Just Back from our 2/15-2/22 Western Cruise

[JoeFixes]

Hello All. We just returned last night from our week on board the Disney Magic. My intention is to post a complete report, I have tons and I mean tons of digital photos and digital video footage, but it seems as though that will require some more thought. Right now I just wanted to post a message that we had just a wonderful time. The weather could not have been better and the ports of call call are excellent. Castaway Cay was far and away the best part of the trip, the only complaint there is that we couldn't spend more time there. It seems we picked the perfect week to take a vacation as we watched the whiteout that engulfed the northeast on the TVs in the Promenade Lounge. On Tuesday as we were tendered into Grand Cayman, it had to be 80+ degrees as I found a pay phone to call home and make arrangements to have our driveway plowed....ho-hum such is the life of a cruiser

Anyway, if you have any questions about your upcoming trip I would love to flex my new found knowledge of spending a week on that beautiful ship. It is far and away the most beautiful ship in the Caribbean. You have the opportunity to see many cruise ships, and many of them are beautiful, but when you look at the Magic...well you will see. At Cozumel we were docked right next to the RCCL Monarch of the Seas, and it's a gorgeous ship, but side by side you can see which has more class.

I'm going to start to organize my pictures and video footage and will place additional posts soon. Oh yeah we were 8 cruising in total. Me, my DW, DD9, DS7 & DD3. Also our freinds with their DS7. We experienced most everything the ship had to offered, and yes we have a few complaints, but overall it was a wonderful week. Besides even a horrible week on board a cruise ship is better than a great week at home!

I will be back soon. Post your questions if you'd like!

Joe Fixes

 

[tchalene]

What movies were showing on the Magic?

 

[bahama97]

Glad you had a wonderful time - can't wait to see your photos!

 

[JoeFixes]

Hi Tchalene,

We didn't see any of the movies, but I can tell you that Jungle Book 2 premeared on the Wednesday of our cruise. My kids were in the Oceaneer's Club/Lab and they saw it and of course loved it. Accorging to our Personal Navigator other movies showing last week were:

My Big Fat Greek Wedding (PG13)
Spy Kids 2 (PG)
Lilo & Stitch (PG)
Chicago (PG13)
Tuck Everlasting (PG)
Shanghai Knights (PG13)
Signs (PG13)
Sweet Home Alabama (PG13)
Treasure Planet (PG)
The Recruit (PG13)

You may also be interested that there are movies available in your stateroom on the TV (an unimpressive 13" RCA).

Channel 40 shows only Disney animated movies like
Toy Story 2
The Little Mermaid
Hercules
The Lion King
101 Dalmations 2

And on Channel 42 you have a selection of older more adult movies:

Dick Tracy
Meet me in St. Louis
Somewhere in Time
Father of the Bride
The Secret Garden
Moonstruck
Walt: The Man/The Myth

Hope this info helps you!

JoeFixes

 

[JoeFixes]

Hi Tchalene,

We didn't see any of the movies, but I can tell you that Jungle Book 2 premeared on the Wednesday of our cruise. My kids were in the Oceaneer's Club/Lab and they saw it and of course loved it. Accorging to our Personal Navigator other movies showing last week were:

My Big Fat Greek Wedding (PG13)
Spy Kids 2 (PG)
Lilo & Stitch (PG)
Chicago (PG13)
Tuck Everlasting (PG)
Shanghai Knights (PG13)
Signs (PG13)
Sweet Home Alabama (PG13)
Treasure Planet (PG)
The Recruit (PG13)

You may also be interested that there are movies available in your stateroom on the TV (an unimpressive 13" RCA).

Channel 40 shows only Disney animated movies like
Toy Story 2
The Little Mermaid
Hercules
The Lion King
101 Dalmations 2

And on Channel 42 you have a selection of older more adult movies:

Dick Tracy
Meet me in St. Louis
Somewhere in Time
Father of the Bride
The Secret Garden
Moonstruck
Walt: The Man/The Myth

Hope this info helps you!

JoeFixes

 

[Mommypoohbear]

JoeFixes,

Sounds like you had a great trip !

We will be on our first Disney cruise this May, just wondering how did your DD3 like the Oceaneers Club ?

We have a DD4 and DD3 going with us (it's their first cruise)

Was this the first time you sailed with Disney ?

