JANUARY 5th 2008

[CaptainJack]

I just finalized our reservations for this cruise yesterday. We will be on Deck 5. Going are me (Lionel), my DW (Becky), and my DDs--twins (Raquel and Rebekah--age 13). My DW's birthday will be the day we are getting off the ship.

 

[newbydisney]

welcome aboard ..lots of us on Deck 5!..are you doing to WDW first?..lots of us doing that as well

 

[magicmaker1]

Welcome aboard!
We are on deck 5 and have a DD who is 13 too! Along with one who 17 and 15 and DS who's 12 and so bummed he can't go to the StacK!

 

[cantsitstill]

Hi all!
Seems my DS has beat me to the punch (or thread in this case!) I'm cruiseman's Mom - finally joining the crew here! I just have all of a sudden gotten VERY excited about this cruise. It seems so far away when you book (we booked on the New Year's cruise last year), but after making our Palo, spa and excursion reservations this past weekend, it's all I can think about!! Anyway - traveling together are me and my DH, DS15 and DS13 (cruiseman). Also joining us are my parents and my aunt and uncle. This will be our 4th Magic cruise all together. Looking forward to getting through the next 3 L---O---N---G months together!

 

[jwest1975]

after making our Palo, spa and excursion reservations this past weekend, it's all I can think about!! Looking forward to getting through the next 3 L---O---N---G months together!

I know what you mean! I am going throught the same thing!

 

[SweetAngel]

Hi there!

My family just booked the January 5th cruise on Disney Magic too.

Here's how it happened:

My kids (daughter-11, son-9) and I saved money all summer by not doing our usual activities or summer camps. After a restful, relaxing summer, we saved enough money for a cruise.

We had selected NCL Spirit for its awesome kids' pool, and I was booking a New Year's trip for the three of us when my little girl called me over to check out this great price she found on a Disney cruise. I told her that the price she found was per person, but she proved me wrong. So, we cancelled all plans on our NCL trip to take the Disney trip. Since the Disney cruise is after New Year's, when most kids are in school, it is actually in our budget.

This will be our first Disney cruise, and we are all just fascinated by what we are finding out about this ship and all its activities. We have sailed Carnival and NCL and we think cruising is the best family vacation.

 

[CaptainJack]

I got our Palo reservations booked--Dinner on Sunday and Brunch on Thursday.

 

[cantsitstill]

Welcome aboard SweetAngel! You're going to LOVE Disney Cruise Line - this will be our 5th and we still can't get enough!

 

[newbydisney]

When can we first timers make Palo reservations..I had it and now I lost it ......can somone help me?? Will it be 10/21?.or 10/22??

 

[SueTGGR]

If I understand we can try to make ressies as of Midnight (12:01am) Sunday night/Monday morning Eastern time for those of us lowly folk who haven't had the privledge of cruising with DCL before or don't have a suite.
Am I correct? Did I count right? Are we not telling so we can e the only one who calls then??
I can't wait for Christmas then it will be soooooooo close!

 

[cantsitstill]

To all of you making your reservations tonight, if you're on the west coast like we are, go ahead and try earlier than midnight to make your reservations. We got to make ours 90 days out and while we were sitting here at our computer waiting for the witching hour, we decided to just check early... and low and behold - at 11:00pm we were able to make our reservations. Just a heads up! Good luck everyone!

 

[ljhayes]

My husband and I just booked on this cruise, as well! We were on the June 16th Med cruise, and told ourselves we would take a Disney cruise break for a while, but here we are Now to go back and read through the thread...

 

[cantsitstill]

Welcome aboard Laura and Andy!
What a gorgeous wedding cake!! Looks like it's straight from "Ace of Cakes" !

 

[ljhayes]

Ok, now that I'm caught up... We'll be on deck 6, and already have our Palo ressies made (I'm salivating just thinking about it...). For excursions, we've booked the St. John Eco hike, and then plan on taking a cab over to Maagen's Bay, so that's our St. Thomas/St. John day. We're not super excited about any of the St. Maarten excursions, so we're looking at doing something through another company (possibly SXM). We'll see. Can't wait!

Thanks cantsitstill! The cake was delicious. Disney outdid themselves (if that's even possible). I might have to plan a vow renewal just so I can have the cake remade!

 

[SweetAngel]

Okay, now that the trip is paid in full with my Palo and shore excursions booked, I am REALLY excited!!!

