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

[jenseib]

Cass and I worked our way back to the ship, stopping along the way to take pictures.


cast31 by Jenseib, on Flickr


cast32 by Jenseib, on Flickr


caw14 by Jenseib, on Flickr


caw15 by Jenseib, on Flickr


caw16 by Jenseib, on Flickr


caw17 by Jenseib, on Flickr


Our beautiful ship.


cast33 by Jenseib, on Flickr


You can never have too many shots of your ship.


cast34 by Jenseib, on Flickr


cast35 by Jenseib, on Flickr


cast36 by Jenseib, on Flickr


cast37 by Jenseib, on Flickr


That blue water is just so amazingly beautiful.


cast38 by Jenseib, on Flickr


cast39 by Jenseib, on Flickr


cast40 by Jenseib, on Flickr


cast41 by Jenseib, on Flickr


cast42 by Jenseib, on Flickr


Yeah, I got a little carried away with ship pictures. LOL.


cast43 by Jenseib, on Flickr


I really like this next picture.


cast44 by Jenseib, on Flickr


cast45 by Jenseib, on Flickr


Cass mentioned this sign was new. I can’t say yes or no really. I guess I could look through my old pictures, but I believe her, she usually has a good memory on things like this.


cast46 by Jenseib, on Flickr


cast47 by Jenseib, on Flickr


This area has changed….and in my opinion….not for the better. Not sure why they changed it, Mr. Fishy is gone.


cast48 by Jenseib, on Flickr


cast49 by Jenseib, on Flickr


caw19 by Jenseib, on Flickr


Those waves were just crazy.


caw20 by Jenseib, on Flickr


Now when we got home, several of us had been in a social media group for our cruise. Some people mentioned they went in the water. I know for a 100% fact that no one was allowed in the water the whole day. I think these people went in anyways. Some swearing they were allowed. It was kind of weird though actually. One even mentioned thinking a family member got sick from being in the water and when someone else pointed out that no one was ever allowed in the water she kind of changed the story. Honestly I wasn’t impressed with a lot of people in our group. Maybe it’s just me, but I have only found one good pre-cruise group since I started joining them and that was the Galveston cruise I was on. It just seems hard to get close to any of the people. I don’t think we saw anyone from that group while on the ship either.


I started looking for one for my Oct. cruise, but so far no luck, but then again I am not too sad about that fact either. Hahaha.


After we got back to the ship we just went right to our room. The nice thing about our room is that it was pretty close to get on and off the ship and just 1 floor up, so no need to wait for an elevator. I think Cass changed and we got a bite to eat.


caw21 by Jenseib, on Flickr


I am thinking I also got chicken tenders but maybe not. I started slacking at food pictures after a few days.


Then on to a snack at Cove Café.


caw22 by Jenseib, on Flickr


caw23 by Jenseib, on Flickr


I think we just fooled around a bit…I don’t have more pictures till the evening, so my guess is we just chilled or something. Maybe Cass went for a swim on the ship?


And then we had a date with some stars….the kind in the sky!


Star Wars, the Force Awakens was playing. Cass and I both have seen it right when it was released, with her going to it the day before the official release and I went with Claire on its release date. Of course we both needed to see it again to try and decipher some of the things that puzzled us and we hoped seeing it a second time we would catch things we didn’t the first.

Well the theatre was packed. I think because island activities were at a minimum many others had the same thought as us. Though we had this planned even before we knew how cruddy the day was going to be.


Let’s just say the seats are NOT comfortable and there is not enough leg room. I felt like I was on top of Cass. And I was getting stiff and achy. There were people getting up and down and even though it is stadium seating there really isn’t enough room to easily walk the aisle. I think about ¾ of the way through I got up and moved a seat over which then allowed both Cass and I to sit kind of sideways and stretch our legs a bit more.

That being said, we enjoyed the movie once again and both had some new theories on it. I can’t wait for the next one to see if any of my theories are even close to being remotely right. Of course I have to wait till late 2017 before I can even hope for some answers.


