Pirates in the Caribbean - At Year's End

[PE_TCR]

Well we woke up a little bit later on our first sea day. We skipped breakfast this morning since we had a brunch scheduled at Palo. We went to the shopping session for Grand Cayman and Cozumel since there wasn’t anything else really going on until we had brunch. It was alright but even with the deals there wasn’t much in our price range. So we didn’t feel too bad leaving early to go to brunch. We had never been to Palo so we were excited. I had been reading the boards and almost everyone recommended brunch if you were only going to eat one meal at Palo. I was still not quite ready for what I experienced for the brunch. We started out with a short tour of what was available. I quickly went for the crab legs as well as some of the breads and cheeses. Debbie quickly found the caviar since she had never tried it before. I think she then wore out a path between our table and the table with the caviar on it. I really enjoyed the seafood and fruit. I think ordered the veal parmesan. It was delicious. Our server offered us some champagne and we both accepted. It was wonderful as well. Just after we had began eating we saw two very familiar people heading toward us. Sure enough, it was our table mated from Australia, Michelle and Laura. They were seated right behind us. This just added to the wonderful experience. I was getting full but I HAD to try some of the deserts. Debbie was feeling the same. Our server seemed shocked when I said I was done with the hot/ordered foods and Debbi declined all together. She was more than happy with the cold foods they had out. Then when we tried the deserts we knew we were going to be rolled out of Palo. I might remind you that Debbie and I started a workout/diet plan just before Thanksgiving. Well, we abandoned that for this meal. As we were finishing our server came back and asked if we would be coming for dinner. We told him we didn’t have any reservations. He asked if we had kids. We told him no. He quickly said that there was no reason for us not to come back then and we would regret it if we didn’t come for a dinner because it was by far the best meal on the ship. He was talking us into it. Well, then Michelle turned around and told us they had reservations for Wednesday night and she would love to add us to her reservations. Well, I walked up to the reception desk and we arranged to change her reservation from two to four. Debbie headed down to the spa while I was doing this because she was running a little late for a hair and nails appointment.
While Debbie was at her appointment I went to an Art if Entertaining session about deserts. I love to cook and I can spend hours watching the Food Network. This was great to have one of the main chefs cook up a chocolate soufflé right here in front of me. We got a sample and a small glass of wine that was paired with the desert. I am not a wine person but this wine was amazing with the desert. I guess they know what they are talking about. I then decided to go for a walk on deck 10. I didn’t feel like really working out and I wanted to get some sun so I just walked around the deck for a while and enjoyed the scenery. I took some pictures of Cuba that I thought Debbie would appreciate. When Debbie was done we relaxed and caught some rays and then went to see Alfred and Seymour for the family show. They were great again. It was then time to get formal pictures taken. We went to every photographer we could since we had a photo package. We figured the more pictures we had the better chance we would have a good one or two in there. While we were in line we met up with some a family from the boards here that we had met during out short meet on the first night. One of the daughters had been hypnotized the night before so we had a lot to talk about with that. They even agreed to save us a spot at the adult show that night since our table had a tendency to run late. We had another amazing dinner but Debbie thought she might be getting a little bit of a cold so she wanted to get to bed early. She told me to go to the hypnotist since I was really interested and we had some friends there anyway. I found our friends down at the show and the girl got chosen again to get hypnotized and the show was amazing. The guy from across the hall was also one of the people on stage. I laughed pretty hard that night. One part of the show he has everyone on stage convinced that the napkins he had were $100 bills. When she came back to our seats after the show she said, “What the hell are these napkins doing in all of my pockets.” It was another great day on the Magic!

 

[E&BMom]

Oh my gosh Palo brunch is soooo yummy!!!! Great update. Can't wait to hear more!!!!!!

 

[PE_TCR]

We loved the brunch. Great way to spend an afternoon at sea.

