Magic March 14 - 21..

[hopelea]

Traveling party consists of me (41), dh (42), two dd's (15 & 12)....my parents, (71)

Friday night we stayed in Orlando close to DTD. We did a little shopping.
Saturday morning we left for the port around 8:45.....had to pay a lot of tolls...probably about $3, i really don't remember. We made a quick stop at Target on Merritt island....youngest dd for her deodrant . Then off to the port. We arrived about 10:10. Drove through security and dropped off our bags. We had six bags. One had a case, yes a case of 24 bottles of water inside a rolling suitcase. It was tagged just like the rest of our luggage. The bottles of water were still in the shrink wrapped package, just like it came from the store. It was checked with the luggage and made it to our room with NO problems.

We checked in at the Castaway Club counter and recieved #6. We were really excited. We looked around and tried to sit patiently. We were allowed to board around 11:45. We skipped the boarding photo. I thought DH and I were trying to do this trip without the extras (I'll explain in a minute). So we board the ship and they call our family name!! I run to Rock'n Bar D to ask if we can be changed from late to early seating. They put us on a list and say they will leave us a message on our stateroom phone if it gets changed. So, off we go to topsiders for lunch. It was just as wonderful as I remember.
After lunch my dd's want to take off to explore.....off they go. DH and I are excited about that also because we want to explore.

DH wants to check out the fitness area which means we have to walk through the spa. This is our 3rd cruise and have never set foot in there until now. We took the tour. DH loved the rainforest room. So we ended up signing up for a week at the rainforest ($150...there goes my extras). It was wonderful. We didn't even tell my parents we had signed up for this so we could have some privacy. (we still haven't told them). It was wonderful. I stayed in the chairs most of the time. My dh loved the aromatherapy sauna & the great showers.

By this time our staterooms was ready so we took the forward elevator down to deck 1, room 1037. What a great location. I was really worried about it. In the past we have stayed on deck 6 & 7. I was worried about staying so far down, but I really loved it. It was a great location for Ocean Quest, the adult area & the spa. Would stay in that area again~

Sailaway party was great as usual. Loved our cruise director Christian. Around 5 we went to the front to watch us leave port.....5:15 we still hadn't left so we went to our stateroom to see if our luggage had been delivered yet...yes it was there and so I started unpacking.

We went to the early show because we had not recieved a call that our dinner time had changed. After the show we went to our room to change for dinner. There was a message on our phone that said, "sorry we missed you at dinner tonight, just wanted to call and remind you that you have a character breakfast at 8:15 in Parrot Cay tomorrow!" What that means is that they changed our dinner time and didn't tell us. We went to Parrot Cay and asked if they would still feed us at 8:15. They found us a table and we ate. No problems, food was still good, wait staff was ok. Next night we had 5:45 dinner seating.

 

[hopelea]

Did I mention how good the first night show was?? It was amazing. We had wonderful entertainment.

We went to bed around midnight. My dd's came in LATE!! I don't sleep well unless they are in the room. Could be the re-occuring nightmares that they are falling overboard! Anyway, when they finally come in, I can sleep.

We booked a CAT 12 GTY room and are in a CAT 10, deck 1. I was really worried about this location, but it was the best place to be, if you have to have an inside room. Yes, I would love a balcony, but I just deck 4 as my balcony.

Sunday was a Sea Day. We slept in a little, the dd's slept in a long time. DH and I had breakfast together at topsiders, outside. Then we headed off to the spa After we spent an hour in there we went to the Quiet Cove. The chair hogs were out in force. We ended up on deck 10.

Sunday night we finally met our servers. We had APLAPLA. Our servers were Dennis & Cassida. They were wonderful. We loved them. We looked forward to seeing them every day.

Monday...another wonderful sea day. Actually, I didn't feel well this day. I tried to get up and have breakfast, but just couldn't eat. So I went back to bed until around noon. DH & DD's enjoyed themselves. DH went back to the spa. At 12:30 I got up and went to watch BOLT with my DH. I was fine after that, but still didn't have an appetite.

Tuesday was much better. We arrived in St. Maarten. We booked Bernards Tours. Our tour guide was "Slim". It was a good tour. It was $35 pp. We went to a little shopping place. Didn't buy much there. Then he took us around the island. We ended up at Orient Bay Beach, "clothing optional", my dd's were a little shocked!! Then he took us to Maho Beach to watch the planes land. It was great. Next time, I just want to stay there all day.

 

[elderfam]

I am enjoying your trip report so far!

 

[frdeb1999]

Wonderful start! Looking forward to the rest!

 

[hopelea]

After our excursions we ran back to the ship to shower & changed clothes. DD ran upstairs to get some pizza for us. Then DH & I got back off the ship to explore the little shopping area at the port. We made it back in time for dinner.

The one problem we did have was that our dinner was at 545. There is always a great family show in Rock'n Bar D at 730. Well some nights our dinner wasn't finished by 7 so our dd's would skip dessert and go get chairs. They liked being in the front. My oldest dd (15) was picked to be a volunteer for Rootberry's show. She loved it.

Wednesday was St. Thomas. We didn't have an excursion planned. We got off the ship about 8:30. Just outside the gated area there are a lot of taxi's waiting. We didn't have any trouble asking to be taken to Maghen's Bay Beach. The taxi ride was $8 PP and it cost $4 for adults and children over 12 to enter the park. We rented a beach chair for $7 with a $5 deposit. It is a beautiful beach. Very calm. No waves, no seashells. Just pure beauty. It wasn't really crowded either. When we were ready to go back it was easy to get a taxi then also. Again, $8 PP back to the port. After we showered and ate more pizza, we headed out for Paradise Point sky tram. It was really pretty.