 

[JoeFixes]

MommyPoohBear,

We put our DD3 in the Oceaneer's Club on Monday. The older kids were also with their repective groups. We took this time and had our brunch at Palo's (that was awesome too!). They give the parents a pager which works all over the ship, so if they need you they page you. Well, we didn't hear anything for a couple of hours, when our pager did go off it was our DD9 asking to be collected. When we went to get her we checked in on DD3 and we were told that when they took her up to lunch she fell asleep at the table so they brought her back to the club where she was asleep on a mat in the corner. When we went to her she was sitting up crying in the corner! No one around, no one looking after her, we felt terrible! I don't know if she just woke up, which she may have, or if she had been crying for very long. Needless to say, she did not want to go back the rest of the week. On Thursday we went to the nursery just to check it out, and later that night my wife brought her there and stayed with her for about a half hour before she was able to leave her. Well what a difference. She stayed till about 10PM that night and was talking up a storm about the great time she had and what she was planning to do when she went back. Of course Castaway Cay was the next day so she didn't go back to the nursery until after dinner Friday night, but that worked out well because we were able to pack while she was there. Actually my DW packed and I went to see the Farewell Show (which was great also). I picked her up after the show and was told she had just fallen asleep, which is were I found her...sleeping on a bean bag chair cared for by 2 caring CMs. Bottom line....wish we had put her in the nursery earlier in the week rather than the club. The club was just too busy for her, she needed less structured activities and the ability to do what she wanted when she wanted. The thing about the nursery of course is that you have to pay $6.00 an hour with a minimum of 2 hours. Also you have to schedule a time slot that is open. The other thing I should mention is we were told that if we put our DD3 in the nursery she will not be allowed to go back to the club.

Didn't matter though, she had a great time at Flounder's Reef.


JoeFixes

 

[OurDogCisco]

Joe,

Thanks for the info on Flounder's Nursery. We'll have 3 year old when we go next year and I am wondering how she'll handle the club too. Does your 3 year old normally goes to preschool or daycare? I am hoping by then, we can put our's in some organized care so, she gets use to the environment.

Thanks again,

Tina

 

[JoeFixes]

Tina,

Our DD3 has not yet gone to any preschool or nursery school. Although her older brother and sister seem to give her that critical interaction. Based on her reaction to Flounders Reef, I think she is going to love preschool.

Also, I forgot to answer a question from the earlier post. Yes, this was our first Disney Cruise, and also our first cruise with kids. Our last cruise was in 1991 on Soverign of the Seas.


JoeFixes

 

[Vivig]

HI There,

Welcome Back. Glad to have heard you and your family had a great time!
Can't wait for your re-cap.

We are going on our first Disney cruise in April, and I was wondering did you have the early or late seating? And how did it work out. We have 5 year old son and presently are scheduled for the late seating.

Thanks very much,
Vivig

 

[sarablj]

We also had a great time. I wasn't impressed with Oceaneer club, though. My daughter didn't like it. I came back to her in tears and she didn't want to go again. We had her go a few days later with my husband staying with her and he found that they didn't supervise the kids while they were in the club. All the counsellors were at the desk checking kids in and out. There was a little boy running wild going from child to child hurting them. My husband had to speak to him several times and calm some tears. The nursery did seem very loving when I visited it, though we never used it because my baby had a runny nose during the cruise and wouldn't have been allowed to stay in there. I'm sure the club has a lot of fun activities just disapointed in their supervision and we stayed away after that. My daughter had a ton of fun anyway because they just have so many activities to do!

I agree that the most amazing thing about the whole cruise is CASTAWAY CAY!! We could have stayed there for days. It is paradise..postcard perfect!!



Sara DH DD5 and DD 16 mos
Traveled with my parents, brother, BIL, sister, and their children DS13, DS10 and DD8
(who also were not impressed with the club/lab..my niece couldn't get anyone to help her with the neclace she was trying to make..among other projects.

Hope to do another cruise..probably 4 day in a few years..maybe with our best friends!

 

[disneybets]

We were on the same trip. Wonderful time and weather. Will report more later. Son (9) home from school with stomach virus. At least we were home when it hit and not on the ship.

 

[JoeFixes]

This is Lori. Joe's wife.
Definitely do early seating with a 5-year old. We did early seating and our DD3 and DS7, and many other kids all around us (of all ages) at other tables, fell asleep at the dinner table even with early seating. Unless your son is one of those kids that can just keep going, and going. You'll spend every night at dinner holding a sleeping child if you do late seating. The days are long, hot, and full of tons of activities. The kids get worn out fast. Our son probably only remembers 2 dinners, the rest, he slept through.