 

[PE_TCR]

We had room service deliver our breakfast this morning since we had the first trip of the day. We had to be down in Rockin’ Bar D by 8:30. So we were awakened by the phone telling us our food was on the way. We ate as we got ready and headed down to Rockin’ Bar D. This is where we first met Louisa. She was one of cast members in charge of getting people to the tender boats at the right time. The tenders were running a little late so Louisa and Katrina started telling some family jokes. Well, Louisa pulled out her “Famous” joke. Why is Tigger so Dirty?

He plays with Pooh.

Well, after that I started talking to Louisa because everyone just started groaning at her. Being an elementary school teacher for the past few years, I actually appreciated the humor. I came to find out her parents are from England and she was born in the states because her father came here to play professional soccer. She also played college soccer. Since I played a year of semi-pro soccer while I was in the Air Force we had an instant connection and continued chatting whenever we saw each other for the rest of the cruise. We finally got onto our tender and took a short walk to the vans that waited to take us on our tour. We decided to take the Grand Cayman tour with a stop and the turtle farm.

The van ride was pretty good. We learned a lot about the island and the driver was pretty funny. Our first stop was Hell. The rock formations were alright and the gift shop was a typical touristy gift shop. He only took pictures. I am glad we stopped there but I don’t think we would go there again if we come back. Our next stop was the turtle farm. It was a lot better than I expected. They had a lot of different pools for different aged turtles. We found out that to get a turtle to calm down we had to face them away from the water and then pet under the turtle’s chin. We loved handling the turtles. We were then told that half of the turtles were released into the wild. The other half; well, they became turtle soup at the local restaurants. We were told to be back at the van at 11:00 so we got there a few minutes early. The driver then told us that he had made a mistake and we still had another 30 minutes. He said we could get into the Dolphin experience and watch for free so we did. It was interesting to watch the people who were doing that. At 11:30 we were back at the van and had another tour of the island back to the dock. We still had three hours before our next excursion so we decided to go to Margaretville here as well. This time we had a Cheeseburger in Paradise along with our margaritas. The good news we got there was on TV. They were playing the NHL network and we saw our Admirals won the night before so this made us feel even better. That feeling went back to normal when the bill came and because of the weakness of the US dollar our 2 burgers and drinks cost us about $60. We walked around a bit and checked to make sure where we had to meet for our tour. I am glad we did this because, due to the winds the tender docks we came into were closed and they moved the excursion tent to the other dock. We had plenty of time to get there so we walked around a bit more and got ready to go on our dive. We got to the excursion tent and filed out our waivers and got ready for our SeaTeck Helmet dive. I was really excited to try this but Debbie was a little cautious because she was worried about some claustrophobia.
Our guide took us on a short walk to the place we would get onto the boat that would take us out to the dive. On our ride they explained how the helmets worked. Basically, the helmet had three times the amount of air we needed at any given time. The air was also air-conditioned so that it was comfortable and it wouldn’t start to fog up. They also sold us some of the hand signals and once we got onto the dive boat the safety divers were introduced. I have never been a fan of water but knowing the physics of this I was comfortable and excited to go on this dive. I have trouble snorkeling but this was going to be different. They told us we could go down the ladder one at a time. It was about 30 feet down and we would each be escorted by a diver until we stepped onto the ocean floor. I got right in line before I started to chicken out. I was the second person onto the ladder. The waves weren’t bad but as I walked down the ladder the small movements on the surface were magnified by the length of the ladder. With the guidance of the diver I finally made it down to the ocean floor and it was 100 times better than I even imagined. The only sound was the air coming into the helmet. Fish were all around but not coming too close. There was a good sized coral reef near the ladder and I started taking as many pictures as I could. I kept looking up the ladder waiting for Debbie. Everyone had made it down and I finally saw her making her way down the ladder. It was taking a bit longer than I expected but she was down soon enough. Once we were down the lead diver gave us each some fish food from a tube he had with him and we got to feed the fish. He also showed us some unique fish and other animals around the coral. As we were walking I noticed Debbie stop and wave to the diver. I didn’t think anything of it until I saw the diver swim over and take his regulator and shove it up into Debbie’s helmet. I then looked up and saw another diver swimming after Debbie’s air hose. He quickly swam back and attached it and Debbie gave thumbs up. The lead diver motioned to her asking if she wanted to return to the surface and she signaled no. We continued our walk on the ocean floor. We got some more fish food and what seemed like a few minutes (but was actually about 30 minutes) the diver took our picture and signaled it was time to return to the surface. We climbed the ladder and when we got to the top the divers apologized for what happened. I guess a grain of sand lodged in the sleeve that connects the hose and it popped off. It happened once on the ladder and they thought they fixed it. That’s what took her so long to get down. Then it happened again when I saw it. They said it does happen but not frequently. Debbie noticed because things went silent and her helmet started to fog up. Then the water level started to rise a little bit. Once the hose was reconnected everything returned to normal and she had a wonderful time. She even said she would love to do it again. It started to rain and we were headed back to the dock. After we got to the dock we passed a few VERY LONG lines for other ships and went to the Disney line which had two tender boats ready to take passengers. We were back on the Magic in a few minutes.

