From the eyes of a 14 year old girl: March 25-April 1

[Minnie328]

First of all, let me just say this trip was great!!!! Now that that's over with, I'll explain my trip aboard the Magic.

I was traveling with my Mom, Dad, Sister (9), Grandma, and Grandpa. We were all on deck 5, my family had room 5022 (SPH) and Grandma and Grandpa had 5518. Although the SPH was worth it to us, it was a noisy room. Some drilling, paint scraping, kids running, people jumping above us, etc.

SATURDAY, PORT CANAVERAL- We took the 10:00a.m. shuttle from the Raddison over to the terminal, got a #2 boarding card, checked in, checked my sister in for the Lab, sat back, relaxed then watched all the lines increase...
When on the boat, we tried to get to our rooms to put up door signs, but ropes were up, so we couldn't... We headed up to Topsider's for lunch, but it was too cold and windy to eat outside, so we grabbed a booth inside. My sister and I went on the Mickey Slide, but the air was too cold for me, I covered up and layed by the slide. We went back to the room, it was ready now, and got ready for the lifeboat drill. No big deal, but I'm always happy that everything's organized there... Off to the DIS meet and the Deck party. After a little bit of dancing and picture taking, it was time to give Grandma and Grandpa a tour of the boat. (I have been told I am an expert about DCL.) After the short tour, it was time for 6:00 dinner. Our servers were Glendene Goodluck, from Trinidad, (main server) and I Ketut from Bali (asst.). Our Head server was Ronny. He was very good. Keep reading, you'll see later... Dinner was good at Lumiere's (my fav. restaurant), and the show was very good also. I went to the Stack's 411 thing and decided that the Stack really isn't for me. Finally, time to go to bed.

SUNDAY, KEY WEST- We didn't stay here for too long, my sister and I really didn't care for it. We walked, took a couple of pictures, stopped at a CVS to grab a few things, and everyone but my dad went back to the boat. My dad walked around to the Hemmingway house and the southern Whitehouse. We had lunch, played chip-it golf, we're not that good, and then it was time for dinner at Animator's Palatte. It was good, I had a Mickey Bar Tonight was Rock n' Roll comedy. It was OK, but personally, I thought the guy later in the week was much funnier.

MONDAY, DAY AT SEA- I like days at sea. Today we didn't do much of anything, but I took a nap on deck 10 for about 15 minutes. I don't understand how people save chairs that they don't use.. We just sit on them... Tonight was the GOLDEN MICKEYS!!! My sister and I were picked to be interviewed by Rona. It was so cool....She asked us questions and I told her tomorrow (Tuesday) was my birthday. She started singing Happy Birthday. Later, I asked my Grandma and Grandpa, who were sitting in the theater, if everyone sang Happy Birthday to me....They did! Over 1,000 people sang me Happy Birthday! Oh yeah, tonight was formal night It was a little strange being in Parrot Cay for it, but it worked...

TUESDAY, GRAND CAYMAN- to me!!!! We first went on a semi-submarsible submarine (the Sea World one). It was good. My family next decided to have an island tour with someone off the street...lets just say I didn't want to do it.... Well, at least I can say I went to Hell--on my birthday We went back onto the boat and overall I had a good birthday. Next was dinner, Lumiere's again. On the first night, I special ordered chocolate covered strawberries. OH MY GOSH. THOSE WERE THE BEST CHOCOLATE COVERED STRAWBERRIES I HAVE EVER HAD... yum. Then I got my chocolate cake. It was pretty. I saw Princess Minnie and then was Twice Charmed. It was definitely good, but I like the other two stage shows better.

WEDNESDAY, COSTA MAYA- We did the ruins tour with David and Ivan. We had Ivan as our tour guide. He was very good, but the subject didn't really interest me that much. On the bus, I took a nap. It felt pretty good. I have to say, I really didn't like Costa Maya. It was filled with people asking you to buy things EVERYWHERE you go and it was perverted. I saw some nasty shirts and tip jars. I wasn't very pleased. Also, I kept on getting freaked out because the Carnival ship was doing the seven short blasts and then a long blast from its horn (that means the lifeboats are needed). I kept on getting scared. But, tonight was Pirate Night . It was very windy. The captain (Captain Tom) had to turn the boat 180 degrees so that the wind was facing in the right direction for the fireworks.

THURSDAY, DAY AT SEA- Today we did the normal stuff. Walked around, etc. My sister and I also had talent show practice. We were tap dancing to Under the Sea . We got dressed up in our formal stuff again to take a family picture and to do graduation pictures. Tonight Mom, Dad, Grandma, and Grandpa had Palo ressies. My sister and I went to Parrot Cay by ourselves (along with quite a few other only child parties...lol). We had a excellent time. Ronny, our head server knew my parents weren't going to be there tonight and secretly ordered chocolate covered strawberries for us . They weren't as sweet as the first batch, but wow, they were good. Ronny was a great head server. This is the first time our head server has ever done anything.

