January 8, 2011 - 7 Night Western Caribbean Sailing

[Sir William]

I really can't add to what lbgraves said.

I found the Magic to be in good repair. I saw a few minor areas that needed a bit of repair, but I also saw some of the crew working on fixing things. Having served on ships for three years I can tell you that a ship requires constant attention - what was perfect last week needs repair this week. We had no smells or leaks in our room, and I didn't hear of any in the rooms of other passengers we talked to (and I'm certain it would have come up).

CM were outstanding, to include our servers, room steward, guest services, bartenders, and everyone else I came into contact with. I even talked to some of the bridge crew and they were very friendly and helpful.

I will add that my DW was somewhat hesitant about going on the cruise - she thought that DCL could not live up to the reputation and I'd be disappointed. She enjoyed the cruise so much we signed up for two more in 2012. We'd do another in 2011 but she can't take off that much time from work (we're also going to Hawaii in May).

Weather was as reported. Weather can be hit or miss at any time of the year. The captain, crew and CM did their best under the conditions so I've no complaints. We went on the clear kayak excursion but the weather was so bad that several couples (including ourselves) decided it wasn't working out and returned to the ship. Our excursion fee was refunded. We'd have rather gone kayaking and snorkling but it was just too dangerous due to the rain, wind, and turbulence. CC was a bust due to the lower than normal temperatures, though I did get in the water to swim with the rays and had a good time - until it was time to get out of the water. I didn't see many people in the water but again, no complaints - DCL has no control over the weather and the crew and CM did their best to make the best of a bad situation.

 

[lbgraves]

Forgot to say that we did have a good time at CC. Due to not wanting to sit in a lounge chair all day without the sunshine DH did the kayaks and new bike trail with the kids and we all went out in the paddle boats.

 

[micandkay]

Our cruise experience was fantastic. I was hoping for a hugh storm at the Port in Florida so we could stay out a few more days. My DD who is 19 didn't care for the college club so we spent our nights in the Rockin Bar D. The band was great and shows were hilarious. The CM did everything they could to make sure we all had a good time. Water in CC wasn't too bad. We walked about knee deep looking at sea creatures. The beach was beautiful. Our servers were good. Our assistant server Jolena was very sweet and friendly and our server Lee Anne was funny. The first night my DD said she wanted nothing for desert. Lee Anne brought her just that, a plate with "nothing" spelled out in chocolate sauce. The only real negative was room service. Everything we ordered arrived cold. We also rebooked for an Eastern Caribbean Cruise in 2012 on the Fantasy.

 

[Daisy14'sDH]

Our best service came from room service lol! We had a blast on the cruise, my only real regret was not printing up enough magnets for every stateroom! As it was I only had enough for FE doors, if I had not run out of ink there would have been enough for all DIS members. My apologies to all that missed out on this unique and collectable item that will surely only increase in value!

We will type up a little mini report once we get home, right now we are enjoying a little extra Southern hosptitality in Savannah for a few days before we have to return to reality...

BTW I took a few candid photos of some fellow DISers... don't worry I won't post anything bad!

 

[Sir William]

Our ... my only real regret was not printing up enough magnets for every stateroom! As it was I only had enough for FE doors, if I had not run out of ink there would have been enough for all DIS members. My apologies to all that missed out on this unique and collectable item that will surely only increase in value!

So you're the one who made those really COOL Fred the Goat magnets!!!!

We were wondering about those. I loved it! Thanks a million for making them up.

 

[TiggerAllie]

Hi fellow cruisers! We're almost back home (hooray for in-flight internet).

The entire cruise lived up to our expectations and more: CMs were awesome, especially our dining team of Leasa (S), Anel (AS), and Zan (HS). We had Zoran both times in Palo and he was amazing as well. No problems with our room host, but we never met him, either. We didn't notice any problems with the ship, either.