Some of the girls did spend some time on the island but I think most came back somewhat early and just hung out and did their own thing.


I believe after the movie I got showered. I am pretty sure Cass and I went to the show with the comedian who had been at the club the night before. He was good but the adult shows are always better.

Later I met up with some of the girls who were hanging out in Keys. I don’t remember what Cass ended up doing.


The girls were all ordering drinks. I am just not a big drinker anymore. In my younger days I drank a lot of beer and hung out at the bar every weekend, but now a days I can barely drink 2 before feeling hung over the next day.


This Sommelier was kind of a hootty tooty snob. He asked what I wanted and at first I said nothing. He kind of kept pressuring me so I asked for a strawberry daiquiri.


keys1 by Jenseib, on Flickr


He came back to tell me it was going to be like 15 minutes for it, so I said forget it. Then he asked if he could suggest something. Um…no. I said something like I don’t like drinks with a lot of alcohol in them and he kind of made a snide remark. He also made some snobby remarks to some of the other gals too.


I finally settled on an Amaretto Sour. I love those babies. They taste like kool aid and I can suck one of those down in 2 minutes easily.


He brought the drinks out and did some fancy presentation for some of them.


keys2 by Jenseib, on Flickr


Crappy Video


<iframe width="420" height="315" src="

" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>


I tasted a few of the girls drinks. I believe a couple got the Moet Ice and that was really good.


Brook got something that would knock your socks off. It was STRONG.


keys3 by Jenseib, on Flickr


My drink.


keys4 by Jenseib, on Flickr

Obviously I had gone shopping too since I have a bag sitting there. I think I bought a sweatshirt which I totally forgot about till last week when I went to grab one in my closet and thought...hmm when did I get this?


We wanted to head out to the pirate fireworks so he had to exchange the fancy Key’s glasses for ones that we could carry around the ship. And he brought our bills.

Note…When the Sommelier suggests a drink for you, he usually is going to suggest one that is high in cost. Brooks drink was outrageously expensive and awful. I think in the end she did not drink it. I think she even tried to water it down with pop and still couldn’t drink it. I believe Carol’s was not too good as well. I am so glad I stuck to what I know.



Up next…Pirates IN the Caribbean and fireworks in the sky!

 

[Flossbolna]

I absolutely love the pictures of the blue water at Castaway Cay!! How beautiful. It really shines!

cast46 by Jenseib, on Flickr

That sign was definitely there on my first cruise in 2013. I took a picture of it because we commented on how strange it is that they turned Bob Iger's wife's name into a place name here (Willow Bay is her name).

Sorry for your unpleasant Key's experience. We had a number of drinks there during our Norwegian cruise and had two lovely bartenders there that were not snotty at all! And one did recommend a drink to me that was one of the cheapest drinks and really lovely. She did get a good tip afterwards!

 

[ukintheus]

Crazy wave action at Serenity Bay - thanks for posting the video. Even a bad day at CC can be a good photo day though! We've been there when it's been so windy you couldn't sit at SB without your back to the water as a wind-break - but even then the waves weren't like that.

 

[dizneeat]

Cass mentioned this sign was new. I can’t say yes or no really. I guess I could look through my old pictures, but I believe her, she usually has a good memory on things like this.


c

Definitely not new. I went back a few cruises (we kind of always get the same pics) and it was there back to 2011. Didn't look back further.

Your keys experience was horrible. Glad that you got something you liked.

 

[mickeystoontown]

Aww, I hate that the waves were so strong that you couldn't go in the water. You could tell from your videos that it was super windy so I can understand why they said no swimming.

That sommelier sounds like a booty. Doesn't he know that he is on a Disney ship? You can't be a snooty booty when you work for Disney.

 

[jenseib]

I absolutely love the pictures of the blue water at Castaway Cay!! How beautiful. It really shines!



