Eastern Magical Reunion 10/13-Updated 11-4 small pics added & last day

[Claudine&John]

We ran into them a lot as well. They were very nice and my MIL & FIl had a long conversation with them prior to one of the shows. Yes Palo was every bit as billed! I wish I could have tasted the souffle but I'll take your word for it....

 

[Claudine&John]

Pana Cotta .....see I did remember. That was the desert I wanted to have in an IV bag and keep with me on the rest of the trip...it was GOOOOOOOD!

 

[gossipgirl]

Pana Cotta .....see I did remember. That was the desert I wanted to have in an IV bag and keep with me on the rest of the trip...it was GOOOOOOOD!

One question did you have a really great time. and also do you have any pictures.

 

[Claudine&John]

Yes we had a really, really great time. It was a big let down to come home. I think there should be a term for it like "Post-Voyage Depression"..

We have roughly 300+ photos and as soon as I can publish them on this board I'll do so. I wanted to do it with the report but I've been having some computer issues.....

 

[Claudine&John]

Day 7: Cast Away a go-GO!

Friday started with a slow windy docking at Cast Away Cay and a slightly grey tinted sky. DW went to get us some lattes and I sat out on the veranda to watch us dock. We woke up the DD’s and made our way to Parrot Cay to meet up with DW’s Aunt and her DS. Parrot Cay was really great for breakfast, it was really low key and completely free of the morning rush. The buffet was very similar to Topsiders but it was laid out differently and as such there were some things, like the omelet station that I didn’t notice in Topsiders. Apparently Topsiders has an omelet station as well but it’s sort of tucked away and you have to look for it. They also had the crispy creams and that was really all that mattered…

Breakfast was, hic!.. over and we made our way back to the room to get ready to tackle Cast Away Cay. We walked down to deck 1 forward to get in line with some other cruisers that were keen to snag the prime beachfront property. The wait lasted around twenty minutes and the area around the forward gangway got fairly crowded right before we were allowed to exit to paradise. There was some silent jockeying around and some rumblings in the crowd and then the doors opened and the crowd let out a collective round of applause. We were probably the 5th or 6th family to exit the ship and head out onto the CC dock. We walked past the aft gangway which was now teaming with cruisers making their aggressive way toward beach supremacy. DD 3yr was not going to be able to make the walk all the way to the beach so I hoisted her up and carried her while dodging people that were actually RUNNING to the beach to put their stamp on paradise. I was a little intimidated by people actually running to poach beach spots, but I guess when DH’s are faced with the prospect of “the perfect spot” they will sprint, in flip-flops, while bounding past 5yr olds to beach-dom. We walked to the far end of the family beach and grabbed a great spot and got there with plenty of time to spare.

