First Time Cruiser's Trip Report - Western Caribbean on the Magic

[EricaLovesMickey]

We just got back from our first cruise! All I can say is, WOW! I am spoiled for all vacations the rest of my life. I can't believe I'm 46 and this was my first cruise. I'm now obsessed with cruising. I was so nervous about cruising. I really never wanted to cruise before. I had so many fears...ie. cabins too small, too crowded, being stuck on the ship, sea sickness, and a little movie called "Titanic." Those fears left pretty much the second I walked on the ship.

Everything went smoothly getting on the ship. It was so easy. My dh, 2 dds, and myself had a LOT of luggage. (You never know what you might need. ) I loved walking on the gangplank and being formally announced. The lobby was so beautiful. We couldn't get in our rooms right away so we went exploring. The ship was huge. I had to keep telling myself I was on a ship. Actually, I had to remind to myself the whole trip. We found a table on deck 9 and got some lunch. It was so weird to walk up and get our lunch and not have to pay. The selections were very good. At 1:30 we go into our stateroom. That was a very pleasant surprise. We were put in an accessible stateroom. We were a Gty. Veranda room and ended up with Category 5. It was huge. We even had a walk-in closet. We had a very big verandah with 4 chairs and a table. We spent some fun times out there. After unpacking, we had to have the "drill." It was actually a bit entertaining. Our meeting spot was in Animator's Palette. We were down there for maybe 15 minutes and got the all clear. We went up to deck 9 for the sailaway party. It was crowded but fun. By the way, the horn is really loud! It scared my dd and I. We got ready for the show which was so much fun, and then headed to dinner. We sat with another family from Orlando. We met our servers, who were great. The show in Animators was fun. All in all it was a great first day.

 

[JanDave]

Glad you and your family enjoyed the cruise. I just got off the Magic yesterday, too. The "magic" on the ships is always there.

Jan

 

[EricaLovesMickey]

First full day of the cruise. We're docking in Key West today. We're looking forward to seeing Key West.
We started the morning with a Character Breakfast. Even though the dds are 17, we all still love Disney. Our breakfast was in Parrot's Cay, which, by the way, was beautiful. I was expecting PC to be my least favorite spot but instead it was my favorite. I loved the decor. We had a lot of characters stop by.

Our server made beautiful hats for us.

We didn't have any excursions scheduled on Key West. Instead we had our own private tour guide. A college friend lives on Key West so we met him at the dock. Key West is very walkable. We walked to the Southernmost Point of the US.

We ate fabulous Key Lime Pie at the Blond Giraffe.

And we visited the Butterfly Conservatory.

The Conservatory was really fun for the adults. DDs didn't love it. Actually, one of the DDs was really freaked out by the butterflys. I thought they were beautiful and was amazed at them. I thought it was very worthwhile.

When the time came to board the ship, we said good-bye to our friend and went onboard.

Key West has famous sunsets so we were anxious to view it from our verandah. We had the perfect location. It was cloudy so we didn't get to see it like we would have liked, but still very beautiful.

Tonight we dined in Parrot Cay. Food was great and we had fun with our servers. Another great day!

 

[Olga]

Nice to hear that you and your family are having a lovely time. Looking forward to hearing more about your trip. When you arrive at Castaway Cay, you are going to love it!
DCL really spoils you. Continue to enjoy your vacation.