We got changed and went to see Twice Charmed. It is a great show. We didn’t see it since we were on the Wonder last time. After the show we went to the sports bar to watch the start of the Wisconsin football game. They were huge underdogs against Miami but I went and had my Miller Light like any good Badger would do. After the first few series we headed to dinner where we shared our stories from the day with our tablemates. After dinner we went back to the bar to watch Wisconsin clinch the bowl victory and then went to go see David Morgan. He is a guy who uses a puppet for his act. It was alright but not quite up to the quality of the shows we had been seeing. I was glad when he was done because it was then country night. I knew they would be doing some line dancing and I am always looking for new dances for my students. The crew led a bunch of great dances and Debbie, Michelle, and I danced the entire night away. We returned to out room exhausted and ready for another fun-filled day to come.

 

[PE_TCR]

I will post the dive pictures tomorrow. My friend has the cord to the underwater camera. I am picking it up tomorrow.

 

[PE_TCR]

Forgot my picture from watching the Badger game. Go Bucky!

 

[E&BMom]

Great update. Louisa was soooo sweet! Can't wait to hear more!!!

 

[PE_TCR]

 

[E&BMom]

Awesome pics!!! Need the next day.....

 

[PE_TCR]

I will try to get it up tonight

 

[myelton01]

Thank you for your indepth look at your trip! I'm not going on this exact trip but I have looked into it for our family, it's nice to know what to expect with Disney. I'm like everyone else now, waiting for the next part!

 

[PE_TCR]