There were plenty of decent spots to be had when we got there and even later in the day there was still empty beach front, so future cruisers…don’t worry about it, and DON’T run, because you may knock over a five year old on your way. We were in our spot and the rest of our big group arrived and we got down to beach fun. DD 5yr and I went swimming and low and behold…the water was not extremely warm…huh? The water was a bit more chilly than I thought it would be but it was defiantly not cold. We are used to swimming in Cape Cod in August and the water at CC was not nearly that cold but for some reason it was cooler than I thought it would be. We swam for a bit and then I went off to grab some snorkeling gear and check out the lagoon. I had a somewhat “magical” moment when I was standing in line for the rental equipment and although it wasn’t earth shattering it was my own little chip of magic. I was almost to the front of the line when this guy barges up from behind me and throws his equipment on the table and tells the rental CM that he just needs a vest because he brought his own equipment. There were only two people behind me in line and the guy could have waited, but he felt it was necessary to bark an order at the CM and dismiss everyone else. The CM had no choice but to bow to the demands of “I got my own equipment guy” so he gave him his vest and sent him on his way. The CM and I both chuckled a bit and I asked, with an emphasis on PLEASE & MAY I, if I could have some snorkeling equipment. He quickly gathered my gear and then took my KTW card and charged me for the rental. He only charged me for a kids rate and he didn’t explain why but it was implied that he did it because he felt bad about “I got my own equipment guy”….I could be totally wrong in my impression of the situation but I’ll take the magical moments when I can get them, even if their all in my twisted little mind. I strolled back to our spot on the beach and noticed “I got my own equipment guy” wrestling with the strap on his mask and I had a small inner giggle at his expense. The girls were in full beach fun mode when I got back and they were preparing to build a sand castle. I decided to get a quick tour of the snorkel lagoon in before what looked like the black cloud of doom descended upon our day of beachee indulgence. There was an ominous looking cloud formation just off the island when we got off the boat and later in the morning it looked like it would pass directly over us. I snorkled for about 30 mins and got to see the entire lagoon, with the exception of the Mickey statue, I just couldn’t find it. I was not used to swimming with fins and a vest on and I felt like a speedboat out there. I had read quite a bit about the sand on the bottom of the lagoon getting stirred up by traffic but if you make your way out into the lagoon roughly 20yds off shore the water is very clear and there are a lot less people. I made my way back to the girls and at this point everyone was out of the water and preparing for a thunderous torrent of rain that appeared to be headed right for us. We huddled under the beach umbrella near our spot and waited as the rain and wind came screaming through. I was already wet from swimming so I kind of just stood there and got creamed by the mini hurricane. The rain lasted all of about 15 minutes and everything we had brought with us was soaked to the bone. The beach came back to life with people coming out of the woodwork to regain their spots on the beach and continue the enjoyment. We laid out all of our items and the sun came back with a vengeance. There was a battle in the skies that day my friends, and the sun was determined to make our day memorable. The lifeguards held everyone out of the water until they were all able to get back into position and make the swimming area safe to inhabit again. We all had a good laugh when folks would “test the waters” and try going back in without permission…it was pretty funny. Everyone had the same reaction to the lifeguards repeated request to PLEASE STAY OUT OF THE WATER….they’d all throw their hands in the air….”what??? WHY????” like they needed and explanation….uh the lifeguard is telling you not to go in, don’t worry about why, he’ll tell you when you can go back. I apologize for that…usually it’s me asking why until DW tells me to JUST DO WHAT THEY SAY!! This time it wasn’t however and I was feeling proud of myself for not getting yelled at…above the fray I was.. While everything was drying out we decided to go to the BBQ to get some lunch. Lunch was really great, picture a beach side BBQ with great salads, ice cream, ribs, burgers…you name it. There is a really nice pavilion with huge picnic tables and lots of space to cut down on the craziness….very relaxing. We finished up and headed back to our beach spot to find that most of our stuff had dried out and that most, if not all of out rented floating implements had been pillaged. I think that some folks assume that the floats are free and therefore up for grabs, I can’t really blame them either because by early afternoon they were all over the place. We didn’t really care that much about it as the boy who was playing with our mat thingy looked like he was having fun and I’m not one to poo-poo on that. We swam for a bit more and ordered some tropical drinks from an AWESOME CM on the beach. I can’t remember his name but he became like a personal bar tender to our big group for part of the afternoon, I tipped him heavily as he made quite a few trips in the hot sun with trays full of drinks. My MIL & FIL came back from their bike ride with my BIL & SIL and we made all made a b-line for the snorkel lagoon again. This time I did find the Mickey statue and my BIL got a picture of me hugging it under water. WORD TO THE WISE HERE: if you are an experienced snorkler and swimmer you can deflate your vest a bit and dive to the statue to check it out, however, you will have to re-inflate your vest when you surface…practice this ahead of time on the beach. Snorkeling was wonderful again and the lagoon was still extremely clear with exception of the first 20 yds offshore. I left the rest of the group out in the lagoon and made my way back to DW and the girls. While we were snorkeling DW took the girls to scuttles cove to check out what was going on there and from what she told me it wasn’t enough to keep them occupied so they just went back to the beach. In retrospect we should have had a beach day on either St. Maarten or St. Thomas, or both as that’s what the DD’s really liked the most, and probably momma bear and pappa bear as well. We collectively decided to make our way back to the Magic and check out the stores and the post office on the way. We mailed a few post cards to some family members that weren’t with us and one to ourselves as well. The trip back to the ship was bittersweet as we slowly strolled along and took some choice photos. The DD’s got to meet and have their picture taken with Chip & Dale which was neat because Chip actually got down on one knee and picked up DD 3yr and cuddled her which made for a great shot. We slowly sauntered up the forward gangway and made our way back to 6036. The girls let out a collective sigh when we got to the room and DW got the DD’s in the shub for the last…time… I went up on deck to take some video of CC from deck 9 and take some general ship shots. I grabbed a cocktail for DW and myself and headed back to the stateroom to jump in the shub myself. It had been a goal of mine to catch the famed ship horn on video and I only actually managed to catch the last note. Here’s a hint: if you want to catch the horn on tape, just before the captain blasts when you wish upon a star, the ship speaker system let’s out a little version of it’s own to give you a little warning. I didn’t pick up on this until the last day. As the ship was untied from the dock we sat out on the veranda and waved to the CM’s as we pulled away. It was a bitter, cold, stomach churning reality to turn around and head back into the room from the veranda and realize that we should pack up our stuff and get ready to go to dinner.

