Live from Thanksgiving Magic

Aloha! We hear the Disney folks will have a special suprise for us when we pull into Castaway Cay tomorrow. 75 employees have been working all week to decorate the beaches for Christmas. Can you imagine....Snow on the beach? If it is spectacular we will post pictures when we get home.
Happy Thanksgiving everyone. Keoni
 
The Magic was decorated on the 11/15 Eastern. Very beautiful too!!! Not overly done, but very elegant. The tree in the atrium was amazing!!! I asked if anything else was going to be done and the CM told me that everything was out for Christmas. It made for great pictures in front of the tree with the Characters. ::MickeyMo
 
Wow - they decorated the beach this year???
We were there in December last year and there weren't any decorations.

Lucky you! Yes, get lots of pictures!

Rae
 
I'm glad to hear that the Magic is decorated for Christmas already! Hopefully that means it will be decorated by the Thanksgiving cruise next year too!

I'd love it if when you get back and have time you could post the Thanksgiving menu. Was Thanksgiving 1 of the formal nights?

Cheryl
 

Boy did we luck out at CC on Friday! Besides the regular menu we also had Lobster! Can you believe it????? WOW But I figured out why. We had a VIP on board the cruise. Perhaps they were trying to impress him? Anyway it was GREAT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Keoni

Typing this from a Hampton Inn somewhere in NC
 
Or too many left over from the Thursday Night dinner!!!!

Who was the VIP by the way?

Rae
 
Rae - we cruised the Saturday after Thanksgiving in 2001 and the ship was decorated. What was cool was the ginerbread house they were building in the little alcove under the stairs between Lumiere's and the Promenade Lounge. We got to watch it develop throughout the week until its competion.
 
Sandy - it was complete when we arrived for our cruise last December - I bet it was fun to watch them build it. Years ago my children and I attempted to make one - my skill was lacking but their creativity made it a successful project, at least in our eyes!!!!

Have a happy holiday!

Rae
 
So sorry, got busy and didn't get to post. Just got home a little while ago. I will post the Thanksgiving menu. We were not able to order off the Captain's Gala menu, they changed it to a full Thanksgiving menu this year. My step father really wanted lobster but he had 2 on CC on Friday. It was a magical trip!

Saturday the 22nd. Got there about 1:15 or 1:30, got my brunch ressies dropped off the luggage, missed the Parrot Cay lunch but went to Topsiders. (We really hated the embarkation buffet on the Wonder in April, was scared, really wanted Parrot Cay). It was absolutely fabulous! We had early seating, PLAPLAP. We had Navneet from India and Daniella from Romania(I think). Navneet was wonderful! Daniella was nice, but I think she was shy but got better by the end of the cruise. She was good but not as good as Lisa on the Wonder. I had the ribs, my favorite!

We didn't see much shows, our girls pooped out every night after dinner. Did see Darren Romeo, wasn't impressed at first but ended up loving the show. His impressions are out of this world.

Samuel from Costa Rica was our Room steward and he is fabulous. We had rooms 7528 and 7530, connecting. We had the door open all the time, but I didn't think they were noisy at all. We couldn't hear them with the door open unless they were right at the door. Bungee cords work much better than duct tape.

We had some rocking but not much at all. We had 8 of us and no one got sick. Last night felt like a freight train with all the shaking and rattling. Went out on the verandah and the wind almost knocked you overboard!

The 2 teens loved the stack, were there every moment we let them. Our foster child for the week was a wild child, sorry if anyone's teen age boys met her!