That sign was definitely there on my first cruise in 2013. I took a picture of it because we commented on how strange it is that they turned Bob Iger's wife's name into a place name here (Willow Bay is her name).

Sorry for your unpleasant Key's experience. We had a number of drinks there during our Norwegian cruise and had two lovely bartenders there that were not snotty at all! And one did recommend a drink to me that was one of the cheapest drinks and really lovely. She did get a good tip afterwards!

The water seemed extra blue this time too!

Ok, I was kind of thinking it may have been there at least the last time I was there, but then I thought maybe I was thinking of another sign.
I have heard of some great ones in Keys so I guess we just went at the wrong time.

Crazy wave action at Serenity Bay - thanks for posting the video. Even a bad day at CC can be a good photo day though! We've been there when it's been so windy you couldn't sit at SB without your back to the water as a wind-break - but even then the waves weren't like that.

It really was a good day for photos. I had intentions of coming back later to take more but I never did.

 

[jenseib]

Definitely not new. I went back a few cruises (we kind of always get the same pics) and it was there back to 2011. Didn't look back further.

Your keys experience was horrible. Glad that you got something you liked.

Ok, now I really need to go look at my old pics! hahaha. 2011 was my DCL cruise too.
I do love amaretto sours. They are so tasty!

Aww, I hate that the waves were so strong that you couldn't go in the water. You could tell from your videos that it was super windy so I can understand why they said no swimming.

That sommelier sounds like a booty. Doesn't he know that he is on a Disney ship? You can't be a snooty booty when you work for Disney.

This was certainly a different cruise weather wise...but we still had a great time.
Snooty booty! LOL

Sorry to hear about your Aunt. My Uncle just passed as well and it's been a crazy week.

 

[jenseib]

We all headed out and went out on the deck just in time for Mickey to come out. You can see him ready to fly in here.


pirate1 by Jenseib, on Flickr


cc6 by Jenseib, on Flickr



We missed most of the show itself but we had a lot of fun watching the fireworks.


cc7 by Jenseib, on Flickr


fire3 by Jenseib, on Flickr


fire4 by Jenseib, on Flickr


cc11 by Jenseib, on Flickr


cc8 by Jenseib, on Flickr


cc12 by Jenseib, on Flickr


That was fun!


cc13 by Jenseib, on Flickr


Time to head off to dinner. I found out Cass had watched the fireworks from deck 4 with Deb and she said it was really a nice spot to watch and not be around the zillions of people.


Tonight we were back in the Royal Palace and had the pirate menu, which is one of my favorites.


cc14 by Jenseib, on Flickr


Food was ordered and once again, I did not hold back!


cc15 by Jenseib, on Flickr


cc16 by Jenseib, on Flickr


This pasta dish is seriously one of my favorite dishes of all the meals on the ship.


cc17 by Jenseib, on Flickr


And I devoured it!


The waiters all paraded around and a few of the girls joined in.


cc18 by Jenseib, on Flickr


cc19 by Jenseib, on Flickr


As much as I like the pirate menu, I am not a fan of most of the desserts they offer, so I went with old faithful….the Mickey bar.


cc20 by Jenseib, on Flickr


Again, I can’t remember if I hit the club tonight or went to bed early. I am thinking this is the night I went to bed early. I would love to enjoy more time at the club but I was now over a week into this trip and it was taking its toll on me with the lack of sleep and no naps!


I love the chocolates.


fire5 by Jenseib, on Flickr


cc9 by Jenseib, on Flickr


I think I was back up on the top bunk again tonight and I think Cass was on the couch bed? I survived once again, but of course had to wear my shoes to get up there and then I threw those stinky things back down.


Up next…a relaxing day at sea

 

[Pinkocto]

Catching up on things and very much enjoying the updates. I would never have given deck 4 a thought to watch the fireworks from but I'll be giving it a chance now. All those people up there are overwhelming at times. On the Fantasy we found up on 13 next to Currents bar was a fabulous spot.

