Sailing with the Gang...DCL magic, Feb. 2016

[mickeystoontown]

Your Atlantis tour guide, Karen, took you guys on an amazing tour! Everything there is absolutely gorgeous.

I live in Swamp People country and I don't even like the thought of eating alligator. Like you, I can't get past what it is.

Your pictures are always stunning and I can certainly see why that lighthouse picture was worthy of being framed and hung in your home.

 

[jenseib]

I love that lighthouse so much. Great shots!

Thanks

OMG I LOVE those lighthouse pictures!!!!

I also am loving looking at your pictures of the ship. I just got off the WONDER and even though that has always been my favorite ship, I do like how vibrant the new carpets are on MAGIC. Sadly you can see WONDER needs her drydock desperately. And the Tangled show I would love.

I was very happy with a lot of those pictures.
The Wonder is on my bucket list. Hopefully sooner than later, but I know my first chance will not be till after it is refurbed.

Your Atlantis tour guide, Karen, took you guys on an amazing tour! Everything there is absolutely gorgeous.

She was amazing!

I live in Swamp People country and I don't even like the thought of eating alligator. Like you, I can't get past what it is.

LOL> It was hard to get past, but it really was pretty good.

Your pictures are always stunning and I can certainly see why that lighthouse picture was worthy of being framed and hung in your home.

Thanks

 

[Grumpy's Wife]

That one lighthouse picture with Atlantis in the background looked like it could be a postcard. Beautiful!

 

[jenseib]

That one lighthouse picture with Atlantis in the background looked like it could be a postcard. Beautiful!

Thanks

 

[jenseib]

Tonight dinner was at Lumiere’s which is one of my favorite places.


nas65 by Jenseib, on Flickr


We mixed and mingled and Cass found an edge seat and I sat next to her. I think Patty was across from us. I had missed it yesterday, but I think Patty had said something to Jason about loving fruit and cheese. Well he is just so awesome….he brought out a fruit and cheese plate for a starter for us.


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We browsed the menus and I decided on about 18 different things I wanted.


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Rolls!


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And I love getting this drink here. It’s called a Princess Delight. It does not have alcohol and it is basically strawberry and mango and just heavenly. Several others saw it and ordered it as well.


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Shrimp for 1 of my starters.


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And escargot.


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And French onion soup.


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The photographer was coming around and taking a picture of each girl individually. Seriously? I don’t want a picture of myself at a table. So when she arrived to us, I told Cass we were getting a “couples” picture….here is my bootleg copy of the happy couple!


bah74 by Jenseib, on Flickr


I then suggested we should get a group picture. So we all rambled to one side of the table. It’s a nice shot, even if there is food in front of us. This one doesn’t have Charlotte in it..who was a friend along for the ride (or Michelle’s husband who had gotten sick and her son who would rather die than eat with all of us), but I think Brook bought a copy that does have Charlotte in it.


bah75 by Jenseib, on Flickr


Tonight O’Gills had been turned into the Snugly Duckling for the Tangled night. I never made it in there but several of the others did and I think Cass took pictures too.

They had some knights coming in searching for Flynn Ryder while we were eating.


nas75 by Jenseib, on Flickr


They were moving fast and I had a hard time catching them without a blur.


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I obviously got some sort of hunk of meat! LOL


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It was good!


And for dessert it was a no brainer for me. I crave this soufflé.


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We had several of us celebrating February b-days on this cruise. Mine is the 14th, just in case you want to send me a gift, Katie’s was happening while on the cruise and Wendy was about a week after we got home, so we had each night planned for one of us to celebrate. Tonight was my night and they brought me this.


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It looks good, but the top is like a jelly. It was gross. The mousse type stuff in the middle was good so I had to work my way around the gross stuff to get to it. But I was really full anyways so a few bites is all I could handle.


Not long after dinner we were pulling into Castaway Cay and I went out to take some of the world’s worst pictures.


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Those were exciting weren’t they?


