We were on the Magic last week for the western cruise. After over a year of planning, I can't believe it is over! 
But I wanted to share what I think might help all you lucky people who are yet to go on your cruise.
A big THANK YOU to everyone on this board that provided such invaluable help to us over the last year, I felt like I was the most informed traveler on the ship! We didn't miss anything!
Okay, here goes. First of all, regarding what to pack. We did not use the over the door shoe holder, there were plenty of little shelves in the bathrooms for our stuff. We also did not use the walkie talkies, our son knew we would be at the adult pool just about all the time. We also brought coffee mugs, but never used them, the styrofoam cups provided were fine. As for things we did use and were glad to have were bathroom hooks, roll of quarters, dryer sheets, thank you notes, phone cards, ziplok bags, trash bags and water wallets.
If you rent a car, have one person drop everyone else in your party at the ship with all the luggage, then return the car and take the shuttle alone back to the ship. No handling luggage and if you leave your docs with the person at the terminal, they can check you in. We did this and when I got back from Avis all I had to do was go to the front of the line (which was very long by this time) and get my KTTW card. DH and DS were already in line to board, pretty close to the front of the line.
Do not miss Brunch at Palo, it is incredible.
We did not do a lot of excursions, we enjoyed the pool when everyone else got off the ship while we were in port. We did do the Dolphin Encounter, this was awesome, try not to miss this. It does book within a week of when you can start to book excursions, 60 days prior to your cruise.
At Cozumel, the duty free store at the end of the pier, the one for cruise ship passengers only, had the best prices for vanilla that I saw. Try to go see Sally's place for golf, it is really great. Also, try to get off the ship after dinner in Cozumel and see the ship all lit up at night. It was the only port we stayed in after dark.
On Wednesday, you can get the first five minutes free for internet access between 8AM and 5PM. Check at Guest Services first to be sure, they do not publish this in the Navigators.
We brought a cooler on board with soda, wine and wine coolers. Saved us a lot of money on extra drinks.
The Late Night Dessert buffet was on Thursday night, it was not well advertised. It started at 11:15PM.
Get off the ship as soon as possible at Castaway Cay, and walk all the way to the far side of the Family Beach. That area fills up last.
Pay for your tips on Thursday, avoid all the lines on Friday.
Don't miss the Till We Meet Again show in the atrium on Friday night. Get there very early and park yourself in the little balcony between the elevators on the 4th deck over the atrium to get the best pictures of the characters on the stairs.
I know I will think of more later, I will just add to this thread as I remember things!!
deco
But I wanted to share what I think might help all you lucky people who are yet to go on your cruise. A big THANK YOU to everyone on this board that provided such invaluable help to us over the last year, I felt like I was the most informed traveler on the ship! We didn't miss anything!
Okay, here goes. First of all, regarding what to pack. We did not use the over the door shoe holder, there were plenty of little shelves in the bathrooms for our stuff. We also did not use the walkie talkies, our son knew we would be at the adult pool just about all the time. We also brought coffee mugs, but never used them, the styrofoam cups provided were fine. As for things we did use and were glad to have were bathroom hooks, roll of quarters, dryer sheets, thank you notes, phone cards, ziplok bags, trash bags and water wallets.
If you rent a car, have one person drop everyone else in your party at the ship with all the luggage, then return the car and take the shuttle alone back to the ship. No handling luggage and if you leave your docs with the person at the terminal, they can check you in. We did this and when I got back from Avis all I had to do was go to the front of the line (which was very long by this time) and get my KTTW card. DH and DS were already in line to board, pretty close to the front of the line.
Do not miss Brunch at Palo, it is incredible.
We did not do a lot of excursions, we enjoyed the pool when everyone else got off the ship while we were in port. We did do the Dolphin Encounter, this was awesome, try not to miss this. It does book within a week of when you can start to book excursions, 60 days prior to your cruise.
At Cozumel, the duty free store at the end of the pier, the one for cruise ship passengers only, had the best prices for vanilla that I saw. Try to go see Sally's place for golf, it is really great. Also, try to get off the ship after dinner in Cozumel and see the ship all lit up at night. It was the only port we stayed in after dark.
On Wednesday, you can get the first five minutes free for internet access between 8AM and 5PM. Check at Guest Services first to be sure, they do not publish this in the Navigators.
We brought a cooler on board with soda, wine and wine coolers. Saved us a lot of money on extra drinks.
The Late Night Dessert buffet was on Thursday night, it was not well advertised. It started at 11:15PM.
Get off the ship as soon as possible at Castaway Cay, and walk all the way to the far side of the Family Beach. That area fills up last.
Pay for your tips on Thursday, avoid all the lines on Friday.
Don't miss the Till We Meet Again show in the atrium on Friday night. Get there very early and park yourself in the little balcony between the elevators on the 4th deck over the atrium to get the best pictures of the characters on the stairs.
I know I will think of more later, I will just add to this thread as I remember things!!
deco