Regarding the 2 CC days, it was great. I have no interest in Key West, sorry, that is why I booked this one. They tried to mix it up so we wouldn't have the same day twice. Sunday, we had ribs, etc but no lobster(not that I saw). Friday, no ribs(I wasn't happy) but they had BBQ Pork Chops and lobster. Sunday, it was normal CC, Friday, they had turned it into a winter wonderland(If I wanted that, I would have stayed home!) but it was really cool. They had the Christmas tree up and snowmen statues when you came off the ship and they had bubble snow!!!!! All the workers either had scarfs or red stocking hats on. The tram was decorated like a reindeer. In addition to the signs saying how many miles to DW and such, there was one saying how far it was to the North Pole. Lots of Christmas decorations. And the best is the Carribean Christmas music. They had the 12 days of Christmas and we couldn't make out all the days but it was really cool. The drink of the day on Friday was the Snowflakes and this drink is the best I have ever had. The girls had non alcoholic ones and loved them too. I did try the Konk cooler as well, it was the special on Sunday. We have lots of pictures of the decorations if I can figure out how to post them. Then after everyone boarded, they had the Island tree lighting. You could view it from decks 4, 9, and 10 or if you had a verandah or porthole room on the port side. They had the captain, Mickey and a Make a Wish child out there lighting it, really cool!

The best thing about the whole trip, Chocolate Lava Cake!!!! I had 2! We did have brunch at Palos and we are not into fancy restaurants but this was great, tons of food, Kristian was great. Really enjoyed it.

We sent half of our luggage home with mom(she was driving) so I don't have the Thanksgiving menu here, but I will post it as soon as she gets here in a day or two. They had pumpkin cheesecake that the girls loved!

We did the Stingrays at Grand Cayman and the Dolphin Encounter at Cozumel. Also, my husband and I took the two teenagers on the Nature & Kayak excursion at CC and it counted for a biology homework. It was awesome, I highly recommend it. I am not in the best shape and I made out fine. Ricky was our guide and he is fantastic and really went out of his way to point out things and repeat for the girls so they could write it down. You start out walking down the bike path and it takes about 40 minutes because you stop and look at things alot, then you take a kayak to the other side of CC and spend about 30 minutes exploring at the private beach. We found all kinds of things, starfish, Florida Horse Konk, stingrays, spiny sea urchent, sea biscuits, sharks and much more. Then you take the kayaks back and then walk back which is about a 20 minute walk back. Really cool!
 
Sorry, my fingers slipped, sorry that was so long. Will post more later when I get time. The weather was absolutely perfect.
 
Tiffany, it sounds like you had a great time. I am getting sooooo excited for our Thanksgiving cruise in what is now less than a year! I'll watch for the thanksgiving menu, thanks for posting it when your mom gets back!

Cheryl:bounce:
 
The CC excursion sounds pretty good, thx for sharing the highlights!!!
 
mitcam:, I'll have to check the name but it was the new VP of Entertainment. I took his picture while he was filming a commericial at CC on Friday.

Keoni
 
Originally posted by vgaskin
Also, my husband and I took the two teenagers on the Nature & Kayak excursion at CC and it counted for a biology homework. It was awesome, I highly recommend it. I am not in the best shape and I made out fine. Ricky was our guide and he is fantastic and really went out of his way to point out things and repeat for the girls so they could write it down. You start out walking down the bike path and it takes about 40 minutes because you stop and look at things alot, then you take a kayak to the other side of CC and spend about 30 minutes exploring at the private beach. We found all kinds of things, starfish, Florida Horse Konk, stingrays, spiny sea urchent, sea biscuits, sharks and much more. Then you take the kayaks back and then walk back which is about a 20 minute walk back. Really cool!

Thank you for telling us about that. We are often at a loss at what to do at CC after a few visits, so this would just fit in perfectly for all of us. And yes, biology field trip does count in our curriculum!!!

Thanks, ever so much!!!!

Rae
 
WE just returned from the Disney Magic Thanksgiving cruise and it was the best most enjoyable vacation my family and I ever had.

Two days at CC was fantastic we live in FL near FT Lauderdale and I have not been to Key West in ten years. CC is much much better than Key West.

Christmas decorations both inside ship and CC were fantastic.

We had cabin 8050 on port side, the weather was fantastic.