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I think I headed to the club after that. I believe tonight they had an adult show with a comedian and it was pretty funny. He had puppets and I enjoyed him. At one point a lady got up to leave and the puppet called her out. She was wearing a striped shirt and he said something along the lines of “I found Waldo's wife” and it was really funny….except she didn’t think so and she came back and was staring him down. She was a witch with a capital B. I couldn’t believe she wouldn’t just laugh it off. I later learn that this lady was drinking majorly…every single night here. She was with her husband and another couple (or 2) and they were all obnoxious and rude. I don’t mind people drinking or even getting a little drunk on vacation, but control yourself…this is Disney after all.

I think we danced a little bit after the show, but I can’t remember anymore.


Back to the room…..


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And this guy was waiting for us.


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Brook switched places with me tonight and took the top and she was freaking out a bit. She said she was afraid of heights and it was freaking her out. I told her I would take it but she said no. I really didn’t mind, but unless I grabbed her and yanked her out she was staying up there. I believe Cass took the couch bed and I had the big bed for 1 night…and ironically, if I remember right, I had the worst of my 4 nights sleep in that bed….go figure. I think we talked a bit and then out I went. I think Brook read late into the night.


And that was the end to a very busy but fun day!

 

[Pinkocto]

I'm playing catch up. I moved to Florida this week and things have been crazy. But I'm thoroughly enjoying your updates I love those celebrity sightings around the ship, I get so excited to see them!!!

Gorgeous lighthouse pictures.

The Tangled show sounds great, can't wait to see it. I must get back on the Magic soon.

Ugh on that rude lady at the show.

 

[jenilynn]

Your lighthouse pictures are amazing. Great job Jen!

I'm drooling over the food pics! Yum yum! I love how they did a group photo of you guys; I wouldn't want a solo picture either.

 

[Timon]

Oh My Dog!! I forgot about our couple picture!!!

We sure look lovely in that shot

You know this already but I hate that they come around to the tables for pics! It's never a good pic because they always include food and glasses, dirty tables etc. I used to oblige but now I just get grumpy and say no, even after their nagging

Oh and it didn't help that the loser family next to us was trying to sabotage our pics! They looked like they were relatives of The Beverly Hillbillies


Yeah, we might have lost our egg crates if we wanted the sofa made up every day because he would have to put them back in the utility place and then they might have been taken by someone else. I figured comfort was more important than the couch being a couch

A mind is a terrible thing to lose

I think I have several events mixed up on my trippie but you know what? Who cares? I should have put a warning at the beginning...the events may or may not have taken place in the order in which they are being represented

I remember my wdw/universal part better because I knew way more pics

 

[rndmr2]

Looked like a great dinner, those fruit and cheese plates look good. Your apps look good too (except the escargot, can't do it! )

Yummy Souffle too, is that the Grand Marnier one?

 

[jenseib]

I'm playing catch up. I moved to Florida this week and things have been crazy. But I'm thoroughly enjoying your updates I love those celebrity sightings around the ship, I get so excited to see them!!!

Gorgeous lighthouse pictures.

The Tangled show sounds great, can't wait to see it. I must get back on the Magic soon.

Ugh on that rude lady at the show.

How wonderful to be in FL now. My sister is in the Tampa area this week for an anniversary trip.
The Tangled show is really good.

Your lighthouse pictures are amazing. Great job Jen!

I'm drooling over the food pics! Yum yum! I love how they did a group photo of you guys; I wouldn't want a solo picture either.

Thanks!!
I think it is weird to do the solo pictures. Even with my family they have done them too.

Oh My Dog!! I forgot about our couple picture!!!

My hot date for the week!

You know this already but I hate that they come around to the tables for pics! It's never a good pic because they always include food and glasses, dirty tables etc. I used to oblige but now I just get grumpy and say no, even after their nagging

It is really strange all around. And I am a messy eater. I never have a clean area.

Oh and it didn't help that the loser family next to us was trying to sabotage our pics! They looked like they were relatives of The Beverly Hillbillies

I totally forgot about them.

