Vivig
<font color=teal>Addicted to DISboards<br><font co
- Joined
- Feb 21, 2003
- Messages
- 605
HI there,
This is the first time that I am attempting anything such as writing a trip report...hope my writing style won't bore you and hope it will be of some assistance.
Due to these boards my husband and I thought it would be best to leave the day before the cruise..so we left Ontario on Friday. Inspection went smoothly at the airport. ( Except when the immigration officers asked our son if we were his Mom & Dad and he replied no....whew the officer realised he was joking and mentioned to him that when someone in a uniform asks questions that he should not joke around or else he would be taken away..that got his attention..he is by nature a joker and he is only 5 1/2
) We rented a car from AVIS and drove around for most of the day. By the time we had reached the Kennedy Space Centre it was too late to enter.(Actually we could have gone in but it would have not been worth the money..next time we will head out directly to the space centre!) We had reserved the Radisson at a very good price $79.99 for the evening. ( $86.90 including tax to be exact). I was very pleased with the hotel, clean, spacious, good location etc...We ate at the Olive Garden since we no longer have it here in Ontario. We were all very pleased that we had come a day earlier..We highly recommend this option if at all possible!!
Saturday:
The BIG question for us..Are they going to let us on board or not. Since we are from the Greater Toronto Area, Richmond Hill, and since both the Carnival as well as the RCCL were not allowing passengers from Toronto to board we were worried that they would not allow us on the Magic..talk about worrying!!!! So we took drove our rental car to drop the luggage off and hopefully see if we can purchase an upgrade at the port. Registering went smoothly..we had to answer a questionnaire in regards to the SARS and unfortunately there were no other rooms available the ship was completely full!! ( A few inside staterooms were available.) We returned our rental car and called our family in Montreal to let them know all is good. Well, we spoke too soon since while we were in line to board they seeked us out of the line so that they may meet with us. We waited our turn and the Head Nurse on the cruise asked us a few questions. She saw that none of us were ill and then advised us that as soon as we felt ill that we were to go directly to our room and contact them. Thank God!! they let us on board and we were fine for the whole cruise. Once we boarded I was ready to run for the ressies we wanted!!! First things first Palos..YAHOO we got reservations for Tuesday night...unfortunately there was no more space for HIgh Tea...next time
I went on the spa tour...and signed up for the Alpha capsule that they had shown on the Travel show. All the treatments looked great, but I had just done a complete spa day the week before, next time!!! We then went to the lunch buffet..yummy..especially the peel and eat shrimp!! We sat around the Children's pool and our son could not wait any longer..he asked if he could go in the pool and although it was a bit cool we said no problem. He had the time of his life. Up and down the slide..if you have kids then I highly recommend that they come prepared to swim the first afternoon on board. It made it even that more special for our son! By then our room should have been available so we went to check it out. It was an inside stateroom on deck 2..and I am really glad that we did not opt for the category 9..it was a $2000.00 difference at the time we had booked we definetely used the money towards other things. We had no complaints of the stateroom itself. We registered our son for the Oceaneer Club and then went to the drill. Everyone had shown up on time and it went very smoothly. ( You should take pictures at the drill..corny but they come out nice.) The take off party was wonderful and really got you in the mood to cruise. We were on late sitting so we got ready and went to see the show..we enjoyed it very much!! We then proceeded to register our son in the program for an hour. We had read that it was important to have them participate fom the beginning and he just LOVED the club!!! We explored the ship and then went to pick our son up and we went to Supper. We had the PLAPLAP rotation. Our Server was Deepak and his assistant was Lek. Both were very nice!! Deepak performed magic tricks throughout the week which was great!!!. After supper we walked around a bit more and then headed off to LALALA land.
Sunday:
Key West:
Today we began with breakfast at Lumier's..very nice.
In the morning our son wanted to go to the Oceaneer Club..and we attedn teh Art of Entertaining..I enjoyed it very much. We toured the ship from top to bottom to get familiar with the surroundings. We tried to have lunch with our son but he wanted to stay with his club and infact refused to leave the ship at all. So, Steve ( DH) and I went exploring Key West on our own. I was a littel disappointed I had it all worked out..the trolley, the butterfly museum, the ship wrek museum and the acqurium...and gone since our son did not want to join us. So we explored Key West on our own..enjoyed a few
margaritas ...walked all around and then the skies clouded over and it poured!!! Overall we enjoyed ourselves quite a bit. We finally convinced our son to lave the club so that he can go swimming. By the time he had finished up we were a bit late too late for the show..so we missed Morty the Magnificient...hopefully we can catch it next time.
