nativetxn
<font color=teal>Moderator<br><font color=red>Hono
- Joined
- Feb 15, 2000
- Messages
- 55,846
<b>WHO:</b> KarenNY(veteran cruiser) and nativetxn(novice)
<b>WHAT:</b> 7 Day Western Cruise
<b>WHEN:</b> 9/14/02
<b>WHERE:</b> Well, in the western Caribbean, of course
<b>WHY:</b> Because we <b>could</b>
Actually, explaining why is a little complicated. KarenNY and I were in DIS chat one Monday night last April and she sent me a private message asking if I would like to experience the 7 day western cruise with her. My husband has no interest in cruising and none of her <i>real</i> friends could cruise with her, so she asked me Luckily for me, my husband agreed that a cruise with KarenNY would be fun for me and I wasted no time agreeing to go with her She wasted no time contacting Dreams Unlimited and our planning was underway.
We both flew into MCO on 9/13, arriving about 20 minutes apart. I retrieved my luggage and waited for Karen very near the Avis desk at the airport. She was soon there and we took turns changing into shorts and short sleeves from our warmer clothing. Then she rented the car she had reserved (using a code found on the <b>DIS Transportation Board</b>) and we headed for POR French Quarter. We had agreed that arriving one day before our cruise would be a good thing.
<b>Saturday 9/14:</b> we got the luggage in the car and started off for the port. Our plan <b>was</b> to arrive earlier than the DCL busses. When we got closer to the port, there was an exit sign with a picture of a cruise ship on it, Karen didnt take this exit. I asked her why there was a picture of a ship on the sign, she didnt know. A few miles down the road she turned around. There are no exits for about 10 miles on this stretch of highway and as we drove along we saw two DCL busses going the opposite direction toward the post. So much for our plan. We did finally make our way to the port and through security and dropped the luggage. Then we both drove over to the Radisson, turned in the rental car and took the shuttle back to the port. The line for boarding was pretty long but we were on board and being announced very soon.
We went directly to our <b>stateroom 7123</b>, an interior stateroom in the aft part of the ship. It was perfect for our needs. The only problem I could see with an interior stateroom is that it is harder to wake up in the mornings because it is so nice and dark in the room. The stateroom was ready and there was a lovely tray of petites fours and a bottle of Asti awaiting our arrival. <b>Thank you, Dreams Unlimited</b> There was a huge beach towel and a couple of pins from the Castaway Club waiting for Karen. We dropped our carryons and ran up to Palo to make our brunch and dinner reservations (we forgot all about the tea).
After making our Palo reservations we relaxed and went on to the lunch buffet at Parrot Cay. Loved the fruit soup. We shared a table with a young couple from New Jersey who were enjoying a leisurely lunch. They turned out to be DVC members but had never heard of the DIS. In the course of our conversation we learned that they planned to get their Palo reservation <i>after</i> they finished lunch. It was about 2:30 by now, Karen and I tried hard not to grimace-- I dont know how successful we were
They were unsuccessful getting reservations for Palo. This encounter <b>really</b> made me appreciate all the great information on the DIS.
After lunch we went back to our stateroom and found our luggage waiting for us. Our host was <b>Iwayan</b>. He was nice enough and was adequate as a host. He did what was required and not much more.
<b>Dining:</b> We had the LAPLAPL dinner rotation, second seating, third rotation. I dont know the significance of the third rotation, but we enjoyed it. There seemed to be no very young children during our dinners but I dont know if that happened because we were in the third rotation or not.
<b>Servers</b> were Sompong (Sammy), Ashley and Pietro (head server). I cant say enough about the excellent job done by all three As an example: I did not like the iced tea served at our lunch. At dinner when Ashley took our beverage orders I told him I didn't like the iced tea and asked him to bring me a pot of hot water, tea bags and a glass of ice, so I could make my own. Instead, he returned with a beautiful glass of freshly brewed iced tea, murmuring as he served me that he had brewed it for me himself. Every evening after that he had a freshly brewed glass of iced tea for me, without being asked.
The only hitch at our first dinner was that we were assigned to table 70 but seated at table 67 (we didnt realize it until over half way through our dinner). We enjoyed dinner with a very nice family from the UK this evening. The next evening Pietro met us at the door of Animators Palate and apologized for seating us at a different table (same servers). I hope the British family didnt complain
Our new table mates were Caprice and Brian from Ithaca, MI. We really enjoyed our dinners with them, they were a lot of fun and we talked so much we were usually among the last ones to leave the restaurant. They are also DVC members and had never heard of the DIS. They know about the DIS now
After our first dinner at Lumiere we went over to the internet café and signed up for the week (we shared one log in and password). Then we played Bingo with <b>Sean and Ellen</b> as our hosts. It was fun but we didnt win anything.
