Our Trip Report -Just back from the Magic 2/12-2/19

[NAJmom]

We just returned from the eastern Magic cruise from 2/12 - 2/19. Since there were so many helpful posts that I read before my trip - I wanted to possibly help other travelers out in the same way. I would also like to post pictures, but I don't think I have enough posts yet.

About us - DH and I (40's) DS14, DS11 and DS7. DH and I have sailed twice to the Caribbean years ago on NCL and we went on a family cruise to Alaska 10 years ago on Princess. We especially loved the Alaska cruise, but being HUGE Disney fans - we have always wanted to try DCL.

When we heard last fall that DCL was doing 'kids sail free' we decided to go for it. I have never wanted to cruise for less than 7 days, so this seemed like a great opportunity. I think I would have preferred the western itenerary, but the kids had 3 days off of school, and that is why we picked the eastern. (More on that later...)

Two and a half weeks before the cruise I was just starting to get serious about my packing when I came down with the flu (Yes, I had the shot!).....seven days into that I got a sinus infection....well the whole thing took 10 days out of me, and when I started feeling better I realized I only had 5 days to get ready! (Procrastinators - beware!) Thankfully I had already made a master packing list, but I still really had to scramble those last few days!

I was so excited to have magnets for our door. I had about 7-8 images all ready on the computer to print out on magnet sheets that a wonderful guy on the DIS board had made for me. I was so excited to put them on our door. The night before we left DH was really tired.....so I thought that would be fine - he could easily print those off in the morning.....hmmm...

Finally Friday morning came, and I was busily packing those last minute things, taking the dog to the vet etc. I asked DH to print out my magnets....he read the manual and said our printer couldn't handle it.....I asked him to please try.....after about an hour of messing with it, the printer just died! I couldn't believe it! DH gave me the whole speech about waiting until the last minute. I was crushed - I had been so excited about those magnets and felt like I would surely be the only one on the cruise without them. We picked the kids up from school, but I couldn't get those darn magnets out of my mind.

We arrived about 10pm in Orlando. We had talked about what to do that night. Should we drive all the way to Port Canaveral and stay, should we get a cheapie hotel by the airport? I tried for several months to get a good deal at the airport Hyatt using hotwire, but no luck. DH finally said to just get a room at the Hyatt anyway. That seemed like way to much $$ for me, but the kids were so excited. So I booked a room, and after taxes it came to $200 a night. (Ouch!) I will say, it was pretty amazing to pick up your luggage and go right up the elevator to your room. I would definitley stay there again....the room was beautiful....the convienence was absolutely worth it. Once we got in the room, the boys got all wired up, and were acting pretty crazy. I was very tired by this time, and still obsessing over my non-existant magnets (I can't believe how silly this sounds now...) so I finally lost my temper and yelled, "Allright, I want all of you lying prostate on the beds....RIGHT NOW!" It got very quiet and then my DH cracks up and asks me what did I just say? I realize that I said prostate instead of prostrate.....oops. Oh well, we got the giggles and went to bed.

Next post: Seeing the Magic for the first time.....

 

[K8T]

Brilliant ROFL

More please!

Kate

 

[RoyalVizier]

Yay! My wife and I were on this same cruise. I love reading Trip Reports from a cruise I experienced as well.

Can't wait to read your take on what was in my opinion a glorious week!

 

[SGcruiser]

We are going on the Eastern in November. I can't wait to hear all about your trip

 

[NAJmom]

Day 2 (First Day of the Cruise)

We woke up early in the beautiful, but expensive Airport Hyatt. The hotel breakfast was not cheap, so we thought we’d just stop off at a McDonalds somewhere and get something fast. There was a McDonalds in the terminal right below our hotel room, but we decided it was too expensive to buy McD’s in the airport, so why not drive out a few miles to save a few dollars. That turned out to be the theme of the day. Me, trying to save a few dollars……big mistake!

