Late but worth the wait! EASTERN MAGIC 1/6-1/13 WOOOHOOOO!!!

[disneypoor]

Thanks for the replies on the sunglasses and Orient Bay. By the way, I am loving your TR and especially liking all of the pictures that you've included. I have two more weeks until I get to step onto the Magic. I can't wait!

 

[Disney owl]

great report thanks

 

[supercalidisgirl]

Friday 1/12, Castaway Cay

Before the cruise, I had a picture of Castaway Cay as my computer’s wallpaper. I looked at this picture for months…it was my haven…my light at the end of many dreary days of work and life before our sail date. So on Friday morning when I woke up and headed out to my veranda, I was speechless to find that very landscape was the view outside of my stateroom. Ultimate satisfaction.

I heart Disney.

We didn’t rush to get up and out. Instead, we enjoyed a leisurely breakfast on Deck 9 as others scurried about, scarfing down breakfast and pelting their kids with sunscreen. Eeek! There they are again…children! I had really mastered a schedule that didn’t involve seeing many kids, and I had forgotten there were so many of them onboard.

When we finally made it off the ship, we headed straight for Serenity Bay, which was our only destination for the day. The water was a bit chilly, but the sun was warm, and the all-you-can eat BBQ rocked. Hot dogs, hamburgers, chicken, salads, chips, soft serve, fruit…my bikini said no, but my soul said YES! It was a perfect lazy beach day. Hooray again for Disney. I wondered what the Carnival Cruise passengers were doing at that moment…then I bit into a perfect mango slice and forgot them.

Serenity Bay

Serenity Bay Polluted with a Family Drunk on Konk Coolers

We didn’t book any excursions. I’m sure some of them were fantastic, but I was happy to be on my own schedule with no commitments. I was a little jealous to see the jet skis whizzing by, but I resolved that I would just rent one less expensively at Orient Bay if I were to be blessed with this dream vacation once more.

After a few hours, the parental unit headed back to the ship, leaving the offspring alone for the remainder of the day. Later we found they had sealed the deal for next year’s family cruise with DCL, henceforth providing each of our future staterooms with 200 free credits that will go entirely to martinis at Palo.

Meanwhile at Serenity Bay, we children crawled back to the bar to harass Simon the bartender for more booze. He is a hot, young, sassy British bloke who also bartends Rockin’ Bar D. He’s AWESOME. We also met his girlfriend, Ann Marie, a former cast member who now works at WDW.

Simon and Anne Marie....so cute. And fun.

After exchanging witty repartee and drinking our share of Konk Coolers, we headed back to the beach (with our new friend, Ann Marie, in tow...Simon was stuck behind the bar) for an underwater photo shoot and IPod dance party (Serenity Bay was practically empty by that point, except for disboard pal AkaMalificent and her DH).

Underwater photo shoot.


Eventually we were kicked off the beach, so we climbed onto the tram with Simon, Anne Marie, and a slew of CMs. The tram was absent of guests at this point and full of crew (including Simone and Pumba). We pretty much knew everyone, having befriended the crew during the week. After all, they seemed to be the only other single, childless people onboard.

Did anyone else order multiple entrees at dinner that night? We did…I guess in some kind of last desperate attempt to hoard all that we could before having to leave the ship. The last supper. Eat everything you can, then maybe it wont all go away. Behavior like that left me with my biggest souvenir of the trip…junk in the trunk. Baby got back.

BTW, our head server, Alexandria, brought lobster for me, since I had missed it the night before.

I had been responsible in packing prior to dinner, so I was ready to party immediately afterward. Unfortunately, my cohorts had decided to nap instead and spent an hour after dinner shoving Diesel jeans into suitcases while Anastasia pretended to wait patiently in hall past the 11pm cut-off time. Finally, the last of our door décor came down and we were officially packed.

We spent our final evening at Rockin’ Bar D. Simon mixed us all sorts of fruity drinks as Ann Marie watched in awe of him. It was totally sweet. I will miss my new CM friends.

Good Night, Magic. C you real soon!

Highs:
Waking up to the view of Castaway Cay
BBQ
Konk Coolers
Simon and Ann Marie

Lows:
Chilly water
Leaving Castaway Cay

 

[Jennifer48]

Behavior like that left me with my biggest souvenir of the trip…junk in the trunk. Baby got back.

Amen to that sistah. Thats the one souvenir I wish I could have left onboard.

 

[tjeagle]

Love The Report!!

