Live from the Magic 2/11-2/18

[atakaratemom]

We are in Key West this morning and it is cloudy and cool with some showers, but I don't care. I am just so glad to be back on the Magic. We had a great sailaway yesterday in spite of the gray skies and threat of rain. Dinner at Parrot Cay last night was great, especially the banana bread pudding with coconut ice cream. YUM! My son is loving the new Ocean Quest area, but DD is a little sad she hasn't been to the Mickey Pool yet due to the cool weather. We have met a great group of DISers and we are all looking forward to our Martini tasting tomorrow. I'm headed off to Key West now, (with my umbrella).

 

[westjones]

Thanks for the update! I hope it gets warmer for you. We went in December a couple of years ago and I thought it was too cold to swim (but my DDs managed to get in a little swimming--I wouldn't have done it).

Have a great trip!
DJ

 

[AshAlytwins]

As the snow is falling and the wind is howling, we wish you a magical tri p!!!

 

[arica480]

I just came off the Disney Magic. I really wish I was still there despite the cloudy weather. I had such an amazing time. The Cruise staff were a blast to be around. If you have a chance to play Bingo, with Phil... he has bright yellow hair, you can't miss him, do it. He's hilarious. Tell him Arica says hi.
Also Karen the cruise director or assistant cruise director was great... pass on my hellos too if you have time.

Also if you happen to see Peter from Poland...he might be working at the fruit stand by the ice cream and he's an assistant server too... let me know...

I hope you have an MAGICAL time.
I just might share my own experience somewhere on here.
GO TO ROCKIN BAR D

Arica

 

[DisneyPinDiva]

Thanks for posting! Can't wait to hear your thoughts on the Western ports.. esp Costa Maya since they've just diverted our 3/11 Western to there. Have a Magical time and hope you have smooth sailing!

 

[atakaratemom]

Well I've always wanted to cruise to Alaska and I finally got my wish! Oh yeah, we were in Key West, it just felt like Alaska. BRRRR! We braved the cold, windy weather and went to the Mel Fisher Museum and Pirate Museum, but we didn't do as much exploring as we planned. Just too darned cold. Now being from California, I am a little wimpy about cold, but everyone was bundled up today. We made the best of it though. We found out that two other cruise ships scheduled to be here today actually didn't even try to dock, but our great captain brought us safely into port. Great dinner tonight at Lumiere's with Grand Marnier Souffle for dessert. Nuff said!! We are really rocking and rolling tonight, but I think it's kind of fun to see people wobbling about. Tomorrow is our first sea day and we are looking forward to our brunch at Palo. I hope we see the sun!

 

[WDWLVR]

Thanks for checking in. I love live reports from the ship!

 

[1stTimeDisneyCruiser]

Here's hoping for some sunny skies for you today!

You're on the same dining rotation we were on last week. Who are your servers? We had Wilson and Nicoleta at table 63, they were fabulous!!

Here's to smooth sailing!

Laura

 

[Hillbeans]

My brother, SIL and kids are on the cruise along with you....hope you're having a great time!!

They missed 2 feet of snow back in NJ, so even though it's cold in Key West, it's still warmer than it is here!!!

 

[atakaratemom]

We finally got a little bit of sun today after a very rough night. Lots of seasick people this morning. The seas are better now, but it is still windy which has caused several excursions to be cancelled for Grand Cayman tomorrow, including our Rum Point Beach excursion. We had a nice day with brunch at Palo, excellent as always. Our server at Palo was Gemma, and we have Deepak and Ruel on our dinner rotation. They are all great! Met up with fellow DISers at a Martini tasting which was very fun. Hoping for good weather tomorrow in Grand Cayman!!

 

[atakaratemom]

The weather continues to be a challenge. We've enjoyed more sun and warmer temps, but the wind and rough seas caused the cancellations of our excursions in Grand Cayman and Costa Maya. Though it's disappointing, we've enjoyed our days in port on the Magic and had fun hanging out at the pool. Did some shopping at the port in Costa Maya today and we are looking forward to Pirate Night tonight. Our hopes are now for a great day at Castaway Cay. I've just got to get to a beach at some point during this trip!

 

[dlf246]

but the wind and rough seas caused the cancellations of our excursions in Grand Cayman and Costa Maya.

Atakaratemom: Thank you for the trip reports! Did you notice if people who had booked Chacoben ruins excursion privately also had their excursions cancelled?

 

[rottie110]

Hope your weather improves, we are getting on when you are getting off, Hope you get some pixie dust for CC....