<b>Palo experiences:</b> We had our brunch on Sunday before our excursion. Our server was <b>Nadege</b> from France. The food was excellent and the service was wonderful. Our dinner at Palo was Monday evening. Our server was <b>Maurizio</b> from Australia and he was great. He is a great fan of Pete Werner and knew about the DIS. The food was pretty good, although the steaks were way overcooked. The service was excellent
<b>Excursions</b> Karen had learned about <b>FURY CATAMARANS</b> on the DIS cruise board and made reservations for us to experience tandem parasailing. I didnt know until after our parasail that she has a fear of heights and had originally expected me to demur when she suggested this activity. I had always wanted to do this so I was very excited about it.
We disembarked at Key West and walked over to Fury Catamarans office, signed the papers and paid for the excursion, then walked back to the dock where we met <b>Bob and Capt. Oscar</b>. I have to say here that <b><i>parasailing is one of the most fun things Ive ever done in my life.</b></i> Karen agrees, her fear of heights never came into play during this excursion, she had a great time. They asked if we wanted to get wet and we said maybe a little, so they dipped us in the water up to our knees three times, it was just so much fun. There were two other couples on the same excursion (not from the Magic). One was a married couple, a very tall man and a very short woman. The husband wanted to get wet, the wife did not, so they dipped the husband up to his knees and the wife didnt even get her feet wet. It was sort of fun to watch. Too soon this was over so we both overtipped Bob and Capt. Oscar and headed back to the ship. It was hot and we needed to get the salt water off our skin. After our showers, we headed back to Key West looking for a pay phone. This sounds easy but a large number of crew had shore leave and the pay phones were all occupied by people there for the long haul. We had a tough time but Karen finally found an unoccupied phone to call her daughter (who wasnt home). We walked over to Mallory Square but decided to return to the ship because it was just hot.
At Grand Cayman we experienced the snorkling using <b>CAPTAIN MARVINS</b> which Karen had learned about on the DIS. We were tendered ashore and walked and walked and walked and finally found Captain Marvins. We were put in a van and driven to the dock where we boarded a boat with several other DISers. Rvuidu and Jazzbran were on the same excursion. First we snorkled at what they call the Coral Gardens. Id never snorkled before and I must admit to having a bit of claustrophobia when I first entered the water. I got over it quickly though and enjoyed the beautiful, clear water and the pretty fish. Then we boated on to the reef and did some snorkling there seeing an eel and a nurse shark. Its really fun to snorkle. Next we went to what they call Sting Ray City. This is an area where hundreds of sting rays approach you wanting to be fed. I was a failure at this...the sting rays seemed to sneak up on me (eek) and tickle my legs (yikes) and they were everywhere (<b>shudder</b>). I just really couldnt keep my feet planted, every time one would rub against my leg I would jump and lift my feet. I tried very hard but I couldnt stay in the water. I returned to the boat and watched from there
Karen had a ball though and purchased the underwater video of the excursion filmed by professional photographers
At Cozumel we did no excursions. I did a little shopping and returned to the ship. Karen stayed out in the heat and shopped more.
At Castaway Cay we did no excursions. Castaway Cay is pretty but its a beach. Im not a beach person. I burn too easily and my sunblock kept melting off so I returned to the ship after just a couple of hours, leaving Karen, Cappy and Brian to enjoy themselves.
Im not going to give a detailed report of each day because this report would be just too long to read if I did. We had a great cruise. Karen and I travel well together, we can share activities or split up and are happy with either way. She has a great sense of humor and an infectious laugh. She also knows a lot about cruising so she led and I followed. It worked very well.
We only had one day that the seas were at all bumpy, Thursday night before our Friday at Castaway Cay. We were not sure late that night if we would be able to dock at Castaway Cay the next AM but the seas calmed down about midnight and our itinerary was completed as originally planned.
All too soon our cruise was finished. We disembarked and made it through customs with no trouble at all. Karen left me with the luggage while she took the shuttle over to Avis to pick up the car we had reserved. <b>TIP</b>: If you are renting a car for your return to Orlando, be sure to take your documents with you or you will have a very hard time gaining entrance to the port again. They don't want to let you back in, Karen had to do some fast talking to get back to me and the luggage but she made it and we drove away from the Magic heading for AKL.
