November 24, 2012 Magic

[CALIFLADY]

Only 15 weeks from this Saturday before we board the beautiful Magic!

...but you're not really counting...

Okay, the more I look at the Palo lunch buffet, the more I'm tempted to book one of those. Maybe not dinner at Palo, but lunch...

 

[JanDave]

Renee, I prefer brunch rather than dinner at Palo. Palo is on Deck 10 aft and at brunch you will have great views of the ocean.

If you are unable to secure a brunch reservation prior to boarding, you can go to Rockin Bar D at approximately starting at 1pm on the day we board to get a reservation or at least get on the cancel list. DCL does not release all availability for Palo online.

Jan

 

[wickedpixie13]

Hello! Just wanted to say hi and how excited I am for this cruise! My dad, stepmom, husband, and two girls (5 and 1) are joining me on the Nov 24 cruise. My family cruised with DCL the first time in Alaska last year, but we (especially me!) are all big Disney fans! My dad and stepmom have never cruised before. Nice to meet some others joining us on the cruise!

Julie

 

[JanDave]

Welcome Julie and Family!!!

I'm sure you had a great cruise when you sailed to Alaska. Was it on the Disney Wonder?

We, too, have some in our group of 12 who have never cruised before. We are all looking forward to it. My personal benefit is that I get spend about 8 days with 2 of my 6 grandchildren plus one extra precious little girl!

Jan

 

[JanDave]

Taking some to-do things off the list for our cruise:

We bought airline tickets on Southwest; we're flying from Detroit on November 23.

We booked a room at the Marriott South in Houston for the night before the cruise.

We purchased round trip transfers through DCL.

Palo brunch and dinner reservations made.

Costa Maya - we found a non-Disney beach excursion on our own.



Need to do:

Get coupon for Detroit airport parking.

Contact USPS to hold mail and cancel newspapers.

Decide what to do when docked at Cozumel and Grand Cayman.

Remind boss that I will be gone.

Pack!

Prepare for lots of fun and laughs!

Jan

 

[Yorkiegurl]

Hi Jan and fellow cruisers!!! Jan, we're from Michigan too! We live just North of Lansing in St. Johns. My husband, myself and our two daughters will be joining you on the Nov. 24th Magic sailing. We are SO excited as this is our first Disney Cruise!! I was wondering if the ship would be decorated for Christmas....so glad to hear that it will be. I imagine it will be spectacular!

Let the planning begin!!!!

Chellie, Wayne, Madisyn (12) and Ana Laura (9)

Hi Renee, you will see lots of multi-generational families on board, and we'll be one of them! By the way, all of us are from Michigan.

Only 15 weeks from this Saturday before we board the beautiful Magic!

Jan

 

[JanDave]

Hi Jan and fellow cruisers!!! Jan, we're from Michigan too! We live just North of Lansing in St. Johns. My husband, myself and our two daughters will be joining you on the Nov. 24th Magic sailing. We are SO excited as this is our first Disney Cruise!! I was wondering if the ship would be decorated for Christmas....so glad to hear that it will be. I imagine it will be spectacular!

Let the planning begin!!!!

Chellie, Wayne, Madisyn (12) and Ana Laura (9)

Welcome Chellie and Family!!! We are practically neighbors - we live in Williamston - about a half hour from one another. The rest of our family/friends cruising with us live in the Detroit area.

Yep, the ship will be decorated for Christmas. It is beautiful. I especially like the gingerbread house which will be on display in or near the Promenade Lounge on deck 3 midship.

Are you flying out of Lansing, Grand Rapids or Detroit? We just purchased tickets from Southwest out of Detroit to Houston Hobby Airport. We're flying the afternoon of the 23rd. We booked DCL transportation to/from Galveston.

The girls cruising with us are 10, 8 and 7.

Jan

 

[Yorkiegurl]

I haven't booked our airfare yet....still looking for the best price. So far, flying out of Flint seems to be the cheapest. We plan on flying out on the 22nd (after Thanksgiving dinner LOL!!) or the 23rd. We'll probably stay closer to the port on Galveston Island.

We def. have to meet up Jan so we can introduce the kids!! My youngest, Ana age nine, is excited about the kids program. My oldest, Madisyn age 12, is a little nervous about the whole idea. I think that once we get there though, she will lighten up a bit. She makes friends very easily!!

Are your rooms already assigned?? We're staying on deck 7 - inside room - and we have early dining.

Chellie

Welcome Chellie and Family!!! We are practically neighbors - we live in Williamston - about a half hour from one another. The rest of our family/friends cruising with us live in the Detroit area.

Yep, the ship will be decorated for Christmas. It is beautiful. I especially like the gingerbread house which will be on display in or near the Promenade Lounge on deck 3 midship.

Are you flying out of Lansing, Grand Rapids or Detroit? We just purchased tickets from Southwest out of Detroit to Houston Hobby Airport. We're flying the afternoon of the 23rd. We booked DCL transportation to/from Galveston.

The girls crusing with us are 10, 8 and 7.

Jan

 

[JanDave]

Chellie, our group is on 5 forward. The stateroom Dave, Carla and I are in is called a secret porthole - it has some obstruction from the lifeboats on deck 4, so DCL considers it an obstructive porthole and we're charged for a deluxe inside rather than an oceanview. There are 6 of those staterooms on the Magic and Wonder, all on 5 forward.