So off we went to the Budget counter to pick up our rental car. When I booked online, I picked a full size car that was listed to hold 5 people and 5 large suitcases comfortably. When I got to the desk they guy told me there was no way a full size would hold my family and our luggage, so we should upgrade. Big sigh…….then why does it say on the website that it will? He gives me a “deal” and so off we go to find the new car. I can’t remember what it was, but it was a very boxy SUV that BARELY held our luggage, and my kids were very tight in the back. My DH also said it was hard to drive. The extra time spent trying to fit the 5 suitcases took awhile, and so we started out to port behind schedule. The day is beautiful, and we are all excited to get to the ship. After awhile I start looking for a McDonalds to pull off for breakfast. That is when I remember we are not in the west anymore. At home we can see for miles, and there are always fast food restaurants at each exit. Not here….hmmm….we travel on for another 30 minutes and don’t see anything. The troops in the back seat are getting very hungry and start to fight. Pretty soon we decide that since we are getting close to port we should just give them snacks and hold on for lunch on the ship.

Next stop is Wal-Mart. I really thought I was making good decisions when I was planning. Why not stop quickly somewhere and get our bottled water, alcohol and anything we’ve forgotten? Once again, trying to save some money….. So we find a Wal-Mart, and off I got to find snacks for the kids, water, alcohol, sand toys and Tylenol (which we forgot to pack)….okay, in theory this should have taken 15 minutes. But it is Saturday morning, the whole town is at Wal-Mart, and this Wal-Mart has a totally different layout than the one back home. 30 minutes later I have finally found everything, and the lines are LONG. By this time it is 10:30, and I really wanted to be heading into the terminal at 10:15. Why am I in line at Wal-mart? Oh, that’s right, to save money. We quickly eat the donuts in the parking lot, and off we go.

There it is….YES, The Magic! Wow, she is smaller than I thought, especially next to the big ship next to her. But I don’t care, she looks perfect! DH notes that she actually looks like a ship, unlike the big boxy ship next to her. Now the boys are arguing if a ship is a “she” or a “he” and I am wondering, why are they fighting instead of tearing up like I am? (Because they are boys, DH says…)

DH drops us at the terminal, with plans to drive back to Budget, drop the rental car off, and meet us in the terminal in 30 minutes or so. We leave the luggage with the nicest girl, who seems to love her job and has a big Disney smile for us…..the first of many DCL Cast Members who greeted us in that way.

The excitement is building, and as the boys and I enter the terminal everything is flawless. It is about 11:15, now we are over an hour later than I wanted to be. I was really hoping for a boarding number below 5. The check in was done so easily, and DCL obviously know how to do this well. We get our cards, our paperwork turned in, and DS7 registered for the kids club….all in about 15 minutes. But I am shocked when we get our boarding number….20!!!!! Okay, now I am getting nervous…I hate it when my plans fall apart. So that leads to the first thing on my list of what I will do differently next time. Don’t worry on saving a few dollars here or there….it is vacation! Or, if those things are really that important, do them the night before. If we had had breakfast at the airport, skipped the Tylenol we never used (and could have bought on the boat in an emergency) and not worried about the alcohol, we would have had more time on board. When I drank alcohol on board I always wanted something fancy and fruity in a tall glass, not my Wal-Mart beer. Lesson learned.

Okay, so now we wait for DH. Where is he? I call and he tells me he is in line waiting to catch a shuttle back to port. Apparently people were there waiting to get to the other ships as well and the line was really long. I can’t understand why Budget doesn’t understand that, and get more vans/ drivers when they had that many reservations. We wait, and wait, and wait. Yes, the ship model is amazing, and it is lots of fun being in the terminal. But again, this was not part of my plan. The boarding numbers start to climb…..10….12….14….16….18…20….where is DH? Finally he calls, he is on a shuttle, but they are going to other ships first. By now it is well after 12:00. We were supposed to be eating lunch in Parrot Cay by now. Lesson #2 I learned on this cruise…..stop trying to plan everything! (That is a hard one for me.) We wait longer, finally DH shows up. He gets his card made, and the first thing I notice is that the boys and I have Donald, and he has Goofy. I remembered seeing somewhere that the character on your card represents how many cruises you had been on. This is DH’s first cruise?????