We made our way to dinner and I conspicuously “forgot” to start packing before we left. Our last supper was to be held in Animators Palate and we met up with our group after an absolute body slamming hula scramble through shutters. We couldn’t even stop to take a look at the pictures because the place was just absolutely mobbed. If I had any suggestions to make to the engineers of the two new ships, it’s to add a photo center capable of holding a ton of people. We ended up not buying any photos, basically because I couldn’t deal with the crowds in shutters, but I’m sure there were times to go there that wouldn’t have been so crowded. The shots that we did see were very good and we may have bought some…maybe next time. We finally made it into Animators Palate to see Richard and Emma for the last time. We all had our envelopes ready including a little extra loot for Emma and we sat down to enjoy our last few hours of cruise-a-palooza. I ordered the tuna sushi sampler and the filet mignon and DW had the vegetarian pasta selection. My filet was perhaps the best of the cruise and that includes Palo. It was cooked to perfection and Richard spooned the béarnaise sauce over it with skilled precision. We enjoyed the dinner and at the end the servers paraded around the room with the chefs to show off the flaming baked Alaska to a big round of applause from everyone in attendance. I ordered the most expensive after dinner drink on the menu and we sat back and enjoyed dessert. I don’t remember the name of the drink I had but it had coffee in it and you could probably use it to fuel a drag racer to run the quarter mile….man was it strong! After dinner we sort of wandered around a bit and tried to soak in the atmosphere before heading back to the room to…..ugh…..pack. With packing under way our phone rang and it was DW’s aunt asking if we wanted to check out the show at the Walt Disney Theatre. It was the first late show we went to all week and it was really quite good. It was sort of a re-cap and there was a physical comic and a ventriloquist. The physical comic was hilarious and during his show he had two big guys come up on stage with him. In his act he needed to be riding a unicycle and as such these two big guys had to lift him onto it. Picture two big guys trying to help another guy get up onto a unicycle that has a seat that is easily 7 feet off the ground. The ventriloquist also brought volunteers up on stage and was hilarious as well. We were home from the cruise for a week when we were driving around running errands and the DD’s started reliving her routine in the back seat….they really liked it as well. We walked…slowly back to the room and tried not to get to down. It was a quiet time in our cabin while DW and I packed the remaining stuff and set the luggage in the hall for the CM’s to whisk it away. We talked a bit our favorite moments and slowly fell into wavey dream land.

 

[tidoublegger]

Great trip report!! Makes us very excited for our cruise in 5 weeks! You need to post some pics!

 

[Claudine&John]

I've mapped out some of my computer issues and I should be posting pics momentarily.. if I can figure it out. You are going to have a great trip, enjoy every minute, savor every moment.

 

[gossipgirl]

I've mapped out some of my computer issues and I should be posting pics momentarily.. if I can figure it out. You are going to have a great trip, enjoy every minute, savor every moment.

I may get to go next summer with my aunt and grandma. I hope i have a really great time if i do go.

 

[Claudine&John]

Photo test....hope this works. The DD's with Chip & Dale at Castaway Cay...

 

[Claudine&John]

Test 2...The DD's all Posh'd up for formal night.

 

[gossipgirl]

Test 2...The DD's all Posh'd up for formal night.

Did you happen to take any pictures of the stage shows if you saw any when you were on the disney crusise.

 

[Claudine&John]

We didn't take photos on the shows as we followed the rules regarding flash photography during the performances. I have seen pics on here though that are very good and I think if you are very careful, don't use a flash, and turn off the viewfinder screen you can take stealth photos in the theatre.