FRIDAY, CASTAWAY CAY- Today we waited by the aft elevators on deck two for awhile while the gangway was getting ready. Stairways were backed up with people up to the fifth deck. We got off the boat and grabbed some lounge chairs. Dad and Mom snorkled and My sister and I...well I really don't know what we did. Next, it was time for Castaway Ray's Stingray Adventure. My sister and I, with Grandma and Grandpa, went because Mom and Dad already went on their cruise together in September. I fed the stingrays a few times and I pet them. They're squishy.. Some of them can get to be REALLY big. After that was over, we went to Cookie's BBQ, and again, the food was satisfactory. I know some people rave about it, but I personally don't think it is that outstanding. The kid's area was closed and I asked why. They said the water wasn't deep enough and the tide was low. My sister, my Mom, and I went into the swimming section with the intertubes we brought. We had fun having races against eachother, etc. I always won . Then I got a virgin pina colada and my sister went in the water with my dad and my grandpa. Next, I went snorkling with my dad and the water was so low, we were snorkling with "reefs" literally 2 inches below our stomachs. Mickey was also at eye level almost. I shook his hand . We went to dinner, show, etc. The comedy in the show was pretty funny. He did 10 things you'll never hear on a cruise boat. Then we had our talent show. It was originally going to have four acts, but then two other people did it. They played the wrong music for us...but we did OK. Then it was time to go to 'Till we Meet Again. It was just my sister and I. We got some great pictures and autographs. I got tears in my eyes. This time I kissed Mickey's nose. I later regretted it because I was afraid I was going to catch the flu. Time to go to bed.

SATURDAY, PORT CANAVERAL- Today was sad. Time to get off the Magic. We drove to WDW, stayed overnight at the Pop Century, next day was Dad's inline skating race, then after that we left. 20 hours later, we're home.

Overall, our trip was great. Brent did a great job as Cruise Director, Air, our stateroom hostess was great, our servers and head server were great. It was a great trip!

P.S. Sorry this is soooooo long.....Oh yeah, there are new navigators...they're harder to read than the old ones

 

[skibum]

Just wanted to follow up to my daughter's post above. It was a great cruise, with a lot of nice people. I feel bad that we did not meet everybody, but we saw the geffric family and myboysmom family everywhere we went.
Our excursions were good - grandma and grandpa really enjoyed the semi-submersible submarine. I had really wanted to go to StingRay City and snorkeling, but feel fortunate that we did the submarine, as most of the other water-based excursions got cancelled that day. I would strongly recommend it for families with timid souls among them (very young, very old, or limited capabilities). Although the Grand Cayman island tour was not very good, we are glad we did it. Now when somebody says to "go to Hell", I can tell them I've been there and have no plans to go back!
If you do Costa Maya, I would recommend The Native Choice Mayan Ruins tour at Chachoben with David and Ivan. They are true experts (Ivan actually grew up on the grounds), and give an interesting perspective on their culture. DD9 and DD14 were not overly excited, but did really learn a great deal in spite of themselves.
Castaway Cay was great, as always. The rest of the family enjoyed feeding the stingrays here at Castaway Rays. We did this here instead of Grand Cayman because we felt it was a more controlled environment. We liked the feeding ramps and the fact that the barbs are removed from the stingrays tails.
We did have a great Head Server in Ronny. He took care of our daughter's birthday request, and was very visible. I have always felt in the past that I was tipping the Head Server for nothing, but we way over-tipped Ronny. Our Server and Assistant were nice, but nothing special. No magic, no cutting food...
The Cruise Director, Brent Davies, was also awesome. He succeeded in making the trip 'magical'.
Grandma and Grandpa enjoyed the vacation. They thought most of the food was fair, but it seemed to get better as the trip went on. Palo was awesome as always. For breakfast we finally decided that omelettes made to order was the way to go.
It was good enough that they want to come back. We made onboard reservations for September, but may need to change the date.

 

[camom3]

Minnie 328,

I enjoyed your report. I also enjoyed your school report before the cruise.

Too bad you and Soccerfire (my DD12) never met up. She would have loved to show you our room.

I think I found your door but was too embarassed to knock.

If you made it to the 8th floor did you see our door signs?

Jen

 

[Minnie328]

I did see your signs! I was going to call your room (not knowing who was in it) to ask for a tour, but I felt silly...Too bad we didn't meet up

 

[cruisnfamily]

I went to the Stack's 411 thing and decided that the Stack really isn't for me.

Details please!

Oh yeah, there are new navigators...they're harder to read than the old ones

Did you bring back copies? I'd love to see the new navigators....if you contact LBGraves she can post them here on this board.

 

[michelle9343]

great report. Thanks for posting.

 

[myboysmom]

Thanks Minnie for sharing! I really enjoyed watching your interview for the Golden Mickey's. What a way to share your birthday with everyone!

 

[castlegazer]

Minnie, I know you make your mother so proud, but really, you are a remarkable young woman. Thank you for your report - it's one of the best I have ever read. I loved your detail and felt a part of the fun right along with you. You are a wonderful writer.


Thank you for taking the time to tell us about your trip.

 

[Minnie328]

Thanks everybody!