 

[yachtsea]

I am so thrilled for you. I know that you must be so excited to be only three days away from your first Disney cruise. I recommend that you savor every single minute. I was on the 2/4 cruise and we had the greatest time. I put my new Mickey key chain on my keys today. Now when I look at it I think about when I was in the ship store buying it.

I hope that you have the best time ever.

 

[ddavis860]

Hi

We were on the 1/28 Magic Western . We had the best time! When we were in guest services cashing traveler's checks, DH asked what the number was that they were putting on all the checks. We were told it was #498 Cruise for the Magic. That means you guys are on #500 . I was wondering if anything is being said to the passengers about this big event? When we asked the CM he said that he didn't know what was going to be done, but that something was being planned. Maybe it is just for the CM's? We would love to know!

I hope that CC is great for you! Enjoy the rest of your cruise!

Sending to give you smooth seas!

 

[@GoofyNut]

Hope you are having a "Magical" time. Just wondering if they did anything special at the Dinner for Valentine's Day or did you get a card from the Disney Characters?

 

[atakaratemom]

We just got home and of course it is cold and rainy here in Southern CA. I guess the bad weather is following us around because it was absolutely beautiful tody in Port Canaveral. The sun was shining and it was warm just in time for us to say Goodbye to the Magic. How depressing! I noticed the post about ours being the 500th cruise and I am surprised that it was never mentioned. I guess our special prize for the 500th cruise was cold weather!!
We had a truly wonderful time, but I would be less than truthful if I didn't say that the weather was a disappointment. I really feel for the people who were fleeing the snow for a warm Caribbean vacation, because the sun was in fairly short supply and the cold wind was plentiful. That being said, who can not have a good time just being on the Magic. We loved every minute on the ship and even though our excursions were cancelled in two ports, we made the most of staying on board when it was less crowded. I just feel that with the weather we had, we were extremely lucky to be able to make it to every port on our intinerary. I know that several other cruise ships traveling the same route missed at least one or more ports. We had a nice day at sea on Thursday with a little more sun, although still very windy. Castaway Cay was everything I was expecting and more. What a beautiful place! The weather was cool and cloudy most of the day with some scattered showers, but it warmed up enough to allow us to enjoy the day. The water was cold, but not nearly as cold as the ocean here on the West Coast, so we did not hestitate to jump in and have a great time. I will post a detailed trip report in the next day or two, but I think I speak for most of my shipmates when I say that a week on the Magic, even with poor weather, still exceeds all expectations.

 

[atakaratemom]

Atakaratemom: Thank you for the trip reports! Did you notice if people who had booked Chacoben ruins excursion privately also had their excursions cancelled?

None of the excursions to the ruins were cancelled. We know people who booked directly and others who booked through DCL and all were able to go and had wonderful things to say. The excursions that were cancelled in Grand Cayman and Costa Maya were all water excursions. It was very windy and the sea conditions were not good, so it was just not safe for snorkeling or boating. Our Rum Point excursion was cancelled because the ferry that takes you there could not run and in Costa Maya, our Catamaran Sail and Snorkel was cancelled due to the rough, windy conditions. Land based tours and excursions all seemed to be fine.

 

[atakaratemom]

Hope you are having a "Magical" time. Just wondering if they did anything special at the Dinner for Valentine's Day or did you get a card from the Disney Characters?

We dined in Palo on Valentine's Day and they had a special Valentine's chocolate heart that came with our souffle. The Shutters photos for that evening had special Valentine's borders. Also, there was a stand outside of the gift shops that was preparing individual Valentine's gift baskets.

 

[NoFussRuss]

Hi
That means you guys are on #500 .

Mary - I just realized you kept an update of the trip - nice job! I don't know how you found time to get online? I managed to get about 20 minutes on-line time for the entire week and I had to do it before the kids woke up! (And I think the boat uses 14k modems - boy did they seem slow!)

I did realize that we were on the #500 trip, but not until I got home. I found it on my tip receipt for the servers/hostess, it states Voyage 500 - Feb. 11, 2006 to Feb 18, 2006. That was the only mention, I saw, what trip number it was.

As for the weather, yes it was not that great - windy, cool, cloudy - but we always had hope since almost every morning we woke to sunny blue skys, only to have the winds pick up, clouds roll in, and temps drop. My kids were able to swim everyday, but I only found myself getting wet in the hot tub! And then running to put on my sweatshirt. At night we would get a nice sunset and once again hope for the next day for nice weather.

As I am assembling my photo album now, you could be fooled since many of the pictures show the sun shining (except for Key West) and blue skies in the back ground. The photos from Castaway Cay show perfect blue skies - until we got to the beach then it got grey, windy and misty.

Well - time to count the days till next cruise now! 380 Rum Runners on the wall, 380 Rum Runners ...........