! Did you notice cheese in the late afternoon? We had late dinner last time and I remember cheese before late dinner but wondered if they also have it out before early dinner? I love the Borsin cheese and it does not come on the room service cheese platter, but was avail every late afternoon/early evening in Cove Cafe.
Also, did they put out chocolates late? like 10pm or so?

Thanks for the help!

 

[delo4]

SCDizneyDawn - I never saw cheese in the Cove Cafe, but my husband said he saw it there. It was before the dinner times began.

I never saw the chocolates, but we were never up there around 10:00. We had late dinner and got coffee in the dining room with dessert. Then we usually went to the show in Rockin Bar D. I know they have snacks outside Rockin Bar D around 11:00 p.m., but we were always too full from dinner to even check out what they had.

If you go hungry on one of these cruises, I don't know how. There is food everywhere.And if you can't find anything open, you can always order from room service. We ordered Mickey Bars and cookies quite often. Just a warning - sometimes when you order one Mickey Bar, they will send two. This happened to us more than once. We usually could find someone in our family to eat it, even if we had to go find them. Its really hard to turn down a free Mickey Bar in the middle of the afternoon. Especially if you are sitting out by the pool.

 

[SCDizneyDawn]

Thank you so much for the help and great review!