Details please!

Well, they explained the rules, pretty standard, just like you would expect. But the younger kids (me being one of them) all felt it was a little too boring for us. I know I personally would have rather been in the lab....

About the navigators...I'll see if we brought them home....

 

[westjones]

I really loved your report! Actually, I have been wondering if my twin DDs will like the cruise once they turn teens. They won't like the Stack/Aloft. I know my girls well enough to know that won't be for them (maybe when they are 16 or 17, but not for awhile).

So you found enough to keep yourself entertained? That is good to hear.

DJ

 

[teriandcb]

Two years ago when my oldest DD was 14, she was not that fond of the DCL teen program. She did meet a couple of teens that she did a few things with but she mainly hung out with our family. She still had a great time though. I think that's just a tricky age. This year she'll be 16 and she's looking forward to The Stack. My youngest daughter will be almost 14 and she was kind of nervous so we're bringing her 14 yo cousin with us and some friends of ours are going who have a 15 yo. It helps to have people you know. I've enjoyed finding out about other teens going on the same cruise through the Cruise Meets.

 

[dlf246]

If you do Costa Maya, I would recommend The Native Choice Mayan Ruins tour at Chachoben with David and Ivan. They are true experts (Ivan actually grew up on the grounds), and give an interesting perspective on their culture. DD9 and DD14 were not overly excited, but did really learn a great deal in spite of themselves.

skibum and minnie328: How funny: we were on the same tour with you, but did not wear our limegreen bands. I have been reading your posts for months... would have been fun to realize who we all were!! We were with David, were you with Ivan?

I so agree with both of your reports. I'm jealous... looks like you will be back on the Magic 2 years before us!

 

[westjones]

Two years ago when my oldest DD was 14, she was not that fond of the DCL teen program. She did meet a couple of teens that she did a few things with but she mainly hung out with our family. She still had a great time though. I think that's just a tricky age. This year she'll be 16 and she's looking forward to The Stack. My youngest daughter will be almost 14 and she was kind of nervous so we're bringing her 14 yo cousin with us and some friends of ours are going who have a 15 yo. It helps to have people you know. I've enjoyed finding out about other teens going on the same cruise through the Cruise Meets.

DH and I have sort of planned to take a break from DCL the year our twin DDs are 14. We have sort of planned a big family trip to WDW with Grandparents and cousins (they would never go on the DCL with us--too expensive--we are using points to get rooms for everyone with our Disney Vacation Club points for this coming trip).

We were thinking that maybe by 15 they would be more ready for the teen place on the cruise, but maybe 16 would be even better. We will see. I'm glad to hear that even if we do decide to go, that 14 year olds still enjoy the cruise. Next year we are going (they will be 13), but they are going to the Lab. Last week I talked to the CMs in the Lab while onboard and asked if that was OK (to put them in the Lab next year when they are 13) and they said a lot of 13 year olds do that, and it wasn't a problem at all. My girls LOVED the lab and can't wait to go again next year. They have no desire to move up to the teen area anytime soon.

DJ

 

[repeatcruiser]

We were on the 2/25/06 Western and Ronny was our Head Server too - I agree, he was far and away the most involved head server we have ever had. He had to pitch in as the server for us as our regular server was ill for the last 3 nights of our cruise.

 

[tinkerbellmagic]

Great trip report, Minnie328. Thanks for sharing!

Tink

 

[teriandcb]

Dear westjones,
I noticed you are from Indiana. We live in Anderson, Indiana which is about 25 miles notheast of Indy. Nice to see other Hoosiers who love Disney!

 

[westjones]

Dear westjones,
I noticed you are from Indiana. We live in Anderson, Indiana which is about 25 miles notheast of Indy. Nice to see other Hoosiers who love Disney!

Actually we are VERY close, I'm in Muncie!
DJ

 

[Lil' Grumpy]

your trip sounded very magical, indeed! why afraid of the flu? did mickey
sneeze? here's a secret : we cried too!

my daughter just turned 9....she did the talent show in 2004...she
does ballet/tap and irish dancing..but have you seen the little mermaid?
my daughter and ariel look like twins....when we "set" up for the show,
the audience made the same connection. so she junked her irish routine
& sang "part of your world". she is taking her 5th cruise on the wonder
sept,17.

ok--westjones/teriancb--indy , muncie,and anderson....are very famous
for different reasons...they are stellar programs of the all american sbd.
they are 2 of 4 programs that have sent champions to akron every year
, while the very first champion was from muncie.do any of you know
the name townsend?

 

[westjones]

ok--westjones/teriancb--indy , muncie,and anderson....are very famous
for different reasons...they are stellar programs of the all american sbd.
they are 2 of 4 programs that have sent champions to akron every year
, while the very first champion was from muncie.do any of you know
the name townsend?

The only thing I know about the soapbox derby is that since Muncie is basically flat, in the winter when it snows, and kids want to go sledding everyone in town heads to the soapbox derby hill. It is our only hill!

But we have never gone over for the actual races.
DJ

 

[taeja71]

Sounds like you had a great time!