**Live from 6/25/05 Magic to Mexico**

[CruisingCA2005]

The seafood choices were good but on our last night I received a piece of red snapper that was tougher than a steak. It was a fluke and they quickly asked me if I wanted to replace it. If you don't like something, don't be afraid to ask for something else.

 

[mmouse37]

Dining review have been discussed here a thousand times and you will get 1,000 different experiences of good and bad.

I have always enjoyed my meals onboard, and out of 13 DCL cruises, I had one meal that I did not enjoy and sent it back to get something else.

 

[DMMarla07860]

hey all, hope you are having a great trip, I just wanna ask and know this, Can anyone tell me if Travis and DJ Pike are on the Magic right now? and how much longer are they working for just wanna know if they would be on my cruise if they are still working for disney cruise line at that point.Thanks again

 

[Hollyster2]

I LOVED THE GROUPER! (fish) One of my favorite meals!

 

[UGAFan0829]

Thanks so much for taking the time to post for us. It's always really cool to get those live updates. It sounds like you're having a great time so far, and I hope it continues that way. If you and your family are doing any shore excursions, you'll have to let us know how they go!
Enjoy!

 

[MousseauMob]

Can you tell me if they offer Diet Sprite or Diet 7-up at the deck 9 soda area or in the restaurants?
Thanks
Jill

They had Diet Sprite at one of the soda machines on deck 9.

 

[LiserAnn]

Thanks for posting...it's so nice to hear all your daily updates...builds my anticipation for our cruise even more!

 

[jlawall]

Thx for the updates!! Just one month from today, we will be heading to Cali!!!

 

[Pineapple]

Wrapping up our second day at sea. Just got out of seeing Twice Charmed not too long ago. Nice show. I'm not too much of a show person so don't look to me for a review but I liked it.

Had Brunch at Palo this morning and it was everything it was built up to be. Great spread of food spanning a wide variety things from the common to the exotic. Even some caviar if you want to taste that. The chocolate covered strawberries were there and terrific. Most in my party filled themselves with the crab legs and large shrimp. It was really easy to stuff yourself with the crab because they did all the work for you by splitting the crab legs completely length wise. All one had to do was pick out the meat. A tip: put some food on your plate before picking up any olives. I grabbed some stuffed olives first and had to contend with them rolling all over my plate while I tried to fill up my plate with other foods to block them in.

Our server was very good and had us laughing quite a bit. He paced us fairly slowly. We were there over two hours for brunch. I'm not complaining about it since we had good company and the time passed quickly. I just wasn't expecting it. Just wanted to mention it in case someone reading this has afternoon activities planned.

Kid's finally starting to get used to Oceaneer's Lab. The kids programs really started slow with a lot of "hanging out" type sessions. Our group of kids (ages 9-11) didn't really take to it and wanted out. The mom in charge left them in, asking them to give it more time. "Aww Mom" one son pleaded. Mom finally had to give in and check the kids out when the rascal of the bunch figured out he could have his parents paged. So the kids had their freedom again. It was funny later. When the rascal son started misbehaving, he was threatened with "You behave or we're going to send you back to Oceaneer's Lab". Awwwk! It cracked me up hearing that.

But the activities seemed more interesting today so the kids spent a few hours at the Lab with no problems.

We make our first stop in Puerto Vallarta tomorrow.

 

[Eeyorefan12]

Okay, I'm exhausted (must be all that tiring eating, drinking, and being pampered all day) but just wanted to check in. We had another nice day out here on the water and tomorrow morning we'll be in Puerto Vallerta. I know I was dying to hear from someone going on the Dolphin excursion there but I didn't see any posts on it so I guess it'll be up to me tomorrow night.

We all feel that we've got the hang of this now. Wake up when you feel like it, wander up to Topsiders for the breakfast buffet, hook up with friends for Ping Pong or the Arcade, have a delightful buffet in Parrot Cay (today was Asian--terrific!), attend an informative and entertaining wine-tasting, continue that theme with the drink of the day (Cool Breeze) while enjoying the sunshine out on deck, head for dinner at Lumiere's watch a great show (Twice Charmed) with the family and friends, and then...uh...hit the web? Actually, I'm sitting here next to Pineapple. We spend almost as much time chatting as we do typing. I think it confuses the other internet cafe users.

One of the crew mentioned today that we were almost at "the halfway point" in the cruise. I cannot tell you how sad that made me feel...and we haven't even gotten to Mexico yet! Well, I'm off to get some sleep. I want to watch the sun rise over Puerto Vallarta...and then go see my hubby have to get in the 15-foot deep pool with the kids so the dolphins can tow him around while I videotape the whole thing. Gee, who do you think set up THOSE reservations?