I had decided not to tell the boys about the name announcement. So after the embarkation photo was taken (I looked stressed in that photo – big surprise!) we walk on to the ship. Right before they announce our name, Chip decides to join our family. The boys are so excited, so as they announce our name, the boys don’t even notice. They are too excited walking in with Chip. At the exact moment we walk on board I realize none of the “details” matter anymore. Who cares if the boys didn’t hear them announce our name….I am going to stop worrying about what is supposed to happen, and instead enjoy what is happening. Thank goodness!

My first impression as we enter the atrium is how small it is compared to other ships we have been on. Not that it matters- actually I enjoyed the scale of the ship quite a bit. I don’t think I have any desire to travel on one of those monster ships. I liked how the atrium felt, and I loved how the CM’s made me feel when we got on. Off we head to Parrot Cay. When we get there a CM tells that it is a 30-40 minute wait for a table. The new, non-stressed out me, decides that is fine. We’ll just head up to Topsiders and eat outside.

When we get to Topsiders we were met with the first of many CM’ers that spent their time handing out hand sanitizer wipes. I am glad they are doing it, and I just love how even they are doing the most mundane job, they look so happy doing it! Our hand wipe guy is from Italy, and he entertains us in line by singing the Godfather music. Once we enter the buffet line the food looks great. After we have filled our plates we realize all of the tables inside are full, and so they ask us if we’d mind eating outside. We have just left below zero temperatures at home….of course we would like to eat outside! We find a table, but we notice immediately that is is freezing! The wind is horrible, and it was not the 70 degrees that was predicted on the weather channel. I don’t know what else to say about the meal, because I don’t remember much of it. It was so COLD I remember shoving shrimp in as fast as I could. I also remember eating my strawberry soup (that I found out about from the DIS board – Yay) but honestly it was so cold I don’t remember if I liked it. The new-non stressed me decides that is okay, there will be other meals. I don’t think any of us ate much, and desperately wanted to get inside. Brrrrrr

Next...Our first day on the Magic continues....and if I can figure it out I will start posting pictures.

 

[NAJmom]

Yay! My wife and I were on this same cruise. I love reading Trip Reports from a cruise I experienced as well.

Can't wait to read your take on what was in my opinion a glorious week!

Yes, it will be fun to see if our trip experiences are similar! Let me know!

 

[jendon1997]

Looking forward to hearing more!!

 

[jinia]

Subbing! Looking forward too more!

 

[nswift]

This just adds to the anticipation...going in May!

...and Jinia, you need a trip ticker in your signature!

 

[kimkdmm =)]

Great Start!
Aww, bummer about the door magnets, something I really wanted to do too, but didn't get it done in time. Lovin your TR so far... can't wait to read mooooore!

 

[mmmears]

Great start! I'm looking forward to more! I hope you figure out the photo thing, too!

 

[ALMPeters11-11-11]

Thanks for sharing! My DH-2b and I will be sailing the Magic for our honeymoon in November

 

[In Luv with Disney]

Great start!!! We are leaving in 6 days for our 7 night Western on the Magic!!!! Can't wait to read more!

 

[jerelle]

There it is….YES, The Magic! Wow, she is smaller than I thought, especially next to the big ship next to her. But I don’t care, she looks perfect! DH notes that she actually looks like a ship, unlike the big boxy ship next to her. Now the boys are arguing if a ship is a “she” or a “he” and I am wondering, why are they fighting instead of tearing up like I am? (Because they are boys, DH says…)

This is so true! No one tears up but me either. Welcome to the club!

Who cares if the boys didn’t hear them announce our name….I am going to stop worrying about what is supposed to happen, and instead enjoy what is happening. Thank goodness!

I don't think my DD heard it either. I love that you then stopped worrying! It makes life and the cruise so much better.

We were on the Eastern Jan 29-Feb 5. I'm loving your trip report and looking forward to more and your pics!!! A tip I got from someone when I was trying to post pics: Once you download them to this site, if you want them bigger in your post, you have to remove the /thumbs part of the link or else the picture will be small. Good luck and looking forward to reading more!

