2disneycruzrs
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Oct 12, 2003
- Messages
- 899
We had a fabulous cruise trip for the 12/4 Magic sailing in stateroom 6652. Ill try to keep it short here.
Pre-trip: I secured a cabana for CC when Gold window opened, parasailing for DH, and Palo for DH and me. My TA didnt know you could request dining assignments, but she requested Lumieres for our Palo night (so we could try Cariocas and the new AP). Didnt sign up for FE but I heard of a lot of great, unique gifts in both FE groups. Stayed pre-night at Residence Inn at Miami Airport since we had a late arrival the night before the cruise. Staff is great. Cab next morning to port was $25 plus tip and a 20-minute ride.
Port: We had an 11 AM PAT and arrived at 11:10 AM; there was no wait except five minutes at check-in. Very smooth process with respect to lines. My only minor disappointment was they had us fill out the paper forms even though we did online check-in, and the paper forms were not in our booklet. We were boarding group 4 and boarded around noon (group 1 started at 11:50). We went straight to an aft restroom and changed to swimsuits then straight up to the Aqua Lab area. DD loved the pool and slide, and we got in about 10 runs with no wait before doing lunch then going to our cabin. The pool and slide had few people until later. It was busy by 3 PM. All of our luggage arrived by 3 PM, and we were completely unpacked by drill time. Ive really come to liking the early arrival versus DCL transportation arrival times that we had done previous trips except last year on Dream. DD gets to enjoy the pools without as many people.
Dining: Our request was fulfilled and we had CCLA as hoped. Pirate Night was the second night of the trip (CC night). We had a table to ourselves, which worked well though we enjoy meeting other families. Our servers were Lazim from Trinidad and Avatar from India. They were AWESOME! Our Platinum table neighbors felt this team was one of the best they had ever had. That says a lot for people on their 14th cruise. Food was good including the variety. Enjoyed experiencing Cariocas menu. Enjoyed the new AP show. We love Palo, and its still always the best meal. Our waiter, Evandro, was wonderful and encouraged the lamb so I went for it. Excellent but too much food&I love how they are willing to provide anything you wish. I wanted to try the truffle potato risotta, so they brought it as a side. Really good. Evandros story was equally interesting!
Pools: I forgot how much I love the classic ships and the number of people on board compared to our Dream experiences. Even though the Goofy pool had a lot of people in it, it was manageable and also warmer water compared to the Aqua Lab pool, which tended to have shade and when there were winds, it was cold. I went to the Quiet Cove just momentarily, and it was amazing that it was more quiet there than our post-cruise resorts pool full of adults. I did the AquaDunk once but can live without it&just not my cup of tea. Saw a lot of people back out once up top. Just be sure to keep your mouth closed or you will get a lot of water at the end. DD made a friend while we were at the cabana, and she loved playing with him at the pool/slide (thanks, Tinky624!).
Stateroom: Love the high beds like on the Dream and putting suitcases underneath. The tile in the bathroom is really the only thing that showed age but it was always clean. There was a drain cover on our verandah that was left uncovered the entire time because they were working on the drainage. It was a concern but never affected my 4YO. We love sailing aft for convenience to everything, but I wish I would have had the clear plexi verandah for DD to see, but it wasnt too much of an issue. Having the larger verandah was nice. Our host was nice but we didnt have much interaction with him. I just hoped he turned in our iPhone 4 we left behind on the sofabed.
Oceaneer Club: The changes are great. DD got stuck coming down the slide since its metal and slow. She did Become Iron Man during an open house, and it was fun to watch her do it. She went to OC while we were at Palo she doesnt enjoy it because she doesnt know anyone or have siblings. She was bawling but by the time we picked her up, she was coloring an Avengers cape. YC Brittany was awesome and helped calm her down. Love the Magic Bands but at check-in, they put it on her too tight.
Characters: DD does not like the characters (she yells NO!! when they are anywhere close). She loved meeting Captain America and the Princesses, including Anna from Frozen. The only disappointment was we knew Ariel was no longer on the ship but nor was Belle. Peter Pan was on here but not Tinkerbell (this PP is awesome so engaging with the kids!). I was in shock when Cinderella remembered DD from the Dream last year.
Castaway Cay: As mentioned, we got a cabana on CC (#7). Once you have a cabana, its hard to go back. I did notice that its not as big of an issue with the classic ships. You really notice the difference in number of people on the island. Its just nice to have a secure place to store your items if you are doing activities or running back to the ship. Our host, Tawanda, was awesome. We tipped him there since we were not in Concierge class on ship. Later in the evening we ran into him on the ship, and he asked us to let him know if there was anything he could do for us. We returned to our stateroom to find he left DD a Duffy Goofy stuffed animal and DCL Princess pink sash. DH had a perfect day for parasailing and loved it as always. Post office was closed once again.