 

[Claudine&John]

Day 7: Going home…

Day 7 started very early with a scheduled breakfast at Animators Palate and everyone was in a somber mood. We had a good breakfast and were able to see Emma and Richard one last time before debarkation. I was in a really bad mood….it felt like the week went by so fast and debarkation day was some bad dream. We finished breakfast as slow as possible and sauntered into the atrium like a group of road wary travelers after a long week on the wagon trail. It was a dark day my friends, one in which you’ll want to forget. There is always something positive about heading home but at the end of this trip that positive twinkle was just that, dim and barely there. We took an elevator down one flight into the luggage handling area where we were met by a really nice guy holding a hand truck and asking if we needed some help with our bags. My immediate response was to tell him I needed help getting them back into 6036, he gave me a strange look…..I was trying to be positive, but maybe my delivery was off a bit. He gathered our bags and we made our way to the customs desk and handed the attendant our documents. I swear it took 5 seconds for the customs agent to look at our stuff and hand it back, but it was probably more like a minute or two. It seemed like it was fast because in no time at all we were on a bus and headed to the airport. The transportation to and from the airport was so well organized and ran so smoothly that I will do it every time I cruise from now on. We made it back to the airport with plenty of time to spare and we grabbed a group of seats in the main terminal and hunkered down for a long wait. I took a stroll around the terminal with DD 5yr and as we walked around I noticed an all too familiar aroma. Crispy Cream Donuts…it was a bitter sweet reminder of my morning ritual on the ship…well actually it was just a plain ole sweet reminder really because I went straight to the counter and ordered a dozen glazed. I also ordered a couple lattes which is definitely not Crispy Creams strong point. We sat around and shared some glazy goodness and swapped stories from experiences throughout the week. The last highlight of the day came when we bypassed the entire cue for security because DW had on her airline ID and the folks running the line must have seen it and ushered us to the employee line which had nobody in it. Our flight home went by and before we knew it we were headed up route 17 to see the now changed leaves and the cool reminder of what we left behind on our week in paradise.

For a re-cap I would like to offer the following observations to future first time cruisers regarding DCL cruise in general.

1). Don’t stress out about being the first person on the boat. Everyone will get on and the difference between boarding pass number 2 and number 10 is roughly 15 minutes. If you want to get there early, by all means do so, but you don’t need to start a week in paradise with a haggered pace and a stressed out morning.
2). If you can walk, your room will be close to everything, there really are advantages and disadvantages to each and every room. Whatever your budget, and whoever your traveling with will have an impact on those advantages. Don’t stress about your room location because the farthest you can walk from your room at a leisurely pace will take you 5 minutes or less.
3). Definitely don’t stress about “must sees” or “must do’s”, there is so much to do and see that the planning for it can drive the most task oriented, multi-task freakizoid braniac crazy.

Things I would have done differently:

Gone out to the bars at night with DW…part of the anticipation for going on our cruise was that we would be with family and thought that we may get a night alone with so many available babysitters nearby. Alas this never happened, but I wish it had.

Ate more room service…..

Gotten more lattes

Hung out with the DD’s in the OC a little more

Worked out in the gym more and maybe have taken a yoga or pilates class.

Taken a bridge tour or kitchen tour

Gone to one of the beer, tequila or wine tastings

Gotten DW a surprise spa treatment…

Paid for two weeks instead of one…….hheeeee

I hope you enjoyed reading this as much as I did writing it. I spent a lot of time editing each post and re-writing things as my memory became refreshed. Great trip, great company, great service, and great intinerary.

Simply GREAT!!

 

[Kelley Family]

Thanks so much for the TR. Yours was a great read. We'll be traveling with family next year and it's nice to know you had a lot of together time and then fun on your own. I'll be sure to take your advice and not miss the Taquilla tasting a bars at night. Thanks for taking the time to share!

 

[Claudine&John]

Thank you for the kind words. I enjoyed the trip and we all came away with some treasured memories. We tried to have dinner each night together as a group and then the see the shows together. Other than the excursions, dinner and the shows we let each day play itself out and it really worked out well. With a group of 16 we would always cross paths at random times and took away some special memories from the trip as a result.....have a great time.

 

[Claudine&John]

a couple more pics added...I don't know why they are so small though...

 

[fairfax]

I like the photos you've added, your DDs are too cute in their formal wear. You gave good advice too and I agree with everything you said.

Had to laugh about your description of the mad rush out onto CC. I could not convince my mom to wait, let the crowd thin out, there will still be plenty of spots! She was sure we wouldn't get a chair.

I just made a photobook of about 300 of my pictures from the cruise so I could relive it again . . . it was the best vacation ever wasn't it?? DD still says "I miss the Disney Magic!"

Great report!

 

[lvstitch]

Great report. I enjoyed every minute of it...except the end

 

[tidoublegger]

Great trip report!! I'll take your words of advice to heart! Thanks for taking the time to post!! Do you think you'd cruise again? I'll look for your next trip report!!

 

[Stimpy]

Great report! It was really fun to read. Hope you are planning your next cruise soon