Things I Learned

PPFQP

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May 6, 2004
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We just returned from the 3/26 Easter week on the Magic. What a wonderful, fabulous time we had. There were so many tips and tricks that I learned from this board; my dh was very impressed and sends his thanks to you all!
I'll post a detailed trip report once I catch my breath, but here are some things that I want to pass on ...

1) Arrive the day before. I posted about this in another thread, but take it to heart. That is the one mistake we made that started our trip on a less than stellar note. Despite the frustration, it all turned out fine because I followed this next bit of advice...

2) Book the REAS! Booking our Palo times and spa appointment in advance, as well as requesting the dinner rotation, greatly reduced our anxiety about arriving so late. We were still able to get an additional spa appointment, but it was nice not having to worry about making and/or missing reservations. The welcome basket was a wonderful treat, and all in all, this package is well worth the cost.

3) The beds are extremely comfortable! I have never slept so soundly on vacation! I am picky about beds; my own is a high quality pillow top mattress and I like very good quality linens. I was very pleasantly surprised at how comfortable the mattress was on the ship and that it is double sheeted with nice soft sheets. We requested some additional pillows from the steward when we arrived and they were heavenly. I brought ear plugs -- mostly becasue of family snoring, but they also helped muffle ship noise, and I highly recommend them.

4) Useful things: over the door hanger, closet shoe hanging shelf, air freshener for the bathroom, door signs (we took them off the last night as we were packing and had trouble finding our room!), foaming antibacterial soap for the sinks in the stateroom (helped the kids wash their hands more effectively), wet wipes for the toilet, movie candy, aloe for sunburn, lots of sunscreen (so everyone had their own bottle), hats (or buy a fun Disney hat -- not visor -- on the ship to avoid scalp sunburn), clothespins ( for hanging wet swimsuits and for holding curtains closed), hooks (for hanging laundry basket in closet, pjs, lanyards with KTTW cards, numerous other things), radios (ours always worked great), pens and notepads for room, light up alarm clock, power strip and extension cord, water shoes from Lands End, blister block bandaids, return address labels for luggage tags at disembarkation, binoculars.

5) Things we brought but didn't need: duct tape, reading light, bonine sea bands and all the other variety of seasickness remedies, soft sided cooler, laundry supplies, insect repellant, flashlights, antibacterial wipes (they're readily available all over the ship if you need them), cutting knife -- dh's Leatherman was confiscated at the terminal out of his checked bag. It is helpful to have for cutting up fruit and such, but I guess you'd have to try and bring it on board in your carry on. They returned it to him when we disembarked; he had to pick it up in the terminal.

6) Things I didn't bring but wished I'd had: underwater camera for Sting Ray excursion, dolphin encounter and snorkeling and more money for pictures! Also, next time I would bring my daughters alarm clock which has a CD player; we missed not having tunes in the room.

I have so much more to share, but it will have to wait for a trip report. All I will say in summary is that all four of us -- DH, me, and our 10-year-old twin dd's -- absolutely loved this trip. We booked another cruise while on board and can't wait to get back.
 
I am glad that you and your family had a wonderful vacation.
Thank you for the tips on what to bring or not to bring.
When are you going to book your next cruise?
 
Sounds fantastic - I am still sitting on the fence with regards a cruise as water and I dont mix - ie I think I would worry that we were about to sink all the time!!!
Would anyone mind giving me some idea of cost for a cruise?
Thanks
Really looking forward to reading the trip report
 
thanks for taking the time to post your tips!! they will come in handy- looking forward to reading your trip report :flower:
 

How did you ever manage to pack all of that stuff? This is our first trip in awhile where I will pack enough so not to do laundry. Where will I fit the other stuff? Is there not an alarm clock in the room?
 
FreeTime said:
How did you ever manage to pack all of that stuff? This is our first trip in awhile where I will pack enough so not to do laundry. Where will I fit the other stuff? Is there not an alarm clock in the room?

There is an alarm clock, but I would use the wake up call as its Mickey calling to wake you up.
 
jmcdonnell04 said:
I am glad that you and your family had a wonderful vacation.
Thank you for the tips on what to bring or not to bring.
When are you going to book your next cruise?

We booked for April 2006, but will probably rebook for 2007 when the dates are announced. We weren't entirely sure about the dates for our school system's Spring Break in 2006, so either way we will probably adjust the dates. It's well worth it to rebook on board -- the discount and the onboard credit help a little with the cost! -- and it's so much easier to get off the ship knowing that you'll be coming back.
 