Monday: All day at Sea:
We attended the Art of Entertaining Series once again. I really am enjoying these shows. They are quite entertaining. Disney has planned so much for everyone to do on a sea day that it is incredible!!! I did the Alpha Capsule treatment ,,,I enjoyed it..would I do it again??? personally, no. But this is just MHO. Today is semi formal evening. ( You will see various outfits from very dressy to very casual.) The shoe Hercules was GREAT!!! funny and entertaining!!
Tuesday: Grand Cayman:
Oh my was it hot and humid!!! One of my closest friends brother lives in Grand Cayman...I cannot imagine living there in that heat!
We did the Atlantis Submarine Excursion. Wish we could have seen more fish..our son was wanting to see the Stingrays..( Too scared to do the swimming excursion so this was our next best bet.) The excursion was fun..please ladies do not go in skirts or in sandals that have heels..you have to climb down a ladder like stairs to enter and leave the submarine. After the excursion we each received a certificate, our son loved this. We went back to the ship and had lunch..our son wnatedto return to the club. Once we ate, we explored the island ourselves. Once we returned to the ship our son once again went swimming. The tender to and fro the ship was very smooth and well organized. We attended Palos at night..it was very enjoyable...side note...our beeper went off just as we were finishing supper...everyone became serious and when they saw it was us a huge sigh of relief came over everyone, and everyone began laughing.
Wednesday Cozumel
Once we arrived at Cozumel..we proceeded to disembark the ship and approached the taxis on the left hand side of the port. We were initially going to go to Chanakaab..but half way there we decided to go to Mr. Sanchos Beach. We all enjoyed the Mr. Sanchos very much. The sea was a bit cloudy since it was quite wavey. But overall
we all enjoyed it very much. We dropped our son off and went for a walk around the port area. We shopped and shopped.
Thrusday All day sea:
We had our character breakfast this morning. It was Great fun!!
Another wonderful day at sea. Tonight was formal night. The show dreams was very good..we all enjoyed it very much!!
Friday Castaway Cay:
Imagine everything that you would want from a beach and you have it at Castaway Cay. The weather was beyond great!! Disney sure has this right!!!
This evening's show was very good but sad since you know it's the last one
At 10:15 everyone was invted to go to the Atrium for a final farewell...it was magical.
Saturday: Disembarkation:
Besides having to be ready for immigration for 6:00 am, the whole process went really smoothly. We were quite impressed.
Overall the experience was great!! We are looking to book again for next year.
Here is some information that some of you may be interested in:
Movies on Board:
The Lizzie McGuire Movie
Holes
Shanghai knights
Treasure Planet
Chicago
Sweet Home Alabama
Jungle Book 2
Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
Bringing Down the House
The recruit
Piglet's Big Movie
DVC
They were offeringthe following on board:
VIP financing 4.95%-9.73%
Last year's points 100% available to use immediately or roll over.
Magical beginning..or take the cash equivalent and apply to your purchase.
Min points you can purchase 150 pts max 2000 pts ata cost of $84.00 per point
Annual dues is $3.98 per vacation point.
Re-Booking a cruise
They were offering up to $200.00 per cabin credit. Be prepared to wait a long time to re-book. The inidividual was Donna and seemed VERY helpful and friendly. Unfortuntely, we did not have patience to wait.
Childrens Programs:
Things that they should not miss:
Goofy Gala - The kids received a pillow case to color and keep.
Discover the Magic. It was really sweet.
They should attend the first night.
And overall all the programs that they had was great!!!
There were 700 children on board..and the councelors did a great job!!!
This cruise may be a bit more costly ...but when you dock at any of the ports you will notice that Disney is always in a very good location. And the ship is beyond words to describe how beautiful it truly is.
Sorry for the length..I know I was anxiously awaiting for someone to write a trip report from the Western cruise immediately ahead of us..so I hope this helps in a small way. Hope I did bore anyone in the process.
For all the future cruisers enjoy it!! It really is a magical experience....Disney sure has it right! Can't wait to book our next one.