Boo on the pushy snooty CM with the drinks earlier.

Beautiful pictures on CC, wow! I completely agree, never too many pictures of your ship

 

[dolphingirl47]

I am all caught up again. I just got back from an amazing cruise on the sister ship of the Royal Caribbean ship that got into trouble.

I loved all the photos from the Atlantis. The tour sounded really interesting. I am hoping that one day I will get to stay at the Atlantis in Dubai. I read somewhere recently that they are planning to build a third resort near Aulani.

The food looked lovely, but I am not sure how I would have liked gator.

Those lighthouse photos are amazing.

I was not aware that sometimes the ships dock at Castaway Cay over night. What a shame that the weather was not better. I still enjoyed the photos. I have not been there for far too long.

Corinna

 

[jenseib]

Catching up on things and very much enjoying the updates. I would never have given deck 4 a thought to watch the fireworks from but I'll be giving it a chance now. All those people up there are overwhelming at times. On the Fantasy we found up on 13 next to Currents bar was a fabulous spot.

Boo on the pushy snooty CM with the drinks earlier.

Beautiful pictures on CC, wow! I completely agree, never too many pictures of your ship

I have heard of others doing it but I never think about it when on the ship. I don't think you can hear the music there though.

I am all caught up again. I just got back from an amazing cruise on the sister ship of the Royal Caribbean ship that got into trouble.

How fun! I have the countdown going till our next cruise in Oct. I can't wait. It will be my first time on the Fantasy.

I loved all the photos from the Atlantis. The tour sounded really interesting. I am hoping that one day I will get to stay at the Atlantis in Dubai. I read somewhere recently that they are planning to build a third resort near Aulani.

I have heard one is coming there too. It will be interesting to see when it opens.

The food looked lovely, but I am not sure how I would have liked gator.

I never would have even tried to order it if given an option. It was good but I can't say I would purposely order it again.

Those lighthouse photos are amazing.

Thanks

I was not aware that sometimes the ships dock at Castaway Cay over night. What a shame that the weather was not better. I still enjoyed the photos. I have not been there for far too long.

It's rare but it does sometimes. Usually weather related.

 

[jenseib]

Wednesday, Feb 10, 2016, Sea Day


For some reason I had wrote Feb. 9 as Sunday…No clue why and that is obviously not correct.


Today was a day at sea and I just love Sea days. I love doing different things on the ship that is offered….or not. Just doing my own thing is really relaxing. I don’t do well with relaxing on my own so this kind of forces me to take it slower.


I was up early as always and I am pretty sure Cass was too.


I started out by taking pictures around the ship.


sea1 by Jenseib, on Flickr


sea2 by Jenseib, on Flickr


This is as close as I got to the new Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique. The door was closed so I didn’t go in.


sea3 by Jenseib, on Flickr


I meant to go back but I never did.


sea4 by Jenseib, on Flickr


sea5 by Jenseib, on Flickr


I think I may have stopped for a banana.


sea6 by Jenseib, on Flickr


sea7 by Jenseib, on Flickr


sea8 by Jenseib, on Flickr


I think I walked around a bit then went to get some breakfast in Cabanas.


sea9 by Jenseib, on Flickr


sea10 by Jenseib, on Flickr


sea11 by Jenseib, on Flickr


sea12 by Jenseib, on Flickr


sea13 by Jenseib, on Flickr


sea14 by Jenseib, on Flickr


sea15 by Jenseib, on Flickr


sea16 by Jenseib, on Flickr


sea17 by Jenseib, on Flickr


sea18 by Jenseib, on Flickr


I found a seat and looked out at the gray looking day.


sea19 by Jenseib, on Flickr


sea20 by Jenseib, on Flickr


It was too cold to go outside and eat sadly.


sea21 by Jenseib, on Flickr


After breakfast I walked around and took some more pictures.


sea22 by Jenseib, on Flickr


sea23 by Jenseib, on Flickr


sea24 by Jenseib, on Flickr


sea25 by Jenseib, on Flickr


sea26 by Jenseib, on Flickr


sea27 by Jenseib, on Flickr


sea28 by Jenseib, on Flickr


sea29 by Jenseib, on Flickr


sea30 by Jenseib, on Flickr


sea36 by Jenseib, on Flickr


sea37 by Jenseib, on Flickr


sea38 by Jenseib, on Flickr


Continued…..