A few additions to what was reported above:
1) Our one complaint on the trip was the way our excursion in Cozumel was handled--it should have been canceled because the ferry crossing bordered on unsafe. We were given no additional information on the weather ahead of time to prepare with appropriate clothes and were not given the opportunity to cancel. In addition to that, we had a terrible guide who made unscheduled "shopping" stops and took orders for "authentic artifacts" on the bus--which lead to our excursion returning 90 minutes late. We were wet (from the torrential downpours) and freezing (too much AC on the bus) the entire time. The ferry ride back was so bad that the crew made everyone sit in the center back of the boat. The only passengers were the cruise guests, as we got the sense they wouldn't be making the crossing if it wasn't necessary to return us to the Magic. (They had already closed the dock in Cozumel, and we had to land further down the shore and walk back to the ship.) After returning to the ship, talking to the PA staff, writing a complaint, and meeting with the PA director, we were not offered any refund or OBC or anything, and the PA did not seem to understand or take responsibility for not preparing us for the excursion or allowing us to cancel (when many other excursions had that opportunity). (They did say that tour guide would not be permitted to lead any other Disney tours as there were multiple complaints.) 9+ hours of my life I can't get back (in addition to the breakfast I and about 30 other guests left on the ferry boat). DCL will be receiving a letter about that.
2) The seas were so rough on the second sea day, that they had about 1/3 of the guests cancel their Palo brunch reservations. We thought it looked quiet, and when we asked we were told they only served 61 guests total. I usually get sea sick, but I was fine--maybe because it was nothing compared to the ferry ride.
3) Castaway Cay was still really fun, despite the weather. We rented bikes, and it was really nice to ride all around the island--its really extensive. Even with the poor weather, CC convinced us to book a double-dip for our next cruise.
4) We thought that the Villains Tonight show was not at the same level as the other 2 shows (Twice Charmed and Disney Dreams). It needs a serious re-work, or maybe it will be replaced soon. When you try to make a Villains show for everyone (where children will not be scared) it ends up being a Villains show for no one.

It was so fun to meet you all-- maybe we'll see you again on another cruise! Thanks for all the great advice along the way.

 

[lbgraves]

I totally agree with you about the Villians Tonight show. That was the pits! Other than Hades' comments the rest of it should go. Jafar's part was to put it simply LAME -- and that was said by my 10 yo but agreed to by me. I had to tell her friends' parents that the other two shows were MUCH better so don't skip them thinking they would be the same lack luster performance. This had nothing to do with the performers. The script itself is what is horrible. Now I didn't like Toy Story on the Wonder either but at least parts of it were enjoyable [whenever Sid wasn't screaming/singing].

 

[Sir William]

I like Disney Villians and was looking forward to the Villians Tonight show with great anticipation, but have to agree that it was not up to the standard of the other live productions. The concept is OK but the script needs considerable revision.

 

[Sir William]

Hi1) Our one complaint on the trip was the way our excursion in Cozumel was handled--it should have been canceled because the ferry crossing bordered on unsafe...

We were on the clear kayaking and snorkling excursion in Cozumel but ended up returning to the ship before even really beginning. Just as we were climbing into our kayak (my wife and I were the first ones) the skies opened up and it poured so the kayak guide and his assistant discussed it for a minute (as we sat in the pouring rain) and decided it was better to postpone the kayaking. They said we'd try again when the rain passed, or proceed on to the snorkling. However, the group that was already snorkling returned to shore about the same time so we all stood around waiting for the rain to stop - and freezing in the meantime since we were all soaked.

When the rain died down to a drizzle we returned to the kayaks but one man said he'd had enough and left for the bar, another couple said they wanted to return to the ship, and my wife, who loves to kayak decided we should do the same. Putting on her lawyer hat, she told our guide that the conditions were unsafe and we should get a refund (minus the taxi fares). After a series of phone calls the guide told us we would get a refund and shortly after returning to the ship we received a call from GS confirming we had received a total refund.

I talked to some people who'd made the ferry fun to the mainland and was a little surprised that they had continued after the experience of just trying to get there - let alone returning. I would have reveled in the boat ride but I realize that most people don't have my cast-iron stomach when it comes to seasickness.