Pixie Dust to you all,
Vivian
This is the first time that I am attempting anything such as writing a trip report...hope my writing style won't bore you and hope it will be of some assistance.
Due to these boards my husband and I thought it would be best to leave the day before the cruise..so we left Ontario on Friday. Inspection went smoothly at the airport. ( Except when the immigration officers asked our son if we were his Mom & Dad and he replied no....whew the officer realised he was joking and mentioned to him that when someone in a uniform asks questions that he should not joke around or else he would be taken away..that got his attention..he is by nature a joker and he is only 5 1/2
) We rented a car from AVIS and drove around for most of the day. By the time we had reached the Kennedy Space Centre it was too late to enter.(Actually we could have gone in but it would have not been worth the money..next time we will head out directly to the space centre!) We had reserved the Radisson at a very good price $79.99 for the evening. ( $86.90 including tax to be exact). I was very pleased with the hotel, clean, spacious, good location etc...We ate at the Olive Garden since we no longer have it here in Ontario. We were all very pleased that we had come a day earlier..We highly recommend this option if at all possible!!Saturday:
The BIG question for us..Are they going to let us on board or not. Since we are from the Greater Toronto Area, Richmond Hill, and since both the Carnival as well as the RCCL were not allowing passengers from Toronto to board we were worried that they would not allow us on the Magic..talk about worrying!!!! So we took drove our rental car to drop the luggage off and hopefully see if we can purchase an upgrade at the port. Registering went smoothly..we had to answer a questionnaire in regards to the SARS and unfortunately there were no other rooms available the ship was completely full!! ( A few inside staterooms were available.) We returned our rental car and called our family in Montreal to let them know all is good. Well, we spoke too soon since while we were in line to board they seeked us out of the line so that they may meet with us. We waited our turn and the Head Nurse on the cruise asked us a few questions. She saw that none of us were ill and then advised us that as soon as we felt ill that we were to go directly to our room and contact them. Thank God!! they let us on board and we were fine for the whole cruise. Once we boarded I was ready to run for the ressies we wanted!!! First things first Palos..YAHOO we got reservations for Tuesday night...unfortunately there was no more space for HIgh Tea...next time
I went on the spa tour...and signed up for the Alpha capsule that they had shown on the Travel show. All the treatments looked great, but I had just done a complete spa day the week before, next time!!! We then went to the lunch buffet..yummy..especially the peel and eat shrimp!! We sat around the Children's pool and our son could not wait any longer..he asked if he could go in the pool and although it was a bit cool we said no problem. He had the time of his life. Up and down the slide..if you have kids then I highly recommend that they come prepared to swim the first afternoon on board. It made it even that more special for our son! By then our room should have been available so we went to check it out. It was an inside stateroom on deck 2..and I am really glad that we did not opt for the category 9..it was a $2000.00 difference at the time we had booked we definetely used the money towards other things. We had no complaints of the stateroom itself. We registered our son for the Oceaneer Club and then went to the drill. Everyone had shown up on time and it went very smoothly. ( You should take pictures at the drill..corny but they come out nice.) The take off party was wonderful and really got you in the mood to cruise. We were on late sitting so we got ready and went to see the show..we enjoyed it very much!! We then proceeded to register our son in the program for an hour. We had read that it was important to have them participate fom the beginning and he just LOVED the club!!! We explored the ship and then went to pick our son up and we went to Supper. We had the PLAPLAP rotation. Our Server was Deepak and his assistant was Lek. Both were very nice!! Deepak performed magic tricks throughout the week which was great!!!. After supper we walked around a bit more and then headed off to LALALA land.Sunday:
Key West:
Today we began with breakfast at Lumier's..very nice.
In the morning our son wanted to go to the Oceaneer Club..and we attedn teh Art of Entertaining..I enjoyed it very much. We toured the ship from top to bottom to get familiar with the surroundings. We tried to have lunch with our son but he wanted to stay with his club and infact refused to leave the ship at all. So, Steve ( DH) and I went exploring Key West on our own. I was a littel disappointed I had it all worked out..the trolley, the butterfly museum, the ship wrek museum and the acqurium...and gone since our son did not want to join us. So we explored Key West on our own..enjoyed a few
margaritas ...walked all around and then the skies clouded over and it poured!!! Overall we enjoyed ourselves quite a bit. We finally convinced our son to lave the club so that he can go swimming. By the time he had finished up we were a bit late too late for the show..so we missed Morty the Magnificient...hopefully we can catch it next time.Monday: All day at Sea:
We attended the Art of Entertaining Series once again. I really am enjoying these shows. They are quite entertaining.