CB

 

[Eeyorefan12]

Post script: I see that Pineapple mentioned Twice Charmed but didn't want to review it. FWIW, the 11 year-old girls and the 9-year old boy in our party enjoyed it almost as much as their respective 40-something parents did. Actually, of the three shows we've seen, I think it's my favorite so far. Very professionally done with a talented cast but the story was great, too. (The Fairy Godfather is a hoot!)

CB

 

[alohatee]

Thanks for the live updates - wish I was there already. Is it August yet????

 

[challada]

eeyore- FYI, you will NOT be allowed to video tape the Dolphin Excursion (they tape it and sell you the tape/DVD)! It is really lots of fun and our family loved it, but you won't get to take any pictures or any taping due to their policy. There are lots of baby dolphins right now, so it's like a little bonus to get mommas and their babies too!

 

[4fosterkids]

They had Diet Sprite at one of the soda machines on deck 9.

Thank you very much for the info.
If its not a problem, can you tell me if they have kids puzzles in any of the shops? 50 -100 pieces.
Thanks so much
Jill

 

[disneyfamilyforever]

We are signed up to swim with the dolphins too and we can't wait. I am dissappointed that I can't even take pictures with my own camera.
What did the kids wear there and when they were in the water?
Thanks for all the updates!

 

[Grandma Debby]

My 7 year old granddaughter and I did the swim with dolphins in PV in mid-June. We loved it and it was a highlight of our trip - there are 3 sections to the dolphins - 1) swim with the dolphins where you get into the 15-25 foot deep tank (life jackets for everyone) and pet, feed, kiss and ride the dolphins 2) dolphin encounter where you stand in a small tank and pet the dolphins but no swimming 3) dolphin observer where you stay in a tiki hut in the shade and watch and you can video or take pictures from there.
You can purchase their still pictures for $10.00 or DVD for $44.00 but there is no pressure from them. They also have a gift shop and snack bar there. If you are doing dolphin encounter or swim you will wear your suit and shower before you get into the tanks and we showered afterward to get the salt water off before heading back to the ship. Hope this answers your questions please fell free to ask more.

 

[alohatee]

My 7 year old granddaughter and I did the swim with dolphins in PV in mid-June. We loved it and it was a highlight of our trip - there are 3 sections to the dolphins - 1) swim with the dolphins where you get into the 15-25 foot deep tank (life jackets for everyone) and pet, feed, kiss and ride the dolphins 2) dolphin encounter where you stand in a small tank and pet the dolphins but no swimming 3) dolphin observer where you stay in a tiki hut in the shade and watch and you can video or take pictures from there.
You can purchase their still pictures for $10.00 or DVD for $44.00 but there is no pressure from them. They also have a gift shop and snack bar there. If you are doing dolphin encounter or swim you will wear your suit and shower before you get into the tanks and we showered afterward to get the salt water off before heading back to the ship. Hope this answers your questions please fell free to ask more.

Thanks for the info on the dolphin encounter and observer shade. Was the gift shop inexpensive? Did they have key chains, refrig magnets and little trinkets that say PV?

 

[neenermom]

If either pineapple or Eeyorefan could find out for me what is in a True Colors drink (served in Animator's on color change night), I'd be so grateful. I know there's rum and think there's creme de banana, but that's all I know, and I'd love to surprise DH with one over the long weekend. It was his favorite drink of the whole cruise!

Wishing you both continued good times on your trip! We loved our trip three weeks ago. Hope your weather is good! Enjoy Mazatlan tomorrow!

Lorena

 

[jlawall]

So are you saying that the deck weather is amazing???? Thx for posting and enjoy the "second half!!"

 

[challada]

Thanks for the info on the dolphin encounter and observer shade. Was the gift shop inexpensive? Did they have key chains, refrig magnets and little trinkets that say PV?

Dolphin Swim hint: WEAR a T-shirt into the pool to protect your shoulders since you cannot wear sunscreen w/the dolphins!

Other thing...definitely hit their gift shop...I found I was the only one in the shop and their tshirts were very nice quality for a reasonable price...got DD an embroidered shirt w/dolphins for about $9 and DS an adult S w/hawaiian design of dolphins across it for about $10. Gift shop is all priced in pesos so you have to do your own math while shopping.

Also...there are two facilities for this place so be aware that one may differ from the other (part of our group was scheduled at one facility and part of our group was scheduled at the other which is down the street). Nice area and definitely walkable b/w the two.