I think the ship, after learning about the probable weather conditions, should have offered everyone a chance to cancel their excursions the day before. We almost did it ourselves but were assured by GS that the weather would probably not have an impact. They missed the boat on that one!

 

[ddpaints]

Lisa's account was right on target. I was on the Magic about 8 yrs ago and I can honestly say that it looked just as good as it did back then. We stayed on Deck 2 forward and had no smells the only "sounds" we heard was from the thrusters ,or whatever it is that pushes you up against the dock, and the anchor when we stopped at Grand Cayman. We did tours of some sort or the other on all stops. Key West was a trolley tour we did on our own and other then having some trouble finding the start point it went well and was very informative. Grand Cayman was the turtle farm that we did on our own. The "bus" ride over was a bit scary just not knowing where the guy was actually taking us and only our family in the van that was supposed to be a city bus. The turtle farm it's self was nice enough. The swimming lagoon was very slimy but then again when you swim with fish in a fish tank it's going to be slimy. The ride back was better and we shared the cab with another Disney family. The didn't have such a good time and was complaining because of the excursion they paid for and it being late and a lot of other things. We did it on our own and no one really had any complaints.
We did the Mayan ruins tour that was on Cozumel . It was exactly what we expected. We saw some ruins, was told some neat facts and even some stories passed down from our guides grandfather and then made 3 stops to buy stuff. As our guide said Tourism is their only industry and to them we are considered to be Santa Clause. If you have never been to a poor country then you will probably be put off or taken aback by this, for me I look at what I have and what they don't and can put myself in their shoes and don't get offended by the way they make their living. I won't even bargain with them if I think I would pay that same price back in the USA.

Our complaints was our room steward and the assistant server. Our room server didn't understand much English so getting him to understand that our son was going to stay next door with my MIL and that we didn't need the top bunk pulled down and that the pack in play was going to be our daughter's bed and not the couch took 3 nights. He totally ignored the bring ice card for the whole 7 days. He constantly left food trays in our room and there was a fair amount of dust on everything in the room.
Our Head server Roberto from the Phillipines went above and beyond and played with my daughter every night and every time we walked in , left or he saw her in passing or at Topsiders etc. She would stop crying and perk up every time she saw him. Our server Sompone (probably spelled wrong) we called him Sam was awesome and very accommodating as always. Great with the kids and kept us all well cared for. His assistant I Dewa might as well of not been there. He forgot our drinks a lot, put the wrong drinks on ours and our table mates checks often. didn't clear crumbs or plates as fast as I remember the other servers doing so there was always a pile of plates around us.Was kind of a zombie and didn't know how to react to children at all. The last day he even forgot my dd's milk as she screamed her head off half way through breakfast.
All in all though a good trip and I would do it all over again if I had the money. Well except for the high seas and not getting to enjoy Castaway and go parasailing.

 

[Sir William]

Our servers were really good at the second seating. We had Rodel (Philippines) as server, Ivetlina (Serbia) as the assistant, and a young Columbian who name I can't quite recall at the moment who was earning his ears. Our head server was Pascal (US).

I have an allergy to bell peppers but the second night I ended up with a dish containing them (I forget which). Rodelo instantly apologized and got me something else - and then it became a running joke between us. I'd sometimes ask for bell peppers or he would say he could have them added if I wanted them, even for the desert. However, he made quite sure that I never got them again.

DW's birthday is on Jan 28th and our TA made arrangements for a cake (though I didn't tell her of course). However, on the first night I learned that two other ladies at our table had birthdays on the 26th and 27th, so I asked Pascal on the second night if he knew it (he had DW's but not the other two). The next night we received a cake for all three ladies. All three were totally surprised and enjoyed the occasion.

The fourth night DW found the metal spout to a salt container in her soup. All our servers were very apologetic and the manager even came over to apologize with the Chef. The Chef then gave her a plate of chocolate covered strawberries.