A little observation I came up with is why don't they have a room where you can bring sleeping kids at night, so you don't have to go to your room every night because your kids are sleeping? My husband and I had to switch off going to night-time activities every night because one or two of our kids was sleeping and they don't provide babysitting services. If we had a quiet place we could bring our kids and let them sleep and we could participate in evening activities together, it would have been a lot more enjoyable for us. And we would've spent a lot more money on drinks (you'd think they would catch on). The Oceaneer Club is way too noisy to bring a sleeping kid. So unless you're traveling with grandparents, or a babysitter, you'll spend all the fun shows and parties, in your room watching t.v. (BORING, and FRUSTRATING considering all the money we paid to have fun on this trip)!!!!

The days were great fun, but come night-time, our lives really got quiet. If you're not planning on bringing someone to help with your son, reconsider and bring a babysitter!! Just a suggestion to enhance your fun on this trip. Have a great time.

Also, go to the sail-away party when you first leave Port Canaveral. Great fun atmosphere with good music and dancing!

 

[JoeFixes]

Just to let you know. My husband didn't mention one thing about the Nursery. They say you have to pre-schedule your child's time there. We went in totally unscheduled and they said they were wide open. On Thursday night, we went in unscheduled and there were three babies, and one child (maybe 6 yrs old.) with Downs Syndrome it looked like. There were 4 CMs in there for this small crowd. Two of the babies were sleeping, and were immediately put into cribs, so the child/counselor ratio was great! They paid tons of attention to our daughter (one-on-one) and she really loved it. They made a crown with her and helped her play with play-doh. Still asking when she can go back!

Don't worry about having to figure out when you'll need the nursery for the whole week. Go in and register, but you really can just walk in whenever you want. If you can get away with it, register your child for every night after dinner. The little kids really don't enjoy the shows. Our DD3 had no interest in the shows and made our lives miserable every night when we wanted to go. We're kicking ourselves for not discovering the nursery sooner. Now you know. Don't make the same mistake we did. Use them!

 

[cruisnfamily]

Originally posted by JoeFixes
A little observation I came up with is why don't they have a room where you can bring sleeping kids at night, so you don't have to go to your room every night because your kids are sleeping? My husband and I had to switch off going to night-time activities every night because one or two of our kids was sleeping and they don't provide babysitting services. If we had a quiet place we could bring our kids and let them sleep and we could participate in evening activities together, it would have been a lot more enjoyable for us. And we would've spent a lot more money on drinks (you'd think they would catch on). The Oceaneer Club is way too noisy to bring a sleeping kid.

In the evening in the club they put down mats and play movies...one evening we picked up our son at 11:30ish and he was down for the count asleep on the mat. This probably would have worked for you. Even if they woke up on the way in, if they were tired, they would have fallen right back to sleep once the movies started. It worked for us anyway.

 

[sarablj]

Just wanted to add my .02 about bringing your little ones to the shows.

The welcome aboard show we didn't go to because we were all wiped out. I wanted to go to the Hercules the Muse-ical, though and decided to just bring our 16 month old to see how she was. I thought she might fall asleep right away...or we would have to leave.

She loved it! She was clapping and straining her neck around people to see every part of the stage. I was so surprised and thrilled! She did fall asleep, but very close to the end. I brought her to see the one after that..if forget the name..about a magician. She enjoyed that as well, did fall asleep though. She also loved Disney Dreams. She didn't like the farewell variety as well, though. She liked the juggling, but the ventriloguist bit was too slow for her and she started fussing..we left.. that is the night she was up with an ear infection also.

Give your kids a chance with the shows..you might be pleasantly surprised. I loved seeing her reactions!! She clapped and even yelled Yay at one point. So cute!

5 year old loved all of them.Enjoy!

Sara

 

[OurDogCisco]

We did the same thing with our 15 month old. She loved all the shows. It was also a time for her to kinda unwind. She was clapping and singing along with them. You never know your kids might love the shows. We did however, made sure we slept in in the morning. We didn't plan a lot of morning activities to make sure our kids were well rested from the night before (actually, we the parents needed the sleep too)!

Tina

 

[Vivig]

Thank You all for your great responses. I cannot believe how informative and friendly everyone is one this board.

I believe we will have to wait and see DS 5 reaction to the cruise, and play it by ear.

PSST..I have a secret...we are not letting him know until the very last minute when we take him to the airport! (That is of course if Mom can keep her excitement in check Ereryone at work thinks I am going to blow it well before our sailing date of 04/26/03. Oh well I guess we will have to wait and see.

Just love reading all these posts.

Have a GR8 evening everyone....