Joelle

 

[NAJmom]

Thank you for all of the kind comments! I appreciate you listening to our story! Tomorrow I will have some free time, so I am planning to try posting some pictures.

First Day of the Cruise Continued....After lunch my plan had been to let the kids swim, since I read this was the least crowded time in the pools. Well, that was true, but we were still freezing from eating outside at Topsiders, so we desperately wanted to get inside. Since we still had some time before our room was ready we decided it was time to explore the Magic! First we went to the kids club. We started with the Oceaners Lab. Wow, I knew this would be neat, and I knew Disney was known for their kids clubs. But I am sure still I said “wow” at least five more times after seeing this place. The pictures do not do it justice. The lighting and decorating of this place was fantastic. There were lots of games going on, beanbags everywhere, probably 25 computers, a Wii system, coloring tables, a kitchen, a giant chess game set up…..We spent a lot of time in here and my DS7 loved it! We had to pry him away to go check out the Oceaners Club. This was pretty cool too; they had a neat tree house type place to climb on, and a cute little quiet room with books and computers. DS7 tried to slide down the tree house slide they had there but bumped his head. “I think this is for the little kids” he told me. I let him know that he was welcome here too, but for the rest of the cruise he preferred the Oceaners Lab.

Finally we went to find the Edge. I had spent a lot of time before the cruise worrying about DS, just turned 14. He is very tall, but also very shy, and I knew there was no way he would go to the teen club, with older teenagers, when he was one of the youngest. He asked if he could stay in the Edge with his brother who is 11. I spent a lot of time on this board, seeing if that would be possible. My plan was to check out the Edge, and ask the counselor if DS14 could stay in the Edge. I must admit, when we first walked in I was a bit disappointed. It is much smaller than both of the kids’ clubs and it was not nearly as visually appealing either. We looked around a bit, and then I approached a counselor. Looking back, I wish I had done this without DS14 standing next to me. I explained the situation (shyness, just turned 14, still in middle school, brother in Edge etc.) She listened patiently, looked at Nick and told him that she didn’t have a problem with that, and she would let him use the Edge, under one condition. She asked him to please to check out Vibe (teen club) and see if he didn’t like it better. She told him that he might make friends there and decide that he didn’t really want to be in Edge. Well as soon as she said that I knew that this would never work out. Don’t get me wrong, she was very nice about it. But DS14 is very sensitive, and his interpretation of the whole thing was that she really wanted him in the teen club, not there. So like I said, I wish I had asked her without him standing there. As soon as we left I tried to get him to check out the teen club. But DS14 told me he didn’t really want to be in the teen or tween club, and asked if he could just do his own thing. Once DS11 heard this, he also asked if he had to do the tween Edge club. I told them it was their vacation too, but to think about it, and maybe they would give it a try later.

By now it was after 1:30, so we decided to check and see if our room was ready. They had blue tape across the hallway so we could not get to our room. We hung out in the elevator area and something hit me….They were playing Disney music over the loudspeakers! I don’t know why this got to me the way that it did, but of course I got all teary again. I think it was at this exact moment that it really hit me…we were on a Disney cruise! I know some might not like the music, but it was not too loud….and I loved it! Okay, finally the rope/tape came down and off we were to our room. Our agent booked us into room 8578, and I can’t imagine a better room, or a better location. We had never had a balcony before, but since there were 5 of us, that was one of the only rooms we could fit into. Since we had the ‘Kids sail free’ promotion - that actually made this room affordable. It was in the perfect location, right around the corner from the aft (back) stairs, and it made it easy to just run up the stairs and get a drink. I can’t emphasize enough how much I loved this location.

Okay, time to open the door, but wait, the door is open, and our room steward Falcon is still cleaning. He is embarrassed, and tells us he will quickly finish. We don’t mind, and the anticipation is building as we wait in the hall. Finally we are in the room, and pleasantly surprised on how much longer it seems than other rooms we have cruised in. Really, there was plenty of room for 5, even with my very tall DS14. As we walked in the kids got so excited because there was some cider and wine glasses for us, with a big platter of yummy cookies. I told the kids not to touch it; since I was sure it was a mistake….who could have sent it? I looked at DH, and he shook his head, so I found the note and saw that it was from our Travel agent Lori! How nice! So I let the kids dig in to the cookies, and DH and I checked out the verandah.