I didn't have one of the strawberries and Rodel asked me if it was because I didn't like chocolate. I told him I loved chocolate but I wasn't very fond of strawberry. The following night I got a chocolate cake (sinfully delicious) for both my birthday and retirement celebration. Apparently the TA had noted it on our reservation. I passed on the offered desserts to eat an extra large portion of cake and we still left about a fourth of it behind. I did consider putting it in our room fridge/cooler but we still had some leftover desserts from the Palo brunch earlier that day.

I couldn't have been more pleased with our servers. At one point Rodel asked how he could improve the service and we suggested it be speeded up - we were usually one of the last tables to finish. From that point on the courses were served much closer together. That said, no one at our table was ever in a rush to eat and leave.

 

[ddpaints]

I don't want it to sound like I'm a total snob from my last post I guess it was just a comparison of my last cruise with this one. I also found the food a bit off (over cooked dried out, mass produced desserts with the sauces kind of frozen to the plate instead of being able to taste them ),compared to before but I don't eat like that all the time nor am I a trained Chef so I didn't nor wouldn't ever complain to them about it. Our tablemates went last year and said that there was a drop in quality in comparison too. I'm guessing it was just the big shift of staff over to the Dream and all the new people so we didn't make a big deal of it nor mention it to anyone. It takes time to get everything running like a fine tuned machine and I think we just had a few squeaks. Like I said all in all it wasn't anything that would make me not sail again but it was a big contrast to my last experience. Our tablemates were also not completely put off either they thought the same as us. This was MIL's first cruise and she loved it totally even though she could see the hiccups.
On a side note all of the kids club staff and the nursery staff did an excellent job and both of my kids wanted to stay with them more then us. Even my baby girl was crying to get into Flounder's reef while the others were crying because they were getting left there. I'm hoping we can save up points and go again in a couple of years when both kids can totally enjoy the clubs and maybe mom and dad will just chill in the quiet cove for the whole trip.

 

[lbgraves]

You didn't sound snobby at all. Now that you mention it I did note that our assistant never used the brush, crumb pan at all. I remember them being on top of any crumbs that showed up in AP especially between courses on all our past cruises. Like I told our head server when he said our response of "good" meant that something was wrong -- we have had exceptional servers in the past but it would be unrealistic to expect everyone to be like they were. On the other hand, the servers were better than one cruise where we did tip less and had to complain to the head server about a few things. When you are spending two weeks on the ship that is too long to put up with issues IMO.

Now I know that we will not be booking any excursions on the western on the Fantasy. You can't book with stingray city online prior to the cruise but they had a ticket booth on the dock for $40 per person. We also found it funny that there was a man with a sign with $20 tours as we got off the tender, he said they were $15 outside the gate and $10 when he crossed the street. The three of us went on the tour for $30. He was in an A/C van/bus and took us to Hell, the Rum factory, the dolphin place where we went inside and stood along the gates around the pool watching the dolphins in the pool a few feet away from us. We got some great pictures of them and Kaitlyn watching them. He told us a lot of information about the history and stopped many places along the way to point out houses, historical places and where the rich people live. We saw where the owner of Solo lives, Bill Gates' top floor condo building and the hotel where The Firm was filmed. We could have stopped at 7 mile beach but no one on the bus wanted to so he took us through the other area of Grand Cayman and the kids got to see how the rest of the islanders live including the schools.

 

[ddpaints]

It just occurred to me that not everyone that participated in the FE exchange is on facebook. so......... Thank you for all the wonderful gifts. My son really loved looking in his pocket every time we came back to our room. there were some really unique things in there.
Oh and I hope everyone got mine. I hear here was a theif out there and quite a few things were taken.

 

[Sir William]

It just occurred to me that not everyone that participated in the FE exchange is on facebook. so......... Thank you for all the wonderful gifts. My son really loved looking in his pocket every time we came back to our room. there were some really unique things in there.
Oh and I hope everyone got mine. I hear here was a theif out there and quite a few things were taken.

