SHORT VERSION
We had a great time, except for one short illness for our kids caused by the sugar-free snacks at the theater (posted separately). The only excursion we did was the Dolphin thing in Cabo, which was excellent. The weather was great, although a little too humid for our liking in Mexico. The sea days were mostly perfect (first one a little cool, but next two in the mid 70s. All the food was great. The service was great.
LONG VERSION
This was our 2nd Magic trip. First was W.Carribbean, New Year's 06-07. It was me, DW, DD9, DS5. We brought along another family, with two girls, 8 and 5. (She was actually 4y11mo, but they let her go as a 5-yo for OC so she could be with our son.)
EMBARKATION: Embarkation went really smoothly. We arrived to the port by car (we had spent the night before in LA) at around 10 and had no line at all to check in. We just had to wait for our boarding group. We were on the ship by 11:45. We were the first ones up to the pool, and the kids were the first of the cruise to use the mickey slide. DS5 got the first hot dog from Mickey Doghouse!
DINING: Our servers (Romeo and Dario) were great. We also ran into the servers from our last cruise, and they seemed to remember us (or at least faked it good.) We got some special orders each night for DS5, who is a very picky eater. They got him a grilled cheese or hot dog, even though neither were on the menu. They also delivered a whole plate full of crackers for the kids. Our group got the cheaper wine package, which we all enjoyed. The wines tasted fine to me, but I'm not an expert. The character breakfast was better than I remembered. All the characters came to the table and posed for pictures.
ROOM: We had a Cat 5 room on Deck 7. Friends had Cat 6 on Deck 6. Their room seemed exactly the same as ours, so I'm not what we got for the extra money except being one level higher. Next time we'll def get Cat 6. The verandah was awesome. I don't think I'd be able to cruise without one now. We brought along one of those door shoe organizers and it really helped. We had all the pockets full. All of our luggage fit under the bet or on the shelf at the top of the closet. We had the bunk beds for the kids out all the time, because that's what they wanted. (TIP: The guard on the top bunk rattles when the ship is moving. To quiet it, wrap kleenex around the base. You'll understand when you see it. Also, if you want to keep the closet open for a nightlight, but don't want the door sliding back and forth, stick a wash cloth between the doors. Later in the trip we decided a better night light was the verandah light.) We also brought some magnetic metal hooks for the door. They proved to be great for hanging lanyards. The bed was very comfortable.
SHOWS: I don't really care for the shows. I don't like musicals. The kids liked them all though. The shows were mostly the same as before. The best entertainers were Jeff Civilico, who juggles and does physical comedy, and a comedian named Friesen (I forget his first name). I didn't see the guys who came on for the last part of the cruise, a ventriloquist and a singer. We saw Wall-E and I liked it. I don't think it was the best Pixar movie, as some have said, but it was good.
CABO: We did the Dolphin Swim for the two dads and the two older kids, and the Dolphin Kids for the two little ones. Both were great. I was worried that the water would be too cold. It was a little uncomfortable at first, but not really an issue. The program was very well run, and you spent a good 30-40 mins in the water with teh dolphins. On the swim, we were 8 ppl to a dolphin, and we each took turns doing the activities. The kids seemed to also do a lot of stuff. It was about 8-10 kids per dolphin there too. The kids did get a short swim on the dolphin, which surprised me. They held on to the dolphin's tummy while he swam upside down in a small circle. The bigger kids rode the dolphin about 75 feet. The dolphin center was literally a 5-minute walk from the tender dock, so very convenient. It was very clean and safe. We didn't venture beyond that in Cabo. We got right back on the ship. We had the 8:45 a.m. meeting time for the excursion. We were off the ship at 9:30, in the water at 10:15ish, out of the water at 11ish, and back on the ship at noon. The longest part was waiting for the photos (waaaaay overpriced, but still a must-buy, I think.)
MAZATLAN: Opened the verandah window in the morning, took one look out, and decided we had no desire to get off the ship. It looked like a poor, industrial area. I'm sure there were nicer places elsewhere, but we preferred to stay on the ship anyway. Our friends went ashore to shop and came back after an hour or so, because they weren't impressed. It was hot and humid there.
PUERTO VALLARTA: We weren't planning to get off, but we figured we'd give this one a try. We left DS5 in the OC and took DD9 for an "adventure." Got in a cab and went to the center of the shopping district (Go to the seahorse statue, the info sheet said.) We walked around for 45 mins and had enough. It was not impressive. Got a cab and returned to the ship. Turns out we could have just walked to the area just to the right of the ship (as you walk out) and done our token souvenir shopping there. Very hot and humid there too.