Our next surprise was when I noticed the red Castaway Cay bag on our bed. Now I am really confused, since this is our first cruise, and I know that is the present that returning cruisers receive. Remember back when DH got his Key to The World Card, and it had a Goofy on it? I guess somehow, somewhere, Disney got in the system that DH was a returning cruiser. Who knows how this happened? My very honest DS14 was appalled when I opened the bag and looked at all of the items. He wanted me to return it to the room steward since it wasn’t rightfully ours. DS11 (not quite so honest) wanted to rip everything open and examine it. So our compromise was to leave the bag on the bed and not touch it. If Falcon realized his mistake and came back to get it – fine. But if he didn’t, well then we would be enjoying all of these nice goodies! As I am sure you can guess, Falcon never did come back and get it, and we loved the bag, the goodies, the keychain etc. that were inside. Such luck!

Room Impressions - This room was not very wide, but very long. At first I worried that the closet wasn’t quite big enough, but we were fine. There were LOTS of drawers, almost too many. The trunk by the sliding door saved us, but if you need that 5th bed, one thing to remember is you don’t have access to the trunk while the bed is down. Our queen bed was very comfortable, and the boys loved having their own beds. At night we would close the curtain, and even though the boys were right there, it seemed like we had our own room. I know it has been mentioned before, but I have to talk about the bathrooms. Disney, you are brilliant for figuring the split bathroom out. I don’t know how we would have managed without the two baths. Really, my only complaint was the hair dryer. It was shaped like a vacuum hose, and very awkward to use. One other thing is to remember to put your luggage under the big bed after you have unpacked. My other two pieces of advice would be to buy a pop-up hamper and put it in the closet next to the safe, and also bring an over the door plastic shoe holder. We loved this, and we never had little things lying around. The room never felt cluttered at all. It also took us 2 days to find the extra outlets. They are BEHIND the TV. Don’t forget an alarm clock, and an extra power strip. We didn’t use our nightlight, and instead just left the bathroom light on and the door cracked.

One other thing I wanted to mention about this day.... I had tried at the 75 day mark to get Palo brunch reservations. They were totally sold out, and the only had one reservation for dinner left – for 8:30 on Friday night. I booked this, but I knew I would cancel because I didn’t really want to miss the last night at dinner and the show. My plan was to try and change the reservation as soon as we boarded. But 3 days before we left I kept checking the website, and a brunch reservation opened on Sunday morning. I was so thrilled, and booked it. More (MUCH MORE!) on Palo later.

Pretty soon it was time for the lifeboat drill. Nothing too exciting. They don’t make you wear your life jackets now, which is nice. The only thing that stands out is that a family from our section didn’t come, and finally they found them. I don’t know how people miss this when they keep making announcements and constantly talk about it. Oh well……

Next we were ready for the sail away party. We went up to deck 10, which I would recommend. It is nicer to look down on everything. I really wanted a fruity fun drink, but it was still windy and cold. The sail away party was fun, but probably a little too much dancing. I am not trying to sound like Grumpy, but why dance for 20-30 minutes when 15 would be plenty? Oh well, In was fun anticipating the horn blowing, and deliberately did not tell my family about it. LOVED IT!

We returned to our room to watch the ship leave port while we got ready for the show. We loved watching the Disney employees’ wave to us from land, and it was also fun watching bicyclists and other people on land waving to us. We also ordered the cheese/ fruit plate (the name escapes me right now) and some tomato/cheese/basil sandwiches. Very good, and the first of many times we used room service. We brought about $50 in $1 bills in an envelope and kept it near the door for tips.