We woke up and went to Topsiders again for breakfast. After a great breakfast and watching the captain dock the ship we headed to the Buena Vista Theater to meet our tour group. When we got to the theater we talked to a few cast members who said the tour we were going on is the one all the cast members wanted to go on but it took too long so they never got to go on it. We were going on the Four Elements Tour. Our group had to wait a little because as soon as the ship was cleared to disembark another ship started docking so the pier was closed until they were secured. It wasn’t too much longer until we were cleared to leave again. We walked off of the ship and went to a tender ship to take to the mainland. It was about 30 minutes to the mainland and it was a little choppy. Debbie and I didn’t really have a problem with it (Debbie fell asleep) but there were a few people on the ship who took advantage of the seasick bags they were passing around. We docked and met our guides. Once we got to our van we learned out guide’s name was Juan-Carlos. We also found out he spent some time in Green Bay. So we had some common ground. Once Debbie spoke to him in Spanish we were all set. It was about a 20 minute drive to the place we would have our tour. We got out of the van and waited to find out what we would be doing first. After a few minutes Juan-Carlos came back and told us we would be biking first. He then told us that cameras were not allowed on the bike or zip-line portions due to safety concerns. This meant we would only have pictures if we purchased them from the tour company. Sorry to say we don’t have many pictures, but we do have a lot of wonderful memories. We all got bikes and helmets and started out on our short bike ride. The ride was maybe a third of a mile and when we parked the bikes we were told about the local area. We would then be taken to a Mayan Shaman who would perform a blessing over us in Mayan. They used some smoke and scents and it was a great experience. It was also explained it was not really a religious ceremony but a spiritual one. We were told that the blessing was for protection of our family and friends for the upcoming year and that everyone we came in contact with would also have this protection for bad events. Given the past few weeks this seemed like a wonderful idea! After the blessing we returned to the main staging area. We had done two of the elements (land and fire/spirit) and next was water. We walked to a clear Cenote which is an area that has been warn away from limestone and filled with water. It was crystal clear. We were given snorkel gear and allowed to snorkel in this amazing area. As I stated earlier I am not one for snorkeling no I just did some swimming while Debbie and the rest of the group did some snorkeling. While we were doing this Debbie and I got to talk to two other couples in the group. One was from Georgia but originally from Oklahoma. Since I was stationed there we had something in common to start talking. The other couple was from Michigan. These two couples met several years ago on a Disney cruise and had been traveling ever since. After the first Cenote we walked to another one where there was more snorkeling and for those who wanted to do something different, there were some tubes. Obviously I chose the tubes. It was great to just lie in the tube and relax and Debbie had fun following a turtle around a bit. After about 20 minutes we got out of the water and headed to the zip-line. I am also afraid of heights but I was really looking forward to this. The first zip-line was over one of the Cenotes and a good warm-up. We had a stick to brake us but we really didn’t need it because they had people running a breaking system. The second zip-line was a bit longer. It was probably about 300 feet and we got a good speed going. Then it was on to the final zip-line of the day. W had to climb a 5 story tower to do this. This is where I started to get nervous. The others were after a hike up a hill. This one was a climb and I got a little nervous. I got to the top and hooked in and just lifted my feet and had a blast. This one was closer to 1000 feet long and a pretty good drop. It was one of the most amazing things I have done (next to that dive). Debbie loved it just as much as I did and we want to do another zip-line trip as soon as we can. After our four elements were covered we were led back to the main meeting point where they had a lunch made for us. It was authentic Mexican cooking. The food was fresh and some of it was picked from the garden we were eating next to that morning. It was the perfect ending to an amazing tour. We then made our way back to the port in our van. During the ride we got to know this other couple even more. I found out one of the ladies was an administrator at a middle school. Juan-Carlos then got to our parking lot. There were not any parking spots so he just pulled into the entrance and parked the van. He said everyone else could wait. Things are a little different down in Mexico we were finding out. JC told us we had about 15 minutes before the tender ferry would be boarding. I saw a sporting goods store so I went in to look and see what they had. I walked out with a great pair of soccer goalkeeper’s gloves for a great price. We then met the group to board the ferry and said good bye to JC. It was a non-eventful ride back to the port but we did chat some more with the couples we met and they invited us to join them for drinks back on the ship. Once we boarded the ship we changed and went to meet for drinks. We had some great conversation and they invited us for more drinks later before dinner. They even called us later in the afternoon to make sure we knew we were invited so we met them in Diversions and had a great time chatting and sharing stories. Dinner was at Palo. It was truly amazing as always and there wasn’t a regular show that night so it was nice and relaxed. Our server was nicknamed Big Daddy and he made everything that much better than we had expected. Our dinner was with Michelle and Laura and we could not have asked for better people to share our evening with. At the end of dinner we all had the chocolate soufflé. Big Daddy then came out with one of each of the remaining deserts and said we had to try them. We were so full we asked if he could split them and we would bring them back to the rooms. He said sure and came back with double deserts. He said the chef said his artwork could not be cut in half and we had to each take a desert so he made extras for each of us. It’s those special touches that will have us coming back on Disney for all of our cruises. After dinner we went to see the Livin’ Large show put on by the crew. It was another great day and we were sad because we knew the cruise was coming to an end.

 

[sdjen]

Thanks for the trip report - I am really enjoying reading it. Keep the details coming!