We, too, have early dining. Late dining doesn't work for us, at all. I'm one of those DCL cruisers who puts in a request for a dining server. Genesis has been our server for several years whenever we are on the Magic. He told me that he'll be on the ship for our cruise.

Oh, forgot, aside from the ship being decorated, you will hear Christmas music throughout the ship, as well. The music is different in each section of the ship - forward, midship and aft. You'll notice that as you walk down a deck from forward to aft, etc.

There's a huge Christmas tree in the atrium which is a great photo op.

Your girls will probably do well in the clubs. It may work for your 12 year old if she goes for short periods of time.

Are you planning to book Palo for brunch or dinner? If so, don't get discouraged if you don't get a reservation online pre-cruise. DCL doesn't release all available reservations pre-cruise. You can go to Rockin Bar D (3 forward), unless they change the location and I always ask when checking in, beginning at 1pm on the day we board to secure a reservation. Just a suggestion, if you need to secure a reservation on board, go as early as possible that day to get a reservation.

Houston and Galveston are not as cruise friendly as Orlando and Cape Canaveral. There are only a couple of rental car companies in Galveston and I understand they don't have shuttles to port. This time we decided to stay in Houston and use DCL transportation to/from port.

We saw the low priced fares from Flint, however, we had money in our account with Southwest to use up and Southwest doesn't fly out of Flint. I like the Flint airport - easy parking, less people, less walking.

Jan

 

[JanDave]

Ok November 24 cruisers, aside from Chellie suggesting that we meet, I've received a PM about this too. If anyone is interested in a DIS meet, here is my suggestion:

On the day we board, we can meet at the Promenade Lounge on deck 3 midship. Promenade Lounge works well for many reasons - weather, restrooms, bar is open, not crowded. A good time to meet is at 3:00 pm before the mandatory life boat drill. By 3:40 pm or so, the bars, food on deck 9, coffee shop, and pools close down in order to get ready for the drill.

Jan

 

[wickedpixie13]

Ughh! Christmas music all over? Sigh. I'm rather Scroogish and usually only start Christmas stuff on December 1. I guess I can make an exceeption for Mickey though!

 

[JanDave]

It's not loud, blaring music, much softer, but if it's a quiet hallway, for example, near an elevator, you will hear it. There is no music in the stateroom hallways.

Jan

 

[bafore]

Hello all, We are 2 of Jans 12. Myself and my son who will be 15. We have cruised once before but never Disney and we have only gone just the 2 of us. So I am excited to cruise with friends.

Good luck on your run Renee. We traveled to Disney for my son to run the half while I wined and dined last October.

Brad

 

[JanDave]

Hello all, We are 2 of Jans 12. Myself and my son who will be 15. We have cruised once before but never Disney and we have only gone just the 2 of us. So I am excited to cruise with friends.

Good luck on your run Renee. We traveled to Disney for my son to run the half while I wined and dined last October.

Brad

Hey Brad, welcome to the DIS! And your first post was on our cruise thread!

Looking forward to cruising with you and your son. It'll be lots of fun. Are you a morning coffee person? Aside from the complementary coffee/beverage station, there's Cove Cafe. You'll find Carla and me there every morning, sometimes in the afternoon, too. You're welcome to join us ladies.

Going to Epcot for the wine/food in the fall is on my bucket list. We were there about 5 years ago at that time, but the couple we were with did not budget time for our Epcot visit to wine/dine. They wanted to pack as much stuff into our day - and they did!

Jan

Jan

 

[kmcford]

Im getting very excited now that we are so close to the 75 day mark!!

 

[watkinsdjs]

We hope to be on this cruise too. It will be our third.

 

[JanDave]

We hope to be on this cruise too. It will be our third.[/QUOTE



Hope you can join us!

Jan

 

[txncrzn]

Howdy all! We'll be joining y'all and are so excited! It will be me, my husband, my daughter (5), my son (3), my mom, his parents, his sister, her husband and their daughter(10). We're all pumped! This is my second cruise but first Disney cruise...first cruise for my kids and mom! My in laws are recently retired and just love cruising now! They've been on so many I can't even count! Looking forward to start planning! I just learned about the dis boards so I'm a newbie here, so please be nice!

 

[JanDave]

Howdy all! We'll be joining y'all and are so excited! It will be me, my husband, my daughter (5), my son (3), my mom, his parents, his sister, her husband and their daughter(10). We're all pumped! This is my second cruise but first Disney cruise...first cruise for my kids and mom! My in laws are recently retired and just love cruising now! They've been on so many I can't even count! Looking forward to start planning! I just learned about the dis boards so I'm a newbie here, so please be nice!

Welcome to our cruise thread, the Disney Magic and the DIS boards!

We are a group of 12 - for some it'll be their first cruise or their first DCL cruise; and for some, it'll be a repeat DCL cruise. The kids in our group are ages: Girls: 10, 8, 6 and one male teen 14.

Jan

 

[JanDave]

Cruise planning info: I just got off the phone with DCL and here is info given to me:

Sunday - formal night

Tuesday - pirate night

Thursday - semi-formal night

I asked the DCL rep about lobster night but she did not have that info. When the cruisers have come back from the first Galveston cruise (September 22), I will find out from them which night was designated lobster night. I am just guessing, but I think it may be Thursday. Thursdays on the 7 day cruises out of Port Canaveral offer lobster on semi-formal night.

Hope this info helps with your planning, especially for Palo dinner.

Jan