 

[supercalidisgirl]

Saturday 1/13, EVICTION DAY

Please don't make us go.

This day hardly gets an honorable mention. Mickey Mouse called me at 7:15am and told me to get up and get the @#$% off his boat. Okay, that’s probably not what he said, but that’s what it sounded like to me at that hour. I had to wake up early, choke down breakfast, and leave my new home, which was far superior to my old home…the one I was going back to. I live in San Diego. I have a great job. I have terrific friends. But somehow, I didn’t want to go back.

Customs downstairs from the ship was rundown, crowded, and icky. My luggage was in a lonely heap in the middle of it all. Hello reality. After waiting for like 20 minutes to get through, an evacuation alarm went off and everyone started yelling and panicking. But hey, at least the line moved more quickly. The customs official didn’t even look at my documents. Instead he said, “You look American! Go!” More yelling, herding, and haste…people actually started falling down.

So long DCL, hello life.

Having acquired the space bug at Epcot’s Mission to Space, we had planned to visit the Kennedy Space Center during the layover time between our eviction and our flight back to California. Unfortunately we were feeling cranky (not to mention, we just received our stateroom bills), so the $38 per person seemed like millions. So instead we went to a local theater and saw Dreamgirls. Although it was fantastic, seeing something non-Disney made me realize the dream was over. Nothing like a Disney cruise to make one’s real life seem entirely too much to handle. From there I would have to make my own bed, my own dinner, my own decisions…

But the truth is, I have a great life. Disney just makes it better.

From our cast-off party at the parent's house in Huntington Beach, CA...

To the airport...

And magical times at Walt Disney World...

To times aboard the Magic that I've shared with you...

And homecoming with four-legged family members who missed us...

In Disney’s honor, I will carry with me some important things that I learned as a result of my time with the Magic:

Go Disney.
Dress for dinner.
Smoke a Cuban cigar when you can.
Be flexible with schedules when traveling in a group.
Not everyone has to agree on everything.
It’s okay to do NOTHING.
A relaxing bath once a week relieves stress.
Relaxation helps me tolerate my older brother.
Arnica relieves upper back tension.
Spray-on sunscreen is better than lotion.
Pirate jokes arrrrrrrhhhhh really funny.
And most importantly, Disney magic makes dreams come true.

Thanks for reading! Hope to see you all in 2008!

In closing, a haiku:

Empty bank account
Mouse takes freely all I have
Enjoy nice island

 

[pppiglet]

Thank you! Excellent report!

 

[Floridagram]

Weeeellllll, it goes like this:
We thought three people would be fine in a room, but we were wrong. I was getting REALLY grumpy because I'm a neat freak and I like personal space and Benn and Nathan are the opposite. Because we're nosy and observant, we noticed that a room down the hall wasn't occupied. First a persistent Nathan started going to guest services several times a day asking for the upgrade until they told him they had to wait until St. Martin because they might be picking up passengers. In the end, I don't know how it happened...whether it was my dad who ended up sealing the deal or what...all I know is that when I got back onto the ship after our St. Martin beach day, my dad said he had a surprise for me and handed me the new room key. Nathan and Benn were a little urked at first that I got moved and they had to stay in the inside stateroom, but I'm a Disney Princess with VIP status, so they just had to deal.

I was wondering why you had roommates, it seemed the boys should have been together and you got the room by yourself. ( I thought you must be a princess!) I am glad this worked out for you, I think that sounds like heaven to have a room to yourself!

 

[Madisonznana]

I really enjoyed your TR. How many days did you get to spend at WDW before the cruise? We are impatiently waiting for our 1st cruise in May and we only have time for 4 nights and 3 days at WDW. We are AP holders for Disneyland and I am so looking forward to see everything in Orlando. Or at least as much as we can squeezed in for such a short time!

 

[Jennifer48]

Awww its over?!

Thank you for sharing I really enjoyed reading your trippie. I hope you decide to do another one the next time around too!

See ya in San Diego in June!

 

[Dreamer04]

That has got to be one of the best trip reports I have read. Good job.



And here are some dancing bananas to stare at

 

[Tinkerbell's Mom]

So sad it's over, but am so glad you wrote the report, it was great, and I hope you'll do another after next year's trip

 

[cseca]

Excellent TR... enjoyed it a lot!

 

[disneydance]

sounds lime u guys had a great cruise lucky u

 

[chepic]

Most excellent TR....thank you for the pictures too.

cheryl