One more thing...we moved quickly from Miami to CC. We arrived to the waters near CC around 6:30 AM because they were doing a helicopter photo shoot of the ship, so we continually saw it circling us so the photographer could shoot from all angles then also on CC they were photographing all over the island via air throughout the day. The 9 AM parasailing was cancelled because of the photography.
Other: A Platinum cruiser with friends on staff told me the entertainment staff was going to be changing by 80%, so on the last night was I saw them rehearse the full Pirate Night festivities minus Mickey zipline and fireworks. I went to the drink station at 11:15 to get hot choc and heard some music at the Goofy pool. Saw what was happening and watched the full run-through until 12:45 AM!
We didnt do too many holiday activities. Went to tree lighting that was packed on all decks. I had never seen so many people attend this as we did this year! DD & I went to a holiday craft activity. Didnt finish the activity b/c I enjoyed talking with the others at the table.
We re-book on board then transfer to AAA. I love that Shutters now has a 10- and 15-photo digital option. We used our AAA credit and ended up getting the 10 for $49.95 along with the borders. We had our $100 OBB credit plus the $100 DCL added to our account in Oct since they were running a special for almost-Gold and higher guests. The CC party was 11 AM on sea day. Capt. John didnt take Q&A but I did ask him if any changes were coming to CC program; none that he was aware. Was not a fan of the 7 AM Key West immigration call time but it went quickly and got our day moving. We didnt do much off ship and were back on by 10:30. CC Gold gifts received were blue CC backpack, key chain, and a DCL memory book that can be hung. Loved lots of Tervis cup options for sale; bought four of the five available. So excited DD agreed to see Disney Dreams, and she loved it! Happy mom! Disembarkation was smooth but didnt like that we had to wait for luggage off the carousel versus lined up, but I realize its a different set-up for DCL by the port.
Future Cruise: We rebooked on board and will surprise Grandma with the trip, too. My only concern is we booked on the Wonder, which hasnt had any of the renovations. Im considering moving to a Concierge room on the Dream since DD is tall enough for the AquaDuck, and we could almost assure ourselves of a cabana for Grandma at CC. We loved the Magic but it wasnt an option for date we wanted. I think right now, I prefer the Magic of all the ships and that tends to be the same answer for most veterans.
If anyone wants to see Navigators, Ill be sending them to the blog. Let me know if you have any questions, and Ill try to answer.
Pre-trip: I secured a cabana for CC when Gold window opened, parasailing for DH, and Palo for DH and me. My TA didnt know you could request dining assignments, but she requested Lumieres for our Palo night (so we could try Cariocas and the new AP). Didnt sign up for FE but I heard of a lot of great, unique gifts in both FE groups. Stayed pre-night at Residence Inn at Miami Airport since we had a late arrival the night before the cruise. Staff is great. Cab next morning to port was $25 plus tip and a 20-minute ride.
Port: We had an 11 AM PAT and arrived at 11:10 AM; there was no wait except five minutes at check-in. Very smooth process with respect to lines. My only minor disappointment was they had us fill out the paper forms even though we did online check-in, and the paper forms were not in our booklet. We were boarding group 4 and boarded around noon (group 1 started at 11:50). We went straight to an aft restroom and changed to swimsuits then straight up to the Aqua Lab area. DD loved the pool and slide, and we got in about 10 runs with no wait before doing lunch then going to our cabin. The pool and slide had few people until later. It was busy by 3 PM. All of our luggage arrived by 3 PM, and we were completely unpacked by drill time. Ive really come to liking the early arrival versus DCL transportation arrival times that we had done previous trips except last year on Dream. DD gets to enjoy the pools without as many people.
Dining: Our request was fulfilled and we had CCLA as hoped. Pirate Night was the second night of the trip (CC night). We had a table to ourselves, which worked well though we enjoy meeting other families. Our servers were Lazim from Trinidad and Avatar from India. They were AWESOME! Our Platinum table neighbors felt this team was one of the best they had ever had. That says a lot for people on their 14th cruise. Food was good including the variety. Enjoyed experiencing Cariocas menu. Enjoyed the new AP show. We love Palo, and its still always the best meal. Our waiter, Evandro, was wonderful and encouraged the lamb so I went for it. Excellent but too much food&I love how they are willing to provide anything you wish. I wanted to try the truffle potato risotta, so they brought it as a side. Really good. Evandros story was equally interesting!