Back onboard....

Thursday was another Sea day. It was great. We enjoyed the spa again. Still haven't been able to get a comfy chair by the adult pool. (chair hogs).
We had 15 foot waves this night. I didn't start feeling anything until we were sitting in the Walt Disney theatre waiting for the show. I ran down to my room to get a motion sickness pill. The ship was rocking. I made it through the show and then went to bed. I wanted to get up early to watch us dock at Castaway Cay anyway. DD's stayed out late AGAIN.

Castaway Cay was a perfect day. I think the ship should just take us there and stay docked all week. They could still do all the shows, just let us stay a week at Castaway Cay. It would be perfect.

Okay, lets review The Stack & Ocean Quest. I feel that Ocean Quest is more geared for Boys. That is fine because boys need things to do as well. But, I have two dd's. My dd that was in OQ did have a good time. She met some good friends. She didn't hang out in OQ a lot. They found other things to do. They would join in OQ when they were doing activities that interested them. They could come and go as they please. This DD is one that will stay up as late as she can and she will go and go until she just can't go anymore.

The Stack is a great place for teens. It is a cool environment for them. My dd loved it. She met some great friends as well. The counselors will yell, "hand check" and all the kids have to hold up both hands. I think that is great and funny! Do not miss the first night....it is important to meet the other kids and they hand out cool Stack backpacks.

If you have any questions, please ask!!! I hope I have covered everything.

 

[M&M mom]

I really like your trip report so far and I am looking forward to more. Just had a question regarding the Paradise Point tram. Is it within walking distance from the port or did you take another cab and also what did you do there. What is there exactly? Another question, can you rent snorkel gear, etc. at Magen's bay and is it really crowded at that beach?
Thanks so much.

 

[hopelea]

We did walk from the ship to Paradise point. It is a short walk and it really felt good to get off the ship and stretch our legs. When we got to the top, there was a place to eat and get drinks. The food smelled wonderful. There were a few small shops and the view was wonderful.

I honestly don't know if you could rent snorkel gear at Meghan's Bay, but I wouldn't. The water is so calm. There are no seashells and almost no fish activity in that area. The beach wasn't crowded when we arrived, about 9 AM, but it did start to fill up around noon. We left around noon.

Hope that helps.

 

[kileybeth]

Hi, thanks for doing a trip report, it's great to hear about all the fun stuff on ship. We go in Sept and can't wait!

I have two teens. What can you tell me about the stack? My kiddos are
DS17 and DD14 so different gender and age. Also, I had never heard about the backpack givaway? Is this a regular thing? My DD14, the bag girl, would love this.

And did you feel like your $150 (I am assuming $75 per person) was worth it for Rainforest room?

Thanks in advance for any info you have to offer!

 

[mrstbalt]

I think that's funny you didn't tell your parents about the Rainforest Room. Good for you! Speaking of parents, my mom (62) will be joining us for her first cruise. What did you parents think of the cruise, did they feel there was plenty for them to do?

 

[hopelea]

Lets start with the Rainforest......I think that the next time we go, we will do the $15 a day. The three days in port, we didn't have enough time to get there. So, really we only used it 3 days. That would have saved us some money. It is a great place to relax. The heated tile chairs felt so good on my back. They did hurt a little on my sunburn, but it is all good!

The Stack.....the first night they get an invitation to go to the "411 at the stack". That is when they meet everyone and plan the weeks activities. They kids have a say in what is planned for the week. They had three dances one was called a Prom dance. Let me look at my navigator: Gender WArs, Craft Corner, Brains & Brawns Challenge, Hoop it up....Chillin' in the Stack, DJ Training, Wii Fitt, Spoons Tournament, Mickey Mania & Homecoming Dance. That is just one day. The are looks really cool. My oldest DD said the backpacks were handed out on the first night. She said she didn't stay late enough to get one. She really wanted one but was too afraid to ask, so Mom to the rescue. I went to the stack and asked for one. The CM said that they hand them out all week long to those that ask for them.

Parents, well, my parents have cruise 10+ times on Carnival. They feel there are more activites for them on Carnival then on Disney. They did a lot of reading and relaxing. I am sure they enjoyed themselves. They did like the night time entertainment more than Carnival, good clean family entertainment.
I think my mom misses the casinos.

Just don't miss any of the 7:30 shows in Rock'n Bar D (wave bands). Make sure to get there early to get a good seat. The shows there are wonderful.

Hope that helps.

 

[smeecanada]

Great trip report. We had wanted to be on that cruise, but couldn't get flights to work for us. So, now we're going in July.

In St. Thomas - we're thinking about doing stuff on our own. How long is the tram ride? Just trying to figure out things for timing.

 

[hopelea]

The Tram ride isn't long. I think I saw a sign that says the bucket cars return every 9 minutes. There are three cars that a hooked together that each hold 8 people. We weren't up there more than 30 minutes. We had been at the beach all morning and were tired, so we made a quick trip.

 

[smeecanada]

Thanks for the tram info. I would like to try it, if timing works out for us.
The photos I've seen taken from up there look really nice.

 

[hopelea]

I bought our tickets through DCL for $18 each. Then when we got to the ticket office it says that tickets were $21 each so we saved money by buying through DCL....I believe that would be a first

 

[DG Cruiser]

I am curious about the 7:30 Rockin' D Bar family show. We have the late seating, so there isn't another familly show we could attend??

 

[hopelea]

Yes you can and you should. Don't miss them. They are only until 8 PM. You have plenty of time to make your late seating! Get to R'nBD early and get a good seat.