THE GOOFY GUMMY INCIDENT: Three of the four kids in our group ate most of a bag of sugar-free Goofy Gummies from Preludes, and all three got sick. First got a tummy ache at dinner and went back to the room, where she eventually had diarrhea. Second was a little unhappy at dinner, and then just puked at the table. Third went to the OC, where he got diarrhea. Unfortunately, since he was at the OC when he got sick, he ended up being temporarily banned from the clubs until he was diarrhea-free for 24 hours. Since he had no other symptoms or discomfort, we (and the nurse) were pretty sure it was the gummies and not a virus, but I understand perfectly why they had to be sure. Anyway, his illness caused my wife to have to miss our group's Palo dinner to stay in the room with him. (She insisted I go because I had been with the kids while she did a few spa treatments earlier.) Fortunately, at Palo I explained the situation to the maitre'D and he got another ressie, just for the two of us, the next night. Big thumbs up to Palo! The food and service there was outstanding.
KIDS CLUBS: Our kids really didn't use the clubs as much as last time, or as much as I'd hoped. On the first day, they took the 8-10s up to the Stack and then the sports deck, which our 8-9yo daughters did not like at all. I think that soured them on the clubs for the whole week. I ran into cruise director Christian and I told him on the first day they should keep the kids close to their "home base" (Lab for 8-10s, club for 3-7s). It looked like they had a lot of great activities, though, and for the most part, whenever our kids went, they had a good time. They were also great with handling DS5's nut allergy. I guess if I had one complaint about the clubs, it would be that they should have the option of just staying in the club/lab and having free time if they prefer that to doing whatever the organized activity is. I understand that's probably a staffing issue (can't take one group to the sports deck and still staff the lab), but maybe they can figure it out.
Well, can't think of anything else for now.
Happy to answer any questions.
We had a great time, except for one short illness for our kids caused by the sugar-free snacks at the theater (posted separately). The only excursion we did was the Dolphin thing in Cabo, which was excellent. The weather was great, although a little too humid for our liking in Mexico. The sea days were mostly perfect (first one a little cool, but next two in the mid 70s. All the food was great. The service was great.
LONG VERSION
This was our 2nd Magic trip. First was W.Carribbean, New Year's 06-07. It was me, DW, DD9, DS5. We brought along another family, with two girls, 8 and 5. (She was actually 4y11mo, but they let her go as a 5-yo for OC so she could be with our son.)
EMBARKATION: Embarkation went really smoothly. We arrived to the port by car (we had spent the night before in LA) at around 10 and had no line at all to check in. We just had to wait for our boarding group. We were on the ship by 11:45. We were the first ones up to the pool, and the kids were the first of the cruise to use the mickey slide. DS5 got the first hot dog from Mickey Doghouse!
DINING: Our servers (Romeo and Dario) were great. We also ran into the servers from our last cruise, and they seemed to remember us (or at least faked it good.) We got some special orders each night for DS5, who is a very picky eater. They got him a grilled cheese or hot dog, even though neither were on the menu. They also delivered a whole plate full of crackers for the kids. Our group got the cheaper wine package, which we all enjoyed. The wines tasted fine to me, but I'm not an expert. The character breakfast was better than I remembered. All the characters came to the table and posed for pictures.
ROOM: We had a Cat 5 room on Deck 7. Friends had Cat 6 on Deck 6. Their room seemed exactly the same as ours, so I'm not what we got for the extra money except being one level higher. Next time we'll def get Cat 6. The verandah was awesome. I don't think I'd be able to cruise without one now. We brought along one of those door shoe organizers and it really helped. We had all the pockets full. All of our luggage fit under the bet or on the shelf at the top of the closet. We had the bunk beds for the kids out all the time, because that's what they wanted. (TIP: The guard on the top bunk rattles when the ship is moving. To quiet it, wrap kleenex around the base. You'll understand when you see it. Also, if you want to keep the closet open for a nightlight, but don't want the door sliding back and forth, stick a wash cloth between the doors. Later in the trip we decided a better night light was the verandah light.) We also brought some magnetic metal hooks for the door. They proved to be great for hanging lanyards. The bed was very comfortable.
