Western Caribbean 4/2 - 4/9, 2011 Anniversary Magic on Disney Magic!

[e_s_jones]

I'll start by saying that this is our second cruise, and this time it was just my wife and me for our 35th anniversary.

Booked Cat. 11C GTY and got Pixie Dust upgrade to Cat. 9C - Stateroom 2540. We were inside on Deck 1 the first cruise, and since that was a 4-day, we didn't really think we were missing much by not having a porthole.

WRONG! The porthole is GREAT, and we don't think we could go back!

As if pixie dust upgrade wasn't enough, we spotted dolphins in the port as we were pulling away... a legendary mariner's sign of good luck, and that is what was to come... 7 delightful days of perfect weather, new friends and a wonderful time never to be forgotten.

...more to come...

 

[e_s_jones]

I wanted to be able to see our stateroom from outside the ship (know which porthole was OURS!). So, before we disembarked in Key West, we hung a lanyard in the window and also propped up a piece of paper, hoping we could see it from the pier.

It's hard to see in those portholes from the outside, but we DID see it, and now know exactly where 2540 is.

As it turns out, not all deck 2 portholes are the same size. The midship ones are slightly larger. Stateroom 2540 (Cat. 9C) has a slightly smaller porthole than the next cabin aft (2542, which is Cat. 9B). Knowing this, it is easy to spot our stateroom from the outside... we're the last of the smaller portholes on the starboard side, moving aft.

Room was great... VERY close to the forward elevators, but not so close that we heard any noise from there. We heard a little noise from Rockin' Bar D the first night (Sat.) but it did not keep us awake at all.

2540 is a connecting room (to 2538). We did hear conversations occasionally from our neighbors, but never anything disturbing. YMMV.

We liked being on a lower deck, with a great, up-close view of the sea and the bow wake of the ship whenever we were underway.

As I said in my earlier post, the weather was PERFECT, with no seas to contend with of any consequence, so there was no ship motion to deal with.

We'd book this stateroom again in a Disney Minute!

 

[LillyBelle812]

We were on this cruise as well, and my husband (a merchant mariner) saw the dolphins as we were leaving the port too! I completely missed them . We had such a great time and I'm looking forward to reading the rest of your report!

 

[pooh_mania]

We were on the same cruise too! I saw the dolphins & even recorded some video!! You're right, it was a glorious week!!! Looking forward to your report.

 

[e_s_jones]

Let me offer a few thoughts on the food and service on our cruise.

We got the PLAAPLA rotation. Our servers were Giuseppe and Siri. Giuseppe, as you might guess, is Italian and Siri is from Thailand. Both were very friendly, and service, in most cases, was above average, though not outstanding. We dined with two other couples (our ages are all at or near retirement) and we were all sailing without kids. Some of the folks at our table wanted the same beverage every evening, and Siri was very good with that. My wife and I, though, went with the mood, and sometimes we'd order a mixed drink, sometimes a soft drink and sometimes just water. This did not fit into Siri's service flow well, and sometimes we'd have to remind her to take our drink orders. I don't know how many tables the pair were responsible for, but they were always busy, but not always as attentive to our table as we sometimes would have liked. Watching them, we felt they paid more attention to tables with kids. Maybe that is how DCL trains them.

The quality of the food was always good, but seldom outstanding, much like the service. However, there are so many choices that you can't go too wrong, what with an appetizer, soup, entree and dessert to choose from each night. And if you want two appetizers, or even two entrees, DO ask!

We had decided from the outset that we were going to skip formal night. I know, I know, posters here have said that you are not required to dress to the nines, but I saw enough people in tuxedos at the Captain's reception that I knew people were enjoying the ambiance, and that we had made the right decision. We went, therefore, to Topsiders for dinner, and had Beef Wellington, which turned out to be one of our favorite dinners of the week! It's been pointed out here before that for the evening meal, Topsiders is not a buffet, but becomes another table service restaurant. As you enter, the host/hostess walks you down the buffet line, where there is one example of each of the evening's entree offerings available to view! Then, you're taken to your table (inside... we were never offered the option to go outside, so I don't know if they offer that) and introduced to your server. Service at Topsiders was outstanding for us, and I would not hesitate to go back.

As luck would have it, formal night (for us) would have been at Animator's Palate, but that was not the show night (usually the first night at AP) because formal night took precedence. So our choice to skip formal night meant we had no dining room that we visited three nights, AND we didn't miss the AP show!

Other thoughts.... get the Cold Strawberry Soup whenever and wherever you see it.... SOOoooo good!