 

[jenseib]

More pics of the After Hours area.


sea39 by Jenseib, on Flickr


This store is now a Star Wars store…in the past this is where you bought alcohol and cigarettes. FYI, you can only now buy packs of cigarettes onboard and I think it’s at the bars if I remember right from what a CM told me. They no longer sell cartons. I know for some buying cheap cartons onboard was always a nice perk for cruising. Disney did away with it. I do know that when Skip bought one last cruise we were on as a family they had very limited selections and I don’t even think that his brand/style, which is a pretty popular one, was even available then.


sea40 by Jenseib, on Flickr


sea41 by Jenseib, on Flickr


Into O’Gills


sea42 by Jenseib, on Flickr


sea43 by Jenseib, on Flickr


sea44 by Jenseib, on Flickr


sea45 by Jenseib, on Flickr


sea46 by Jenseib, on Flickr


It was time to head back to the room and get showered and all pretty! Well as pretty as I can do with what I have. LOL.

We were having brunch at Palo today. I LOVE their brunch. I found out later that Cass does not like the brunch and prefers dinner. I don’t care for dinner. How could my good friend go so wrong?


When planning this trip, we had a lot of Chiefs and not many Indians. Everyone had ideas and it became difficult at times to decide on some things. Almost all of us had cruised Disney before and all of us have our own likes, so it was tough at times to compromise and agree. When it came time to do online check in and reserve things like Palo it was also hard because some members were Platinum, some gold and some silver (and I think we had 2 newbies). We all aimed for a specific time frame for Palo and were hoping that they would seat us all together or at least near each other. We also inquired about getting the private room and I believe we could not even put a request in for that till 30 days prior. Katie was in charge of that and at the right date she sent in our request and we were granted it! Yay! So now we all had the same time (obviously) and the private room so we could be a little louder without disturbing others.


Cass and I arrived a little early and found out half of the girls were already seated. (I took a few quick shots on the way back to our room.)



sea47 by Jenseib, on Flickr


sea48 by Jenseib, on Flickr


sea49 by Jenseib, on Flickr


Today was Katie’s actual birthday too! Happy Birthday Katie!!!


sea50 by Jenseib, on Flickr


sea51 by Jenseib, on Flickr


sea52 by Jenseib, on Flickr


We had someone take a group shot.


sea34 by Jenseib, on Flickr


Deb wasn’t feeling so well today so she skipped it and Charlotte joined us.


Our server was our Main dining room server, Jason’s roommate. I can’t remember his name now.

We were brought some complimentary drinks. Cass doesn’t drink so she passed hers onto Ellen.


sea53 by Jenseib, on Flickr


sea54 by Jenseib, on Flickr


I had the mimosa and a diet coke as well.


sea55 by Jenseib, on Flickr


Our server took us for the food tour then.


sea56 by Jenseib, on Flickr


There were so many things I would have liked to try….but even this big stomach can only hold so much.


sea57 by Jenseib, on Flickr


sea58 by Jenseib, on Flickr


sea59 by Jenseib, on Flickr


sea60 by Jenseib, on Flickr


sea61 by Jenseib, on Flickr


sea62 by Jenseib, on Flickr


My first trip!


sea63 by Jenseib, on Flickr


And you must start out with a few chocolate covered strawberries too. (kind of like always starting your first meal at Cabanas with a chocolate chip cookie).


sea64 by Jenseib, on Flickr


I think Cass had like 3 things on her plate. LOL


I also ordered the margarita (sp?) pizza and was offering to share it with others, but I think in the end everyone else had so much it wasn’t completely eaten.


