Dug720
See the line where the sky meets the sea?
- Joined
- Feb 16, 2012
Decided to try and do an actual trip report for my first cruise on the Magic! And since I leave for Miami tomorrow, I'll go ahead and start now so I can keep up slightly as I go - probably not getting internet on the ship though, but this will be a good start!
The cast:
Me...
Lifelong Disney fan! First Disney cruise on the Dream in July 2013. Other Disney cruises - Dream Feb 2014, Fantasy 2015. So this will be my fourth Disney cruise and first time on the Magic. In my daily life I'm a Special Education teacher in NYC with a class of 2nd and 3rd graders with autism. This is my Winter Break from school.
My parents, Jim and Starr...
Also pretty solid Disney fans! First Disney cruise - Dream July 2013. And they have 3 other Disney cruises - 2 on the Fantasy...not positive on the other, but either the Dream or Fantasy. As they're retired and can do more last-minute things, they've been able to do a couple of cruises on my sister's "friends and family" rate. This will be their fifth - also first time on the Magic. As I said, they're retired, but usher at TN Performing Arts Center on a very part-time basis. I wanted to take them on this cruise just as a "thank you" for everything they've done for me.
The plans...
I am flying to Miami tomorrow and will play for a couple of days before my parents join me on Tuesday, then Wednesday we will board the Magic. My plans include a HOHO bus tour on as many of the loops as I can, a jet boat tour, a Segway tour of Star Island and South Beach, dinner at Larios on the Beach and Hard Rock (then taking the parents to Larios on Tuesday night), and getting some cafecito along with just chilling and walking on the beach!!
Ship itinerary...
Wednesday - embarkation
Thursday - Castaway Cay where I have reserved a cabana at Serenity Bay for us. I was hoping to get one, and given that we now know my dad will have to have hip replacement after the cruise, I'm so super glad I was able to!
Friday - Key West where we plan to wander around a bit (we were there for 3 nights in 2013 prior to the Dream cruise, so we hit the major things) and get some Key Lime Pie (gluten free for me!!). We will be doing Palo dinner on this evening as it is Pirate Night and we wanted to experience the Magic's main dining rooms since this is our first time on the ship.
Saturday - Sea Day where we have scheduled the Princess Gathering, the Frozen M&G, and Palo Brunch (first on the brunch for Mom and Daddy).
Sunday - disembarkation and Disney shuttle to the airport.
Firsts for us (besides the Magic and the cabana)...
* Our first cruise where there is some mobility limitation; Daddy has a cane and is getting around generally pretty well...we will just go slower than usual.
* My first Disney cruise since going gluten-free. Already noted on the reservation, and I plan to pop into the dining changes area just to make sure it is noted (and also see if I need to give Palo a heads-up that I will want the GF chocolate soufflé). I've done a couple of cruises (RCCL and fathom) since having to go GF so I have an idea of how it generally works.
* My first cruise since starting back on Weight Watchers. As of today I've lost 23.6 pounds and while I'm not counting on continuing to lose while cruising, at least I want to minimize the damage. So I'm already planning for things like requesting no GF bread be brought to the table and letting the service team know that just because I may not eat everything does not mean I don't like it. Also things like using a salad plate at Cabanas, etc. And I'm bringing my WW gf pretzel bites for snacking. Also things like walking with my mom when she does her ship laps, taking advantage of the gym, and putting my parents on the elevator (Daddy's hip) then taking the stairs and meeting them at the elevator bank.
So... That sets the stage I think. Time to go finish packing as I will head for the airport shortly after seeing On Your Feet! tonight for my "one year anniversary" of seeing the show for the first time. (Yes, it's getting there early, but they are finally trying to bring LaGuardia into the 20th century (21st is a super big stretch right now), and the traffic getting there has been horrendous, even early in the morning. So I'm definitely going with "better to be there super early than have to walk up to a mile to get there in time".)
The cast:
Me...
Lifelong Disney fan! First Disney cruise on the Dream in July 2013. Other Disney cruises - Dream Feb 2014, Fantasy 2015. So this will be my fourth Disney cruise and first time on the Magic. In my daily life I'm a Special Education teacher in NYC with a class of 2nd and 3rd graders with autism. This is my Winter Break from school.
My parents, Jim and Starr...
Also pretty solid Disney fans! First Disney cruise - Dream July 2013. And they have 3 other Disney cruises - 2 on the Fantasy...not positive on the other, but either the Dream or Fantasy. As they're retired and can do more last-minute things, they've been able to do a couple of cruises on my sister's "friends and family" rate. This will be their fifth - also first time on the Magic. As I said, they're retired, but usher at TN Performing Arts Center on a very part-time basis. I wanted to take them on this cruise just as a "thank you" for everything they've done for me.
The plans...
I am flying to Miami tomorrow and will play for a couple of days before my parents join me on Tuesday, then Wednesday we will board the Magic. My plans include a HOHO bus tour on as many of the loops as I can, a jet boat tour, a Segway tour of Star Island and South Beach, dinner at Larios on the Beach and Hard Rock (then taking the parents to Larios on Tuesday night), and getting some cafecito along with just chilling and walking on the beach!!
Ship itinerary...
Wednesday - embarkation
Thursday - Castaway Cay where I have reserved a cabana at Serenity Bay for us. I was hoping to get one, and given that we now know my dad will have to have hip replacement after the cruise, I'm so super glad I was able to!
Friday - Key West where we plan to wander around a bit (we were there for 3 nights in 2013 prior to the Dream cruise, so we hit the major things) and get some Key Lime Pie (gluten free for me!!). We will be doing Palo dinner on this evening as it is Pirate Night and we wanted to experience the Magic's main dining rooms since this is our first time on the ship.
Saturday - Sea Day where we have scheduled the Princess Gathering, the Frozen M&G, and Palo Brunch (first on the brunch for Mom and Daddy).
Sunday - disembarkation and Disney shuttle to the airport.
Firsts for us (besides the Magic and the cabana)...
* Our first cruise where there is some mobility limitation; Daddy has a cane and is getting around generally pretty well...we will just go slower than usual.
* My first Disney cruise since going gluten-free. Already noted on the reservation, and I plan to pop into the dining changes area just to make sure it is noted (and also see if I need to give Palo a heads-up that I will want the GF chocolate soufflé). I've done a couple of cruises (RCCL and fathom) since having to go GF so I have an idea of how it generally works.
* My first cruise since starting back on Weight Watchers. As of today I've lost 23.6 pounds and while I'm not counting on continuing to lose while cruising, at least I want to minimize the damage. So I'm already planning for things like requesting no GF bread be brought to the table and letting the service team know that just because I may not eat everything does not mean I don't like it. Also things like using a salad plate at Cabanas, etc. And I'm bringing my WW gf pretzel bites for snacking. Also things like walking with my mom when she does her ship laps, taking advantage of the gym, and putting my parents on the elevator (Daddy's hip) then taking the stairs and meeting them at the elevator bank.
So... That sets the stage I think. Time to go finish packing as I will head for the airport shortly after seeing On Your Feet! tonight for my "one year anniversary" of seeing the show for the first time. (Yes, it's getting there early, but they are finally trying to bring LaGuardia into the 20th century (21st is a super big stretch right now), and the traffic getting there has been horrendous, even early in the morning. So I'm definitely going with "better to be there super early than have to walk up to a mile to get there in time".)