Lumiere's brunch is very good, and if you like Eggs Benedict, they do them very well. On our Grand Cayman day, I came back from my SCUBA trip craving food almost belief.... my wife happened to be in the room when I got there, and I just said "I'm starved!" She had just come from Lumiere's for lunch and said she had gotten a great hamburger there. I said that was JUST what I had been craving most, so that's where we went. I chowed down on an EXCEPTIONAL burger, while telling her (between bites) about my diving adventure.

Other food we tried.... Topsiders buffet upon boarding.... not to be missed, IMHO. It sets the cruise mood perfectly. Topsiders for breakfast, too, and don't miss the omelette bar. I'm more of an early riser than my wife, so I would usually go get breakfast on my own, then either take her a tray from Topsiders or Goofy's Galley to serve her breakfast in bed... one of HER favorite things about the cruise!

We had ham and pineapple pizza from Pinocchio's once. It was good, but we took slices that were already baked, and we didn't think it was very fresh. We could have asked for a pizza baked to order, but with only the two of us wanting a mid-afternoon snack, half of it would have gone to waste, and we didn't want that. Lord only knows how much food is wasted onboard as it is!

Hot Dog and Chicken Strips from Pluto's Dog House are great, and fries, too, if they are fresh, which ours weren't always.

I love chicken wings, too, and tried the ones in Diversions. They are sort of a Teriyaki/BBQ and not a Buffalo-style, but OK nonetheless. We never used room service, but I would guess that the ones on that menu would be the same as at Diversions.

 

[e_s_jones]

Background: I asked on this board a few weeks before sailing whether the ship's time changed when going to Cozumel (which is on Central time). There were mixed replies, but on our cruise, the ship's time DID change, I think on the night at sea as we headed for Grand Cayman. There was a card on our bed the night before, reminding us of the change.


The next afternoon, I was going to walk up to Deck 9 to get us each a Coke. I'd usually walk the entire corridor to the aft elevators (our stateroom was between forward and midship) where it was a quick and easy trip up to the soda station.

As I walked down the corridor, I approached a young girl, maybe 7 or 8 (I'm not good about ages), leaning against a stateroom door, sobbing, and slowly laying her fist against the door. She wasn't pounding, she was defeated, obviously, and just making the motion of pounding.

I stopped and said to her, "I can help you. What's wrong?"

She said, "Why won't they answer?"

I, of course, thought she had just gotten the wrong stateroom.

"If you come with me, I'll get help for you," I said in my most reassuring tone.

Then, as I was ready to ask her if she was sure she had the right room, she said, "I've called the room twice, and I've been standing here knocking for 20 minutes! Why won't they answer?"

In my mind, I was thinking I would just walk her to the elevator lobby nearby, where I would call Guest Services, put them on the phone with the girl, and they would take it from there.

I said, "Come with me, and.... are you sure your family is in there?"

She looked at me and said, "Yes, it's almost dinner time."

1-second pause, then HUGE cartoon light bulb appears over my head.

"No, it's not!" I told her. "We changed time zones on the ship last night. You should have gotten a note to change your watch."

2-second pause, then she said, "Are you sure?"

"Yes," I said. "Here, look at my watch... it is 20 'til 5, not 20 'til 6. Dinner isn't for another hour."

I showed her.

"This changes everything!" she said in a sweet voice that sounded like Shirley Temple. "Thank you SOOoooo much!"

The tears were gone, and she seemed like the weight of the world had been lifted from her.

"That's OK," I said. "Are you all right now?"

She was working on her watch.

"Can you set my watch for me?" she said. "I can't get it."

I leaned over and set her Cinderella watch for her, then showed her mine again to assure her that she was now on the correct time.

"THANK you!" she said again. "Thank you sooooo much! You Saved My Life!"

"You're welcome," I told her. "I hope your day is better now!"

I don't know if she heard me. She was heading down the corridor away from me, relieved that she hadn't screwed up, and that she hadn't missed meeting her family, either.

 

[e_s_jones]

Since everything else on our cruise was nearly perfect, why would Castaway Cay be any different?

I wanted to get to Serenity Bay early to get a good, shady spot for our day at the beach. So, I was one of the first ones off the ship. I went down to the aft elevator lobby on Deck 2, and there was already quite a crowd assembled there! The stairs to Deck 1 were blocked with the blue straps, and everyone was patiently waiting to go ashore. I didn't have long to wait!

Off the ship, and onto the first tram... after stopping by a friendly CM to pick up a couple of towels! They have changed the tram stops since we were here in 2008, so I got off too soon. Note to others... if you're going to SB, stay on the tram and get off at Pelican Point stop to transfer to the SB tram. This was not a big deal, as it is only a short walk to the second stop.