Pools: I forgot how much I love the classic ships and the number of people on board compared to our Dream experiences. Even though the Goofy pool had a lot of people in it, it was manageable and also warmer water compared to the Aqua Lab pool, which tended to have shade and when there were winds, it was cold. I went to the Quiet Cove just momentarily, and it was amazing that it was more quiet there than our post-cruise resorts pool full of adults. I did the AquaDunk once but can live without it&just not my cup of tea. Saw a lot of people back out once up top. Just be sure to keep your mouth closed or you will get a lot of water at the end. DD made a friend while we were at the cabana, and she loved playing with him at the pool/slide (thanks, Tinky624!).
Stateroom: Love the high beds like on the Dream and putting suitcases underneath. The tile in the bathroom is really the only thing that showed age but it was always clean. There was a drain cover on our verandah that was left uncovered the entire time because they were working on the drainage. It was a concern but never affected my 4YO. We love sailing aft for convenience to everything, but I wish I would have had the clear plexi verandah for DD to see, but it wasnt too much of an issue. Having the larger verandah was nice. Our host was nice but we didnt have much interaction with him. I just hoped he turned in our iPhone 4 we left behind on the sofabed.
Oceaneer Club: The changes are great. DD got stuck coming down the slide since its metal and slow. She did Become Iron Man during an open house, and it was fun to watch her do it. She went to OC while we were at Palo she doesnt enjoy it because she doesnt know anyone or have siblings. She was bawling but by the time we picked her up, she was coloring an Avengers cape. YC Brittany was awesome and helped calm her down. Love the Magic Bands but at check-in, they put it on her too tight.
Characters: DD does not like the characters (she yells NO!! when they are anywhere close). She loved meeting Captain America and the Princesses, including Anna from Frozen. The only disappointment was we knew Ariel was no longer on the ship but nor was Belle. Peter Pan was on here but not Tinkerbell (this PP is awesome so engaging with the kids!). I was in shock when Cinderella remembered DD from the Dream last year.
Castaway Cay: As mentioned, we got a cabana on CC (#7). Once you have a cabana, its hard to go back. I did notice that its not as big of an issue with the classic ships. You really notice the difference in number of people on the island. Its just nice to have a secure place to store your items if you are doing activities or running back to the ship. Our host, Tawanda, was awesome. We tipped him there since we were not in Concierge class on ship. Later in the evening we ran into him on the ship, and he asked us to let him know if there was anything he could do for us. We returned to our stateroom to find he left DD a Duffy Goofy stuffed animal and DCL Princess pink sash. DH had a perfect day for parasailing and loved it as always. Post office was closed once again.
One more thing...we moved quickly from Miami to CC. We arrived to the waters near CC around 6:30 AM because they were doing a helicopter photo shoot of the ship, so we continually saw it circling us so the photographer could shoot from all angles then also on CC they were photographing all over the island via air throughout the day. The 9 AM parasailing was cancelled because of the photography.
Other: A Platinum cruiser with friends on staff told me the entertainment staff was going to be changing by 80%, so on the last night was I saw them rehearse the full Pirate Night festivities minus Mickey zipline and fireworks. I went to the drink station at 11:15 to get hot choc and heard some music at the Goofy pool. Saw what was happening and watched the full run-through until 12:45 AM!
We didnt do too many holiday activities. Went to tree lighting that was packed on all decks. I had never seen so many people attend this as we did this year! DD & I went to a holiday craft activity. Didnt finish the activity b/c I enjoyed talking with the others at the table.
We re-book on board then transfer to AAA. I love that Shutters now has a 10- and 15-photo digital option. We used our AAA credit and ended up getting the 10 for $49.95 along with the borders. We had our $100 OBB credit plus the $100 DCL added to our account in Oct since they were running a special for almost-Gold and higher guests. The CC party was 11 AM on sea day. Capt. John didnt take Q&A but I did ask him if any changes were coming to CC program; none that he was aware. Was not a fan of the 7 AM Key West immigration call time but it went quickly and got our day moving. We didnt do much off ship and were back on by 10:30. CC Gold gifts received were blue CC backpack, key chain, and a DCL memory book that can be hung. Loved lots of Tervis cup options for sale; bought four of the five available. So excited DD agreed to see Disney Dreams, and she loved it! Happy mom! Disembarkation was smooth but didnt like that we had to wait for luggage off the carousel versus lined up, but I realize its a different set-up for DCL by the port.
Future Cruise: We rebooked on board and will surprise Grandma with the trip, too. My only concern is we booked on the Wonder, which hasnt had any of the renovations. Im considering moving to a Concierge room on the Dream since DD is tall enough for the AquaDuck, and we could almost assure ourselves of a cabana for Grandma at CC. We loved the Magic but it wasnt an option for date we wanted. I think right now, I prefer the Magic of all the ships and that tends to be the same answer for most veterans.
If anyone wants to see Navigators, Ill be sending them to the blog. Let me know if you have any questions, and Ill try to answer.