The show that night was a welcome aboard show. We met our cruise director Darren, and the show had kind of a silly side story about a boy wanting to be a sailor. Then we met the first two acts that would be performing this week. The first was John Charles and we LOVED this guy. He carries around a guitar and can play any song you ask him to. He was very entertaining, and funny, and I honestly could have gone to his show each night. We really loved him. They said he was the highest rated Disney entertainer, and we understand why. Next time came a man named Heath….? Can’t remember his last name. He was pretty funny too, but I think anyone following John Charles would have trouble measuring up.

After our show we went to dinner. We had requested the PLA late dining rotation. I can understand if you have little ones you might not want the late rotation. But otherwise I would definitely recommend it. We went to Parrot Cay, and found our table. The five of us were at a table of six. I was a little torn, since I had heard that eating with new people can be so much fun. But it all worked out fine, and DH and I had great conversations with our two older sons that we never would have had if we’d shared a table with others. We met our head waiter Okim, from Indonesia, our assistant waiter Milen, from Bulgaria, and head dining guy Wayne, from South Africa. Okim was very efficient and busy running around. I think I would have enjoyed spending more time talking with him, but he was so busy with our food and doing a good job that he didn’t spend as much time with us as other waiters have in the past. Milen was absolutely adorable. He was very young and we had a feeling he hadn’t been working very long. He tried very hard to do a good job. The first night we asked what diet drinks he had and he told us he had diet water. He started giggling at his own joke, which got us laughing. We really wanted to bring him home with us. Wayne was also nice, but we never had any reason to ask him to fix anything. He had great stories for us and helped us cut open our lobster. Okim always made me laugh because he would always tell me what to order. Sometimes I listened to him and I think that made him happy. My DS7 always ordered cheeseburgers, and on about the 5th or 6th night, Okim finally told him No More Cheeseburgers. He told DS that he was a big boy, and he should try something else. DS did, and Okim helped him cut his steak. One of my favorite things about cruising is the relationships you make with your serving staff.

One more thing about dinner. I had read about Dine N Play, which is when they rush your child’s dinner to them. Then at about 9pm the kids counselors show up and take your child to play at the Club or Lab. DS7 decided he wanted to do this, but the first night was a disaster. Okim forgot to tell us it was time, his dinner was not rushed to him, and we never saw the counselors. To Okim’s credit, when he realized DS had missed out, he told me he would deliver my son to the kids club himself. Each night got a little easier, but it really wasn’t until the 4th or 5th night that this worked easily. That doesn’t make sense to me, since they do this on each cruise, but oh well. DS loved going to the kids’ club, and we loved having a leisurely dinner.

Okay, I think DH and I might have seen a show that night but I can’t remember what it was. Time to check those Navigators! Overall we went to bed very happy, and very relaxed.

Next…Day 2 of the Cruise..Day at Sea (And Palo Brunch……) And fingers crossed...pictures!

 

[In Luv with Disney]

Keep it coming! On Saturday, I will be sailing Magic for the first time!

Question...any particular reason you requested the Dining Rotation you did?

I cant wait to hear more!!!

 

[CherylA]

great so far, looking forward to hearing more!

 

[CelticPrncss]

Great start for your TR, sorry about the magnets......

I am with you, the Magic and the Wonder look like ships, not those big boxy things parked next to her.... I also have no desire to go on those big huge ships, love the warmth of the Magic. Okim was also our server when we cruised on the Magic in Feburary of 2009. We loved him...

What a nice surprise from your TA and DCL!!!

I too got all teary eyed the minute I step into the terminal, as a matter of fact I can feel those tears now!!! We are cruising on her again in April, this time Western Caribbean!!!

Hurry back can't wait to read more and see your pictures!!!

 

[kimkdmm =)]

Glad your DS7 & DS11 liked the kids clubs so much, bummer about DS14... but I am sure he had fun exploring, and all the other activities!
Aww, that is SO nice of your travel agent to arrange the surprise for the yummy cookies
Your room sounds wonderful!!!
Glad it worked out for you to get better reservations to Palo (excited to read all about it)
Aww, the horn... I loved it too, that would be the part that teared me up
Looking forward to more, & hopefully some pictures too!

 

[A's Princess]

Great TR so far! We were on the sailing right after you (Western.) Thanks for warming up the ship for us!