I got to SB, and found that I was nearly the first one there!!!

I had taken along my Wave Phone (in a waterproof pouch) so gave Jane a call to tell her where to find me when she got to the beach. The phone service on CC is great... Jane said it sounded the same as if I was on the ship.

I'm a snorkeler and diver, so would have liked some deeper water. I swam out to the second boundary float from the left (the one that is sun-bleached nearly white) and the water there was barely over my head in depth. Another guest had told me about some engine parts that were on the seabed about halfway out to that float. Investigation showed this to be the best part of the lagoon for fish-spotting.

The water was warm and clear, the bottom rocky as expected, the sun bright.

When I got back to our spot on the beach, Jane said a CM had been around announcing that cabana massage appointments were available. I had canceled my massage at the spa for the day before, so thought that this would be a Good Thing to do. I booked a noon appointment.

The massage was very pleasant and relaxing, though a bit abbreviated because of the 50 minutes allotted. My massage therapist, Julia, advised me to shower soon to remove the massage oil and replace it with sunscreen, also to stay well hydrated. Good advice to anyone at CC!

We stayed and just had a wonderful time. We were surprised that, with a full shipload of guests, SB never looked like it had more than 100 or so guests on it. Are the family areas that popular?

We stayed until last drink call was called, then made our way back to the Magic, to finish our packing and bucking up to face the reality of returning to the real world the next day.

 

[e_s_jones]

I booked this excursion through DCL. I had originally planned to dive in Cozumel, but I had an email exchange with another DIS member who had done both Grand Cayman and Cozumel SCUBA trips two weeks earlier. Based on some information in that correspondence, I decided to cancel Cozumel and book the SCUBA tour in GC instead, even though it was more expensive.

The dive operator was Red Sail Sports, which I have used in Cayman on a previous visit. They are a good operation, safe and professional, and also fun to dive with.

I was to report to Sessions at 7:45AM for the trip. The purpose was to check everyone in and make sure that all liability waivers were properly signed.

After that was completed, we were all given an "Aladdin" sticker to wear. This was to allow the dive operator to spot us upon arrival at the pier. We were told that the person meeting us would be holding an Aladdin sign, so we wouldn't get lost.

We walked down to Deck 1 and boarded our tender. It was a full boat, but a quick and easy trip over to the pier. Red Sail had some tents and tables set up to check everyone in and personally inspect everyones' C-Card.

Note: They are SERIOUS that you must have been diving in the last two years! One of our group had listed that his last dive was two years and one month prior, and they refused to let him go on the trip! He was bummed, but set off to find out if he could book with another operator on his own. I never heard if he was successful or not.

After check-in, we walked again a short distance along the waterfront to our dive boat, which was beached nearby. After boarding, we pulled off the beach and moved out away from the marina area, where the skipper stopped the boat and told us about the dive plan for that morning.

The first stop was to be Eagles Nest. This was described as a wall dive. I suppose it was, but it was not a vertical wall, but one of a steep slant, so you didn't exactly have the feeling of swimming over a bottomless abyss. Water was clear and warm. Wetsuits were not necessary, though most divers wore them. I was not one of those... one of the great pleasures of warm water diving is to feel the warm water!

In keeping with safe sport diving practice, we were told to keep our depth to 80 ft. max. This was a group dive, too. The guests in the group were divided into two smaller groups and each assigned to a dive leader. We were advised to notify our leader when our air got to 1500 PSI. That would indicate that the leader should start moving the group back to the mooring line.

After surfacing and reboarding the boat, we were told that everyone had performed safely and satisfactorily in the leaders' opinion, and so the second dive would be a "do your own thing" in pairs or groups of three. We were asked if we wanted our second dive to be a reef, a wreck, a wall or some combination or something else. The consensus was "combination reef and wreck" so we were told we would go to the wreck of the Oro Verde, which lies a short swim from Paradise Reef.

This was definitely the better of the two dives! The sun had come out, and the shallower depths (35' - 45') made for brighter colors as well as a longer bottom time! The Oro Verde is not so much a wreck anymore as it is strewn wreckage, not really recognizeable as a ship. A fun dive, nonetheless!

This dive spot is really popular, and there were two other dive operators moored there with their groups at the same time we were. The second dive, our air lasted close to 50 minutes, and we all had a great time.

On return to base, the skipper piloted the dive boat around the Disney Magic, because some divers had said they didn't know about Goofy hanging off the stern of the ship! He jokingly apologized for not being able to deliver us directly back to the ship, and that we would all have to go back to the beach where we started.

This excursion was a very good value for the price, and I'd do it again or recommend it to anyone.