Disney has planned so much for everyone to do on a sea day that it is incredible!!! I did the Alpha Capsule treatment ,,,I enjoyed it..would I do it again??? personally, no. But this is just MHO. Today is semi formal evening. ( You will see various outfits from very dressy to very casual.) The shoe Hercules was GREAT!!! funny and entertaining!!Tuesday: Grand Cayman:
Oh my was it hot and humid!!! One of my closest friends brother lives in Grand Cayman...I cannot imagine living there in that heat!
We did the Atlantis Submarine Excursion. Wish we could have seen more fish..our son was wanting to see the Stingrays..( Too scared to do the swimming excursion so this was our next best bet.) The excursion was fun..please ladies do not go in skirts or in sandals that have heels..you have to climb down a ladder like stairs to enter and leave the submarine. After the excursion we each received a certificate, our son loved this. We went back to the ship and had lunch..our son wnatedto return to the club. Once we ate, we explored the island ourselves. Once we returned to the ship our son once again went swimming. The tender to and fro the ship was very smooth and well organized. We attended Palos at night..it was very enjoyable...side note...our beeper went off just as we were finishing supper...everyone became serious and when they saw it was us a huge sigh of relief came over everyone, and everyone began laughing.
Wednesday Cozumel
Once we arrived at Cozumel..we proceeded to disembark the ship and approached the taxis on the left hand side of the port. We were initially going to go to Chanakaab..but half way there we decided to go to Mr. Sanchos Beach. We all enjoyed the Mr. Sanchos very much. The sea was a bit cloudy since it was quite wavey. But overall
we all enjoyed it very much. We dropped our son off and went for a walk around the port area. We shopped and shopped. Thrusday All day sea:
We had our character breakfast this morning. It was Great fun!!
Another wonderful day at sea. Tonight was formal night. The show dreams was very good..we all enjoyed it very much!!
Friday Castaway Cay:
Imagine everything that you would want from a beach and you have it at Castaway Cay. The weather was beyond great!! Disney sure has this right!!!
This evening's show was very good but sad since you know it's the last one
At 10:15 everyone was invted to go to the Atrium for a final farewell...it was magical.Saturday: Disembarkation:
Besides having to be ready for immigration for 6:00 am, the whole process went really smoothly. We were quite impressed.
Overall the experience was great!! We are looking to book again for next year.
Here is some information that some of you may be interested in:
Movies on Board:
The Lizzie McGuire Movie
Holes
Shanghai knights
Treasure Planet
Chicago
Sweet Home Alabama
Jungle Book 2
Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
Bringing Down the House
The recruit
Piglet's Big Movie
DVC
They were offeringthe following on board:
VIP financing 4.95%-9.73%
Last year's points 100% available to use immediately or roll over.
Magical beginning..or take the cash equivalent and apply to your purchase.
Min points you can purchase 150 pts max 2000 pts ata cost of $84.00 per point
Annual dues is $3.98 per vacation point.
Re-Booking a cruise
They were offering up to $200.00 per cabin credit. Be prepared to wait a long time to re-book. The inidividual was Donna and seemed VERY helpful and friendly. Unfortuntely, we did not have patience to wait.
Childrens Programs:
Things that they should not miss:
Goofy Gala - The kids received a pillow case to color and keep.
Discover the Magic. It was really sweet.
They should attend the first night.
And overall all the programs that they had was great!!!
There were 700 children on board..and the councelors did a great job!!!
This cruise may be a bit more costly ...but when you dock at any of the ports you will notice that Disney is always in a very good location. And the ship is beyond words to describe how beautiful it truly is.
Sorry for the length..I know I was anxiously awaiting for someone to write a trip report from the Western cruise immediately ahead of us..so I hope this helps in a small way. Hope I did bore anyone in the process.
For all the future cruisers enjoy it!! It really is a magical experience....Disney sure has it right! Can't wait to book our next one.
Pixie Dust to you all,
Vivian
I'm so happy you had a great cruise! Your report was not boring at all, and I am so excited for our sail on June 21!