Yeah, we might have lost our egg crates if we wanted the sofa made up every day because he would have to put them back in the utility place and then they might have been taken by someone else. I figured comfort was more important than the couch being a couch

I would rather have sleeping comfort for sure!

A mind is a terrible thing to lose

I done lost it years ago!

I think I have several events mixed up on my trippie but you know what? Who cares? I should have put a warning at the beginning...the events may or may not have taken place in the order in which they are being represented

I probably do too. For some things I am going by pictures and hoping it is triggering the right memories.

remember my wdw/universal part better because I knew way more pics

By the time I get to that part I may not remember anything!!!

Looked like a great dinner, those fruit and cheese plates look good. Your apps look good too (except the escargot, can't do it! )

Yummy Souffle too, is that the Grand Marnier one?

That cheese plate was really good. I never find much fruit with Disney that is super tasty for the most part. Growing up on a farm I just know what fresh fruit taste like and I swear 90% of Disney fruit was picked green and let to ripen after picked, which means a lot less flavor.

 

[jenseib]

Sunday Feb. 9, 2016


Another early morning for me. I believe I once again heard Cass get up and go out to take some sunrise pictures. I was right behind her. We were already docked at Castaway Cay so I wanted to take a look.

I think I found Cass, but I could be totally wrong on that.


Not the best sunrise shot, but it was pretty and probably the best of all our mornings.


caw1 by Jenseib, on Flickr


Thank goodness we did dock last night as it was wavy and windy! We would have never made it to the island if we had waited till today.


Video of the wind and waves…well you can’t see the wind but you sure can hear it.


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I walked around a bit, passing Palo.


cc21 by Jenseib, on Flickr


And then went for some breakfast.


cast1 by Jenseib, on Flickr


Sadly the whipped cream on DCL is not nearly as good (and probably less fattening) than NCL. I still dream of that stuff.


I went out on deck 4 to take some pictures. I was mesmerized by the waves.


caw2 by Jenseib, on Flickr


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Some video of the waves again.


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I was a bit bummed that it was chillier today but I still couldn’t complain too much…..after all I wasn’t at home.


cc10 by Jenseib, on Flickr


I headed back to the room. Brook was going to run the Castaway Cay race…I think it’s a 5k, and Cass and I planned to get off early and enjoy the beach and swim. Well there was no way I was swimming with this weather. I knew the water would be cold and with it not actually warm on land either…nope not for me.


Looking out our window.


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I just wore shorts and a shirt, but Cass put her swimsuit on and we headed off the ship.


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We were looking around and taking pictures and who should we run in to?


cc1 by Jenseib, on Flickr


Charlotte, Kelly and Brook. All 3 were on their way to run.


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Cass and I hopped the shuttle.


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We were browsing shops and just looking around and once again ran into our runners.


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And then we headed to the beach. Cass was WAY ahead of me.


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Continued…

 

[jenseib]

We got to talking to one of the lifeguards and this is when we found out there was going to be no swimming today. Everything in the water was canceled. We asked if it would open later and she said it was highly doubtful as the wind and waves were so strong that it actually knocked over some tower thing in the water and it was now on the beach and she pointed at it.

She was so happy to see that we docked last night. She lives on the island…well all the life guards do and she says they have a rotation…I want to say it’s 6 weeks and after that you go on the ship for a week or 2 and then someone comes and replaces you. Today was her turn to go back on the ship and I guess she was ready for ship life for a while.


She was really nice to talk to and informative too.


cast13 by Jenseib, on Flickr


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caw4 by Jenseib, on Flickr


Cass was pretty bummed about not being able to swim. I didn’t mind so much as it would have to be pretty warm for me to. I was disappointed that I wouldn’t be able to see how my camera worked underwater. I had bought it in July last year right before our Alaskan cruise and was really hoping to snorkel on this trip and give a try. No luck for that….guess I have to aim now for my Oct cruise on the Fantasy!


cast15 by Jenseib, on Flickr


So after checking out the water, we moved on.


caw5 by Jenseib, on Flickr


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We decided to head to Serenity Bay for some pictures.


cast16 by Jenseib, on Flickr


We saw Liam, the one CM who I thought was kind of cute.


caw8 by Jenseib, on Flickr


And Brook running too.


caw9 by Jenseib, on Flickr


Now I know a lot of people love Serenity Bay and I only have visited it once, which was my last DCL cruise and I just took pictures…but I just don’t think it’s all that heavenly. I guess it’s just much smaller than I thought it would be. I was hoping maybe this time I would think differently.


cast17 by Jenseib, on Flickr


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Nope…still feel the same…in fact this time it was even smaller. The waves were washing the beach away.