SHOWS: I don't really care for the shows. I don't like musicals. The kids liked them all though. The shows were mostly the same as before. The best entertainers were Jeff Civilico, who juggles and does physical comedy, and a comedian named Friesen (I forget his first name). I didn't see the guys who came on for the last part of the cruise, a ventriloquist and a singer. We saw Wall-E and I liked it. I don't think it was the best Pixar movie, as some have said, but it was good.
CABO: We did the Dolphin Swim for the two dads and the two older kids, and the Dolphin Kids for the two little ones. Both were great. I was worried that the water would be too cold. It was a little uncomfortable at first, but not really an issue. The program was very well run, and you spent a good 30-40 mins in the water with teh dolphins. On the swim, we were 8 ppl to a dolphin, and we each took turns doing the activities. The kids seemed to also do a lot of stuff. It was about 8-10 kids per dolphin there too. The kids did get a short swim on the dolphin, which surprised me. They held on to the dolphin's tummy while he swam upside down in a small circle. The bigger kids rode the dolphin about 75 feet. The dolphin center was literally a 5-minute walk from the tender dock, so very convenient. It was very clean and safe. We didn't venture beyond that in Cabo. We got right back on the ship. We had the 8:45 a.m. meeting time for the excursion. We were off the ship at 9:30, in the water at 10:15ish, out of the water at 11ish, and back on the ship at noon. The longest part was waiting for the photos (waaaaay overpriced, but still a must-buy, I think.)
MAZATLAN: Opened the verandah window in the morning, took one look out, and decided we had no desire to get off the ship. It looked like a poor, industrial area. I'm sure there were nicer places elsewhere, but we preferred to stay on the ship anyway. Our friends went ashore to shop and came back after an hour or so, because they weren't impressed. It was hot and humid there.
PUERTO VALLARTA: We weren't planning to get off, but we figured we'd give this one a try. We left DS5 in the OC and took DD9 for an "adventure." Got in a cab and went to the center of the shopping district (Go to the seahorse statue, the info sheet said.) We walked around for 45 mins and had enough. It was not impressive. Got a cab and returned to the ship. Turns out we could have just walked to the area just to the right of the ship (as you walk out) and done our token souvenir shopping there. Very hot and humid there too.
THE GOOFY GUMMY INCIDENT: Three of the four kids in our group ate most of a bag of sugar-free Goofy Gummies from Preludes, and all three got sick. First got a tummy ache at dinner and went back to the room, where she eventually had diarrhea. Second was a little unhappy at dinner, and then just puked at the table. Third went to the OC, where he got diarrhea. Unfortunately, since he was at the OC when he got sick, he ended up being temporarily banned from the clubs until he was diarrhea-free for 24 hours. Since he had no other symptoms or discomfort, we (and the nurse) were pretty sure it was the gummies and not a virus, but I understand perfectly why they had to be sure. Anyway, his illness caused my wife to have to miss our group's Palo dinner to stay in the room with him. (She insisted I go because I had been with the kids while she did a few spa treatments earlier.) Fortunately, at Palo I explained the situation to the maitre'D and he got another ressie, just for the two of us, the next night. Big thumbs up to Palo! The food and service there was outstanding.
KIDS CLUBS: Our kids really didn't use the clubs as much as last time, or as much as I'd hoped. On the first day, they took the 8-10s up to the Stack and then the sports deck, which our 8-9yo daughters did not like at all. I think that soured them on the clubs for the whole week. I ran into cruise director Christian and I told him on the first day they should keep the kids close to their "home base" (Lab for 8-10s, club for 3-7s). It looked like they had a lot of great activities, though, and for the most part, whenever our kids went, they had a good time. They were also great with handling DS5's nut allergy. I guess if I had one complaint about the clubs, it would be that they should have the option of just staying in the club/lab and having free time if they prefer that to doing whatever the organized activity is. I understand that's probably a staffing issue (can't take one group to the sports deck and still staff the lab), but maybe they can figure it out.
Well, can't think of anything else for now.
Happy to answer any questions.
I was mostly noticing how over/underdressed I was compared with other men.
I love when I can experience something so totally different than my own life. We did Randi's happy horses in Mazatlan. We first went to this ladies house. I am not kidding, I have NEVER seen anything like it in my life. But, what an amazing family. It is all they know, and I appreciate the fact that she let me in her home, and let me take pictures. I will treasure it always. I would go back in a minute. We sat on the beach, and ate shrimp, and drank beers. It was my favorite day