sea65 by Jenseib, on Flickr


Ellen (and several others) got the pancakes, which looked fabulous.


sea66 by Jenseib, on Flickr


I got the Chicken Parm with risotto! I LOVE this risotto. I could live on it! Seriously, it is just so awesome!!!! ( I think on our Oct cruise I am going to make a Palo reservation for Mom and I so we can have that dish again.)

sea67 by Jenseib, on Flickr


And a few desserts! I really didn’t have much room left, but I forced them down.

sea68 by Jenseib, on Flickr

I had been sitting where 2 tables connected and there was a bump/uneven ledge there…..and I set my diet coke down right on it at one point and it spilled all over. How embarrassing! Just like a dang kid, you can’t take me anywhere!


We cleaned it up and Cass noticed a spot that had been left in a very familiar shape.


sea69 by Jenseib, on Flickr


Yes, I made a hidden Mickey!


mickey stain by Jenseib, on Flickr


And with it being Katie’s b-day they brought out a special plate for her.


sea70 by Jenseib, on Flickr


Up next, I am such an artist!

 

[rndmr2]

I really need to go on a DCL cruise so I can go to the Palo brunch! So many things look so good! (And I am a VERY picky eater!!)

Also love all the pics around the ship, the ship is so pretty.

 

[Pinkocto]

Oh my goodness, that meal looked amazing!!!

Awesome that you got the private room.

What is this a Star Wars shop taking over? Why not just add the merchandise to the other shops?

I love sea days too!

 

[jenseib]

I really need to go on a DCL cruise so I can go to the Palo brunch! So many things look so good! (And I am a VERY picky eater!!)

Also love all the pics around the ship, the ship is so pretty.

I do love Palo brunch. There are some weird/strange things but there is a lot of good stuff too.

Oh my goodness, that meal looked amazing!!!

Awesome that you got the private room.

What is this a Star Wars shop taking over? Why not just add the merchandise to the other shops?

I love sea days too!

The private room was really nice.

I found it kind of odd they made it into a Star Wars shop too since the Magic doesn't do Star Wars cruises.

 

[dolphingirl47]

Palo brunch looked delicious. I love that risotto, too. That seems to be a strange choice to add a Star Wars store.

Corinna

 

[Pinkocto]

I found it kind of odd they made it into a Star Wars shop too since the Magic doesn't do Star Wars cruises.

That makes it even stranger...

 

[canyoncam]

I hadn't really looked at any pictures yet of the re-imagined Magic. I do not care for the new After Hours. Preferred Beat Street, LOVE Route 66 and am in denial that its going away, but I understand how others would like the new theme. I like both Brunch and dinner in PALO. Crazy I know! And Wonder has the Star Wars shop too. Beyond understanding.

 

[jenseib]

Palo brunch looked delicious. I love that risotto, too. That seems to be a strange choice to add a Star Wars store.

Corinna

that risotto is to die for!!!
I guess Disney is taking advantage of owning Star Wars and trying to make up every dime they paid for it. LOL.

That makes it even stranger...

Disney does some strange things these days though.

I hadn't really looked at any pictures yet of the re-imagined Magic. I do not care for the new After Hours. Preferred Beat Street, LOVE Route 66 and am in denial that its going away, but I understand how others would like the new theme. I like both Brunch and dinner in PALO. Crazy I know! And Wonder has the Star Wars shop too. Beyond understanding.

I have been on the Magic with both. In reality it is still pretty much the same as what they use each room for. I do think I like Beat Street better in looks but that could just be because my first Magic cruise it was that then....and we had such a good time. I do have a tentative Wonder cruise booked for next year, but we will have to see how things play out. I figured it is best to book then (back when I booked it) as I am sure prices are going to sky rocket once they announce the changes that will take place. For a Disney cruise, I booked it at a really good price. I have to decide by late this year if it is a go.