There were no reservations available for high tea or brunch in Palo.
Maybe I can sneak in early and get those when I board.

My family is going to do the Trunk Bay tour by taxi and the Lotterie Hidden Forest Hike.

I even scheduled my first ever massage.

75 days to go!!!!!!

 

[SueTGGR]

Is it just that we were one of the last ones to be able to make ressies or have they cancelled the Dolphin excursions altogether?

SweetAngel, I am hoping the same with Palo. No brunch or teas available. We were actually hoping to just go for brunch rather than dinner but we have dinner scheduled. Seems like not many want to attend the Captain's Gala as that night the spots were almost all full.

We still haven't made up our minds about the Spa. Does anyone know if you can only get the Rainforest passes once we get on board? After reading about people's systems getting a little out of wack after some of the detox type treatments, I'm not sure I want to risk those either.

We booked the Golden Eagle on St. Maarten, the Doubloon Sail on St. Thomas & the Stingray adventure @ Castaway Cay. I am hoping my 7 yr old will be as happy with our choices as DH & I are!

Anyone else all squared away & want to share??irate:

 

[SweetAngel]

My plan is to stay at Cape Canveral the night before so we will be right close by for quick boarding and a chance at Palo brunch and tea.

We are also signed up for the Stingrays at Castaway Cay (3:00-4:00). I chose that time since it looks like the kids' activities shut down at 3:00. At least that's what it showed on a Navigator someone posted from last spring.
We are going to try out the banana boats too (11:00am).

Sue, my DS (9) would probably get along well with your DS. Too bad they will be in separate age groups.

 

[newbydisney]

Welcome to the "new" folks ..I am so new it seems funny to say that!
We got Palo for Thursday at 8pm as it was all that was left pretty much for the at Sea days and like everyone else we did not get Tea or Brunch..going to try for those at the Port. Thursday is my birthday so that worked out nicely. What night is the Captains?...I have only been able to find out that The Pirate night is probably Tuesday.
For excursions we booked The 12 Metre Regatta. St John Trunk Bay Beach and Snorkel Tour. I didn't book anything for Castaway Cay as it seems like they don't usually run out of bikes, snorkel equipment etc., figured we could make up our minds later on that one. Your comments/reviews/warnings are welcome.

We are going to DisneyWorld for a few days prior and West Palm/Wellington for a few days after.

I think I read you can get a Rainforest pass only, I will see if I can find that info and post it. I don't know about the Dolphins..what about trying one of the non-disney tour operators ..or are the dolphins on Castaway?? ...if they are on Castaway I don't recall seeing it but I would like to see them if they are...

Anyone else have Palo Thursday?

And at the risk of sounding really new where exactly do I get a Lime Green Mickey Head and what is it?...I am scared to go in to Home Depot and ask for one ....will they think I am crazy??

 

[newbydisney]

Here is a cut and paste from another board ...it seems you can buy passes for the day or entire cruise to the Rainforest ...

Pros: A great place to just relax and unwind
Cons: Didn't spend enough time there!

As soon as we boarded the Mediterranean cruise, I made sure to get access to the Tropical Rainforest throughout our 11 nights on board. Unfortunately I didn't get to use it nearly as much as I hoped, so perhaps I didn't get my money's worth out of it, but everytime I went, it was exceptionally relaxing and I came out of there feeling very refreshed.


My favourites are the tiled loungers, just divine to sit on them, although I learnt my lesson - make sure you put a towel down. Those things can leave marks on your back if you don't! Another favourite was the gentle sauna and the fog showers, much more powerful than the ones in your room. The steam room was too hot for me, so I didn't spend much time in there, but I loved all the other facilities in there.


You can buy daily passes or passes good for your whole cruise and for me, this is one of the best parts of the cruise. It's just an opportunity to relax and unwind completely.

 

[Oihane]

Hello! we're also on this cruise - there's going to be 10 of us going. We're taking my grandmother on her first ever cruise...and first vacation she's had in a loooong time. We're pretty excited though

as for excursions, I think we've got the Doubloon sail and snorkel, parasailing at CC (my grandma's going too!) and some of us are going on the 12 metere regatta as well. I'm super excited to swim with sea turtles.

We're staying in a hotel at cocoa beach...the name escapes me at the moment. But yeah, it'll be nice to be in a beachfront hotel right next to the port and everything. we've usually just stayed in Orlando and did a day at WDW or something.

Not much longer to go! woot!