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The waves had washed the sand away from the base of the umbrellas and there were some CM’s trying to move them and the chairs back further…but they didn’t have a lot of space to move. A couple of times I thought they might take off in Mary Poppins style.


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Mother Nature was not playing nice today. We decided to head back and do some shopping.


And we saw Brook running again…looking a little less energetic now as she was nearing the end.


caw10 by Jenseib, on Flickr


We browsed the shop and I think we each got a few things. Usually on CC I find 20 shirts I want and have to decide between all of them. This time I was not falling in love with much and the one top I really did like was a little more than I wanted to spend and it had longer sleeves. In the end I didn’t get it but I later found out Ellen did and then I regretted not getting it because it looked really nice on her.


After our purchases were made we decided to work our way back to the ship. We ran into Kelly at one time, Ellen at one time and I believe Mary Rose and Lisa. Besides Kelly who had just gotten done running, the rest were just arriving on the island. I think most of them were going to check out Serenity Bay but I am not sure if they settled there or not.




caw11 by Jenseib, on Flickr

This is part of the broken tower thing the life guard had told us about. I just can’t remember what it was.



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And this is what washed ashore.


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Video


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cc4 by Jenseib, on Flickr


Even with all the waves and wind, the island was still beautiful.


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Video


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Up next….heading back to the ship and a date with some Stars.

 

[cruisehopeful]

Looks like most people stayed on the ship that day? Did you notice if people still used their cabanas? Looks like such a disappointing Castaway Cay day.

 

[rndmr2]

Too bad the Castaway Cay day was so windy and wavy. The pics of the water were still beautiful, at least.

 

[dizneeat]

What a shame it was so windy that day. But you still managed to get some great photos.

 

[Pinkocto]

Bummer that it was so windy. Thank goodness that docked the night before! Would people have been more disappointed at not going to CC or being there and not able to do water stuff? Difficult problem. We couldn't get there on my last cruise and people were so mad....

 

[lorimay]

I always enjoy your reports .

 

[Beth D]

Jen,

You finally got your perfect lighthouse photos! Those were absolutely great!

I also like your CC pics - boy those waves! It was windy when we were there a few weeks later, but not that bad. We were able to swim and such, but our excursion - jet ski's! were cancelled, so DS was bummed about that! It was a bit cold for swimming, but you know us northerners!

 

[jenseib]

Looks like most people stayed on the ship that day? Did you notice if people still used their cabanas? Looks like such a disappointing Castaway Cay day.

All Cabanas were cancelled so no one could use them that booked them.

Too bad the Castaway Cay day was so windy and wavy. The pics of the water were still beautiful, at least.

I was a good day for different kind of pictures at least.

What a shame it was so windy that day. But you still managed to get some great photos.

It was disappointment but we still had a good day.

Bummer that it was so windy. Thank goodness that docked the night before! Would people have been more disappointed at not going to CC or being there and not able to do water stuff? Difficult problem. We couldn't get there on my last cruise and people were so mad....

I think most were happy we at least docked. Many people did just hang out on the beach, so that was a plus for many.

I always enjoy your reports .

Thanks!

 

[jenseib]

Jen,

You finally got your perfect lighthouse photos! Those were absolutely great!

I also like your CC pics - boy those waves! It was windy when we were there a few weeks later, but not that bad. We were able to swim and such, but our excursion - jet ski's! were cancelled, so DS was bummed about that! It was a bit cold for swimming, but you know us northerners!

I really am happy with those pictures.

We did the jet skis a few years ago and it was fun.