I'd like to add my thanks as well. We kept finding new and interesting things in our FE throughout the cruise and even though we are adults, it gave us a little thrill each time.

This was my first time doing the FE exchange and I learned quite a bit about it as a result. I'm already looking forward to the FE exchange on our next cruise.

 

[cmclaura]

Back on land. Quite depressing!

It was lovely meeting all of you. I think this was the most fun cruise ever, due to everyone here.

I WISH I had known that 1/3 of Palo brunch reservations were cancelled on Thursday.....we would have gladly filled one of the empty tables. We love the brunch!

I thought everyone was just fine -- our stateroom hostess was Reeda and she was an absolute delight. I merely asked her when they'd stopped putting the shower gel in the rooms and, within 5 minutes, she knocked on my door with one! Another turned up later in the cruise. Yay!

Our servers may have been new but they were very sweet. Sippho from South Africa was our Server and Recon from Philippines our Assistant Server. I think they have quiet personalities as compared to some of our previous servers but that's not a complaint, just a noted difference. Roberto from Philippines was our Head Server and he was a hoot!

We saw old friends on board: Pairoj from Thailand who was our Server two cruises ago and remembered us; Zan who was our incredibly great Head Server last cruise (and is married to the incredibly amazing "South African DIAMOND" Annie Marie who was our server in Palo); Xenia from Russia who was our Server last cruise and has moved up to Guest Services (not only did we get whoops and hugs upon arrival and departure, but a lovely note from her as well.....and she had our former Palo server, Laura C from England [married to cutie pie Server Ali from Turkey] also drop us a lovely note -- Laura's now in the hotel management office. How Disney trains these folks to remember us is beyond me. At first I though they were just good actors, but they recall incidents! It's wonderful to see that so many have moved up in the past year, too. Xenia will be going to the Dream this year so we'll likely see her on our New Year's Eve cruise later this year.

Speaking of which, I know Tracy's planning on the same Dream cruise NYE -- anyone else care to join us???

 

[ginkybiloba]

Ugh - I missed the meet on the first day (was dealing with a very cranky little boy). I am so sorry that I missed meeting all of you

We had an amazing cruise - we are definitely hooked and will do it again. We were on Deck 5, which was awesome. Close to the kids' club and not many other rooms. My only complaint about the room is we heard some weird noises in the middle of the night which sounded like the water pipes knocking or something else mechanical. We could also hear the phone ringing in the cabin next to us at all hours - someone would call, let it ring 10 times, then call right back and let it ring again, over and over and over. This went on until well after midnight a couple of times. Grrrr.....

Both kids got sick on the evening with the rough seas. I managed to get some medication into my daughter in time, but was not so lucky with my son. We picked him up from the kids' club and he was complaining about being "boat sick". We barely got him back to the room in time where he threw up several times. The rest of the trip was fine though.

The weather in Cozumel put a damper on our excursion to Chankanaab park. We did the dolphin encounter but the kids were cold and miserable. We were hoping to stay and explore the park but it was just too cold and rainy.

I hope you all had a wonderful time - I am going to go back and catch up on what I missed. We just got home last night after spending 3 nights at Disney. I'm exhausted - should have just called it quits after the cruise (or, done the parks first and then the cruise!).

Brenda

 

[ginkybiloba]

P.S. Has anyone else come down with the flu since the cruise? The reason I ask is that I came down with a nasty flu yesterday, and there was a family on our flight home yesterday who were also on the cruise and whose little boy also had the flu. I didn't start to show symptoms until 3 days after getting off the ship so it's probably just a coincidence, but I thought it was strange....

 

[ddpaints]

DD has another nasty cold and DS is starting to get the sniffles. Other then that and me getting my land legs (still a bit wobbly if I turn too quick) we are all good.

 

[Daisy14'sDH]

So you're the one who made those really COOL Fred the Goat magnets!!!!

We were wondering about those. I loved it! Thanks a million for making them up.

NP it was something that I thought was funny!