 

[wld4mky]

Just jumped on to your trip report. So sorry to hear of the rocky start you had. Many sympathies to you and your family. We are going on our first cruise in Feb. and I love hearing about other peoples experiences. Thank-you for taking the time to write it.

 

[PE_TCR]

Sorry for the delay. I got a little cold and had 2 soccer games that started at midnight last week. The I had a short weekend road trip to San Antonio to watch the Milwaukee Admirals play some hockey. The next one is ready though. Hope you can forgive the tardiness

 

[PE_TCR]

Waking up for our final full sea day on the Magic we knew it was going to be a late night so we slept in a little bit longer than normal. We planned on it being a nice relaxing day. The first thing we did was go to the Theater Q&A. Debbie directs the play and musical at her old high school so this is something we had to see. We had a really good time and Debbie even got a private tour backstage. After that, Debbie had an appointment to get her nails touched up because they were chipped away at during the Four Elements tour. While she did that I went to another Art of Entertaining presentation. This one was a main entrée. It was just as fun as all of the others. The food was really good as well. We met up after I went to see another Q&A. This one was about the making of the Magic and how the crew ran the ship. Once we met up we went on a galley tour. Here is a hint for you. This is not listed on the navigators but if you go to any of the Art of Entertaining sessions they will tell you when it is and where to get your tickets. The tour was short but was fun and I am glad we did it. We also got some chocolate chip cookies right out of the oven. YUMMY! We then decided to just lay out on the ship and get some sun. It was a great way to spend the last day of the year. We planned on going to the Theming of the sip tour. As we were taking one last lap of deck 10 before we went on the tour we ran into Kim and her husband. They were part of our DisBoards meet group. It was a small group but a very friendly one. We sat down and chatted with them for a while and really enjoyed the company. After we left them we both turned to each other and said, “I wish we could have gotten to know them even better earlier on the cruise.” We really enjoyed their company and were hoping to get to see them a little more before the end of the cruise. Debbie wanted to get a little time in the Rain Forest Room. We missed the tour (which was well worth it) so she headed down to the spa while I went and passed out our Fish Extender gifts. We gave out Wisconsin Pencils and Cheesehead erasers. It was fun seeing some of the other door decorations. When I got back we got ready to go to Dreams. It is by far our favorite show on Disney Cruise Lines. It didn’t disappoint. We then headed down to Diversions to meet our new group for a drink before dinner. They had requested a song for us. Each night one of the couples had danced to a song and I guess this night was our turn. Since one of the guys favorite character was Jimini Cricket he requested “When You Wish Upon a Star.” The group was floored when we told them that that was our wedding song. That caused them to buy us a drink. We then headed down to dinner. We had special menus ready for us when we sat down. Michelle was right behind us and she was sure ready for New Year’s Eve. She had the glasses and hat all ready to party. We both had the lobster for dinner. It was a pretty easy choice. Dinner was great as always and the warm chocolate lave cake was a great way to end the meal. We all decided to dress down a bit and meet to ring in the New Year. We went up to deck 10 and found a good spot to watch the big screen. A countdown was started at noon and we were getting close. We sang, danced, and had a lot of fun watching people. As it got closer the free champagne was brought around and we grabbed a few glasses. Then we noticed Jose (our server) serving some more food. He set the tray down and had some fun partying with us for a bit. The closer it got to midnight we started seeing land. We figured out it was Miami. We were just off the coast and making circles. Later we found out we had to be close to a port when lighting fireworks just in case something went wrong. 5-4-3-2-1 Happy New Year! Pictures were taken, hugs exchanged, dancing, singing, it was a blast. We stayed around deck 10 with Michelle and Laura some more and had an amazing night. There is no better way to ring in the New Year than on the Disney Magic at sea. We finished the night by taking some pictures with our favorite crew members then headed back to the room.

 

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[jns]

and a happy new year to you too
really enjoying your report and photos
thanks for sharing