FreeTime said:
How did you ever manage to pack all of that stuff? This is our first trip in awhile where I will pack enough so not to do laundry. Where will I fit the other stuff? Is there not an alarm clock in the room?

We had 7 checked bags, and 2 carry ons (camera bag and overnight bag), plus the kids each had a backpack. I didn't do wash, and I was pretty pleased with the amount of clothes that were used. I think only the girls had extra clothes that they didn't wear. The kids each had 3 swim suits, and needed them all, and dh and I both brought 2 and used them both. You don't need as many clothes as you think -- recycle your dressy outfits for dinner and Palo. DH brought 2 pair of Dockers pants and just wore different shirts each night. We ended up buying t-shirts, so only needed a couple with shorts during the day.

It wasn't so much the alarm function as the clock itself. There is a lovely propeller clock in the room, but it is not lighted and I like to see what time it is if/when I wake up in the night. It was also helpful to have a clock in the other part of the room. You can use the TV as an alarm or have a wake-up call. Quite honestly, we only needed an alarm on Grand Cayman day and disembarkation.
 
We sail in October and I was thinking about packing this weekend...."Already" :confused3 Sorry....I am like that! LOL Anway I figure with 3 sea days that cuts down on 3 day time outfits....I am sure we will be in our swimsuits and cover-ups most of the day. :sunny: I just don't want to overpack this trip....So I am trying to figure out ways to keep it down. I know I will need outfits for evening and then I can work with a few pair of shorts and tops for the rest of the week. Plus I can purchase things and I am sure that I will... :cool1: The most important items to pack are a few different swimsuits.

Are they still giving Beachtowels for Castaway club members???? :confused3

Heck even on our St.John excursion we will probably just have suits and cover ups or shorts that day too.

Plus We need room for a couple nice formal type outfits...

OMG...So much to think about! Thanks for any tips from past 7 day cruisers. This will be the longest cruise we have taken so far. :goodvibes
 
BABYJOSIE98 said:
Anway I figure with 3 sea days that cuts down on 3 day time outfits....I am sure we will be in our swimsuits and cover-ups most of the day. :sunny: I just don't want to overpack this trip....So I am trying to figure out ways to keep it down. I know I will need outfits for evening and then I can work with a few pair of shorts and tops for the rest of the week. Plus I can purchase things and I am sure that I will... :cool1: The most important items to pack are a few different swimsuits.

I think you're right on track. We found that we could recycle the shorts and shirts because we only wore them for a portion of the day and they didn't get dirty.

BABYJOSIE98 said:
Are they still giving Beachtowels for Castaway club members???? :confused3 .

I don't know, because this was our first cruise.

BABYJOSIE98 said:
Plus We need room for a couple nice formal type outfits....

We had one hanging bag with all of our formal wear. DH wore a tux for formal night, I had a long dress with a beaded jacket and the girls had formal dresses. I wore a black sheath dress with a lace jacket to Palo and to semi-formal night, and the girls each had a dress for semi-formal. DH wore a jacket with a dress shirt for Palo and semi-formal.

The worst thing is the shoes!!!! DH got away with 3 pairs -- tennies, sandals and dress shoes. But the girls and I, well, we are not that simple! We have "outfits" after all -- with shoes to match. We had one whole suitcase with nothing but shoes. Fortunately, the girls (despite being only 10 years old) wear women's size 7 -8 shoes, so we could share sometimes.

Make sure you have one really comfortable, reliable pair of shoes. We all ended up with blisters at some point, and it was nice to have something to fall back on.
 
I'm another big TGM fan here! We have taken our grandsons over Christmas for the past two years and have been very fortunate to be able to avoid the long lines with the worst possible crowds. The week between Christmas and New Years has to be the worst time as far as crowds go. With his advise we had extremely short wait time compared to others. I highly recommend his service, he is the best!

We also got the best discount out there. Our travel agent offers a FREE TGM subscription to anyone booking a five night or longer stay! I would highly recommend their services as well. ;)

:cheer2: :cheer2: :cheer2: :cheer2:
 
We were just on the Western and they are still giving the beach towels and 2 Castaway club pins. They were in our room on Sat. They also have a special cocktail party for us. We ended up with 2 because of the delay in tendering on the GC day so they had another one on the last night to make it up to the people who missed the first one. :flower:
 
:earseek: I was on the same cruise and I would just add to save your loosest clothes for the end of the cruise!!!!! My things seemed a little snugger at the end of the cruise!!!!
 

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