<b>WHAT:</b> 7 Day Western Cruise
<b>WHEN:</b> 9/14/02
<b>WHERE:</b> Well, in the western Caribbean, of course
<b>WHY:</b> Because we <b>could</b>
Actually, explaining why is a little complicated. KarenNY and I were in DIS chat one Monday night last April and she sent me a private message asking if I would like to experience the 7 day western cruise with her. My husband has no interest in cruising and none of her <i>real</i> friends could cruise with her, so she asked me
Luckily for me, my husband agreed that a cruise with KarenNY would be fun for me and I wasted no time agreeing to go with her She wasted no time contacting Dreams Unlimited and our planning was underway.We both flew into MCO on 9/13, arriving about 20 minutes apart. I retrieved my luggage and waited for Karen very near the Avis desk at the airport. She was soon there and we took turns changing into shorts and short sleeves from our warmer clothing. Then she rented the car she had reserved (using a code found on the <b>DIS Transportation Board</b>) and we headed for POR French Quarter. We had agreed that arriving one day before our cruise would be a good thing.
<b>Saturday 9/14:</b> we got the luggage in the car and started off for the port. Our plan <b>was</b> to arrive earlier than the DCL busses. When we got closer to the port, there was an exit sign with a picture of a cruise ship on it, Karen didnt take this exit. I asked her why there was a picture of a ship on the sign, she didnt know. A few miles down the road she turned around. There are no exits for about 10 miles on this stretch of highway and as we drove along we saw two DCL busses going the opposite direction toward the post. So much for our plan. We did finally make our way to the port and through security and dropped the luggage. Then we both drove over to the Radisson, turned in the rental car and took the shuttle back to the port. The line for boarding was pretty long but we were on board and being announced very soon.
We went directly to our <b>stateroom 7123</b>, an interior stateroom in the aft part of the ship. It was perfect for our needs. The only problem I could see with an interior stateroom is that it is harder to wake up in the mornings because it is so nice and dark in the room. The stateroom was ready and there was a lovely tray of petites fours and a bottle of Asti awaiting our arrival. <b>Thank you, Dreams Unlimited</b>
There was a huge beach towel and a couple of pins from the Castaway Club waiting for Karen. We dropped our carryons and ran up to Palo to make our brunch and dinner reservations (we forgot all about the tea).After making our Palo reservations we relaxed and went on to the lunch buffet at Parrot Cay. Loved the fruit soup. We shared a table with a young couple from New Jersey who were enjoying a leisurely lunch. They turned out to be DVC members but had never heard of the DIS. In the course of our conversation we learned that they planned to get their Palo reservation <i>after</i> they finished lunch. It was about 2:30 by now, Karen and I tried hard not to grimace-- I dont know how successful we were
They were unsuccessful getting reservations for Palo. This encounter <b>really</b> made me appreciate all the great information on the DIS.After lunch we went back to our stateroom and found our luggage waiting for us. Our host was <b>Iwayan</b>. He was nice enough and was adequate as a host. He did what was required and not much more.
<b>Dining:</b> We had the LAPLAPL dinner rotation, second seating, third rotation. I dont know the significance of the third rotation, but we enjoyed it. There seemed to be no very young children during our dinners but I dont know if that happened because we were in the third rotation or not.
<b>Servers</b> were Sompong (Sammy), Ashley and Pietro (head server). I cant say enough about the excellent job done by all three
As an example: I did not like the iced tea served at our lunch. At dinner when Ashley took our beverage orders I told him I didn't like the iced tea and asked him to bring me a pot of hot water, tea bags and a glass of ice, so I could make my own. Instead, he returned with a beautiful glass of freshly brewed iced tea, murmuring as he served me that he had brewed it for me himself. Every evening after that he had a freshly brewed glass of iced tea for me, without being asked. The only hitch at our first dinner was that we were assigned to table 70 but seated at table 67 (we didnt realize it until over half way through our dinner). We enjoyed dinner with a very nice family from the UK this evening. The next evening Pietro met us at the door of Animators Palate and apologized for seating us at a different table (same servers). I hope the British family didnt complain
Our new table mates were Caprice and Brian from Ithaca, MI. We really enjoyed our dinners with them, they were a lot of fun and we talked so much we were usually among the last ones to leave the restaurant. They are also DVC members and had never heard of the DIS. They know about the DIS now After our first dinner at Lumiere we went over to the internet café and signed up for the week (we shared one log in and password). Then we played Bingo with <b>Sean and Ellen</b> as our hosts. It was fun but we didnt win anything.