In Grand Cayman we did the Atlantis submarine which takes you 100' below surface got to see some awsome coral and colorful fish, stingrays and turtles.

In Cozumel we did the PLaya del Sol great beach lots of activities, it included lunch buffet and open bar.

My family and I had taken the Disney Magic last November the week before Thanksgiving going to the Eastern Caribbean but we enjoy the Thanksgiving cruise alot more.

The head server and assistant server we had this year were not bad but not as good as the ones we had last year.

The only complaint I had was that my wife and I brought our own wine and would bring it to dinner knowing that they charge you a corking fee however last year the corking fee was $5.00 this year it went up to $15.00. I guess they are trying to push you to buy their wine package. We met a couple on the cruise who got the wine package and a couple of nights they wanted to order Pinot Grigio and were told that they had run out.

My five year old son had a wonderful time he was even one of CHI CHIs boyfriend at Bingo. BTW you must at least play Bingo the last day the final pot was almost $7,000.00.

The water temperature in CC must be around 80F it feels a little bit cold when you first jump in but after a few minutes it is fine.

Dr Guava
 
I am not talented enough to scan it in for you, but here is what was on the menu for Thanksgiving.

Specialty Cocktails
Cosmopolitan
Melon Ball
Pilgrims Punch - Southern comfort, triple sec, sprite and a splash of cranberry juice. (These were very good)

Chef's Recommendations
Grilled Shrimp
New England Clam Chowder
Oven Roasted Young Tom Turkey
Pumpkin Cheesecake

Appetizers
Baked Clams with tomato-garlic butter
Grilled shrimp with fresh herbs, garlic, and roasted red peppers
Grilled Vegetables and Beef Prosciutto with green tomato sauce(veggies were good but didn't care for the beef)
Fresh Fruit Cocktail with Orange Blossom Honey(excellent)

Soups and Salads
New England Clam Chowder
Chilled Tomato Consomme' with Baby vegetables
Garden fresh salad with tomato chips and balsamic dressing
Californian Mixed Salad leaves with crispy smoked duck strips and toasted pine nuts

Bread Service
Semolina Loaf

Main Course
Honey Glazed Baked Virginia Ham - served with sweet corn cakes, roasted red skin potatoes, whole green bean on a rich madeira sauce (huge portion, pretty good)

Oven Roasted Young Tom Turkey - with bread fruit stuffing, sweet mashed potatoes, green peas, pan-roasted juices and freshly made cranberry relish(very good especially the stuffing and mashed potatoes, mom & I got each of the above and split)

Pan-fried Halibut - with roasted potatoes, grilled zucchini and tomato sauce

Mustard rubbed tender prime rib of beef au jus - with double baked potato, glazed carrots and buttered broccoli florets

Fettuccini with seared sea scallops - in a champagne cream sauce

Lighter Fare
Roasted Chicken breast
Grilled Sirloin Steak
Baked Salmon Steak

Vegetarian Selections
Eggplant Parmigiana
Blue cheese and asparagus risotto served with celery and roasted walnut loaf

Desserts
Pumpkin cheesecake with fresh berry sauce(kids loved)

Warm Apple Pie with vanilla Ice cream

Cherries Jubilee with vanilla ice cream; flambeed by your head server in the dining room

Warm Chocolate lava cake with a double chocolate sauce(pure heaven, I had 2)

Ice Cream Sundae served with mango ice cream, with a coconut macarron and coconut rum cream

No sugar added desserts
Chocolate cheesecake with chocolate sauce
Assorted sugar free ice cream
Apple Pie a la mode
 
Tiffany, Thank you so much for taking the time to type in and post the whole menu!!!!!!! I didn't think they would have so much to choose from on Thanksgiving, wow. Everything sounds delicious. I am really getting excited for our cruise and it will be soooo nice not to have to cook dinner for 21 people next Thanksgiving!

Thanks again!!!!!

Cheryl:wave2:
 

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