<b>Palo experiences:</b> We had our brunch on Sunday before our excursion. Our server was <b>Nadege</b> from France. The food was excellent and the service was wonderful. Our dinner at Palo was Monday evening. Our server was <b>Maurizio</b> from Australia and he was great. He is a great fan of Pete Werner and knew about the DIS. The food was pretty good, although the steaks were way overcooked. The service was excellent
<b>Excursions</b> Karen had learned about <b>FURY CATAMARANS</b> on the DIS cruise board and made reservations for us to experience tandem parasailing. I didnt know until after our parasail that she has a fear of heights and had originally expected me to demur when she suggested this activity. I had always wanted to do this so I was very excited about it.
We disembarked at Key West and walked over to Fury Catamarans office, signed the papers and paid for the excursion, then walked back to the dock where we met <b>Bob and Capt. Oscar</b>. I have to say here that <b><i>parasailing is one of the most fun things Ive ever done in my life.</b></i> Karen agrees, her fear of heights never came into play during this excursion, she had a great time. They asked if we wanted to get wet and we said maybe a little, so they dipped us in the water up to our knees three times, it was just so much fun. There were two other couples on the same excursion (not from the Magic). One was a married couple, a very tall man and a very short woman. The husband wanted to get wet, the wife did not, so they dipped the husband up to his knees and the wife didnt even get her feet wet. It was sort of fun to watch. Too soon this was over so we both overtipped Bob and Capt. Oscar and headed back to the ship. It was hot and we needed to get the salt water off our skin. After our showers, we headed back to Key West looking for a pay phone. This sounds easy but a large number of crew had shore leave and the pay phones were all occupied by people there for the long haul. We had a tough time but Karen finally found an unoccupied phone to call her daughter (who wasnt home). We walked over to Mallory Square but decided to return to the ship because it was just hot.
At Grand Cayman we experienced the snorkling using <b>CAPTAIN MARVINS</b> which Karen had learned about on the DIS. We were tendered ashore and walked and walked and walked and finally found Captain Marvins. We were put in a van and driven to the dock where we boarded a boat with several other DISers. Rvuidu and Jazzbran were on the same excursion. First we snorkled at what they call the Coral Gardens. Id never snorkled before and I must admit to having a bit of claustrophobia when I first entered the water. I got over it quickly though and enjoyed the beautiful, clear water and the pretty fish. Then we boated on to the reef and did some snorkling there seeing an eel and a nurse shark. Its really fun to snorkle. Next we went to what they call Sting Ray City. This is an area where hundreds of sting rays approach you wanting to be fed. I was a failure at this...the sting rays seemed to sneak up on me (eek) and tickle my legs (yikes) and they were everywhere (<b>shudder</b>). I just really couldnt keep my feet planted, every time one would rub against my leg I would jump and lift my feet. I tried very hard but I couldnt stay in the water. I returned to the boat and watched from there
Karen had a ball though and purchased the underwater video of the excursion filmed by professional photographers At Cozumel we did no excursions. I did a little shopping and returned to the ship. Karen stayed out in the heat and shopped more.
At Castaway Cay we did no excursions. Castaway Cay is pretty but its a beach. Im not a beach person. I burn too easily and my sunblock kept melting off so I returned to the ship after just a couple of hours, leaving Karen, Cappy and Brian to enjoy themselves.
Im not going to give a detailed report of each day because this report would be just too long to read if I did. We had a great cruise. Karen and I travel well together, we can share activities or split up and are happy with either way. She has a great sense of humor and an infectious laugh. She also knows a lot about cruising so she led and I followed. It worked very well.
We only had one day that the seas were at all bumpy, Thursday night before our Friday at Castaway Cay. We were not sure late that night if we would be able to dock at Castaway Cay the next AM but the seas calmed down about midnight and our itinerary was completed as originally planned.
All too soon our cruise was finished. We disembarked and made it through customs with no trouble at all. Karen left me with the luggage while she took the shuttle over to Avis to pick up the car we had reserved. <b>TIP</b>: If you are renting a car for your return to Orlando, be sure to take your documents with you or you will have a very hard time gaining entrance to the port again. They don't want to let you back in, Karen had to do some fast talking to get back to me and the luggage but she made it and we drove away from the Magic heading for AKL.
I was daydreaming about the wonderful cruise ahead of us instead of paying attention to where I was driving
