Western/Magic June 3-10, 2006 (Finished with some Final Thoughts)

[DWeaver]

Cast: DH and myself (mid 30’s) and DS (7). This was our second cruise aboard DCL. This is my first ever trip report. I know it's long but I enjoyed reading other reports that were detailed, so I wanted mine to be detailed too.

Pre Cruise: We drove down to Orlando the day before the cruise. We stayed at the Buena Vista Suites near DTD. I had booked it through DU and we liked the hotel very much. It was clean and nice and the best part was that it had two rooms. Nice when you don’t want to go to bed as early as DS. They had our room ready to check into at 11:30 a.m. when we arrived. We spent the rest of the day at DTD. Lunch at Fulton’s Crab House was great. The Disney store at DTD had a great pirate section in the boy’s area and a huge princess section in the girl’s area. The little girls coming out of the Bippity Boppity Boutique were all done up in their best princess style. We had dinner at the hotel later. Good Hamburgers and Pizza. Then we took DS down to the pool for a short swim before turning in. The next morning we were up early and the hotel had a complimentary breakfast buffet. It was a full hot and cold buffet. After we checked out, we were in the car and on our way to the port.

Day 1:

At the Terminal: We arrived at the port a little after 10 am. We had to wait in line in front of the entrance while DCL let those cruisers that had arrived earlier that morning go first. Some people behind us didn’t want to wait and tried to cut by coming in from the other direction. It was very nice to see DCL security make them back up and go back to get in line again. We weren’t able to park in the lot next to the terminal due to a printer failure with the parking tickets so we had to park across the street. It’s not a big deal – The walk is still not far even from across the street. Security was a breeze. There was no wait and no questions about our soft sided rolling cooler filled with bottled water, wine, and alcohol (no ice!). We even took our own travel size corkscrew that I found at the local grocery store at home. We got boarding number 8 and headed to the CC check in line. There was absolutely no one in this line. The DCL CM checked our Bahamas forms at the entrance to the line and then we were directed to the next available CM to be checked in. It took all of 5 minutes and we had our KTTW cards. We found a place to sit and then DS and I went to the kids club line to get him checked in. Here is where we found the wait. We had to wait about 20 minutes before we finally reached a CM to get DS his wristband and pager. DCL had 6 computer stations but only 4 were manned. We had done the online registration and there were 2 lines for us to be in and only 1 for those that had not registered yet. There was no one directing traffic at the front of each line like they do at check in so you had to be on your toes when a CM opened up. If you weren’t fast enough another person would take your spot. After that we got some drinks at the snack station and went and waited for our boarding number to be called. We had some great pictures taken with Mickey and Pluto. DS watched cartoons and had a snack. They started boarding at about 11:45 am and our number was called not long after that. It went pretty quick. It only took about 10 minutes after calling boarding number 8 before we were having our boarding picture taken.

Finally on the Ship: I do love it when they announce our family name to welcome us aboard. We headed to the aft elevators and up to deck 9. We found a great table in the shade next to the Mickey pool, stashed our bags and cooler under the table and DS headed for the pool/slide. DH and I took turns going to the buffet in Topsider’s for lunch. We both love the peel and eat shrimp. When DS took a break he got chicken fingers & fries from Pluto’s Doghouse. At 1:30 I left them at the pool and headed down to the room with some of the bags. We had stateroom #2066 (an ocean view room on the port side/mid-ship -- check out the stateroom review that I posted). Our stateroom host was Ardon, He was a very nice guy and always wore a smile. He kept the room clean and kept ice in our cooler. DS loved the nightly towel creations. I fixed a DCL cooler bag filled with goodies for my DS and put it on the bed for him to see later when he came to the room. I went back up and retrieved the guys to get cleaned up for the DIS meet at 3 p.m. on deck 7 aft. When we got back to the room we already had our largest piece of luggage delivered. The people at the DIS meet were great. It was nice to be able to put faces with the names. We went back to the room after that and the rest of our luggage had arrived. I unpacked everything and the empty luggage went under the bed with no problem. The over the door shoe holder was great. We put all the little things in it and never had a “where did I put that” moment the whole time. The safety drill began promptly at 4:00 and the new life jackets are much better. We went to the sail a way party and then up to deck 10 to watch the smaller boats make way for the Magic as we cruised out of the port. We were assigned the 5:45 dinner and had the PLAPLAP rotation. Our tablemates never showed so we ended up with a table to ourselves for the rest of the cruise. That was cool although DS had wanted another kid to talk too, but he found several at tables around us to chat with. Our main server was Philip from Croatia and the asst. server was Kira from Australia. Both were great during the cruise. Philip kept DS laughing a lot. The variety show in the WD Theatre was fun. DS loved Freddy Fusion’s act. After that we attended Mickey Mania in Studio Sea. We like Disney trivia and DS loves to try to get the answers. This was the first time we got to see Pikey. He looked too funny in that large top hat with the Mickey ears. We ended up seeing him and Jeromy a lot during the cruise. Our first towel creation was a Swan.

Day 2:

Day at Key West: This morning I signed up for the internet package with the unlimited minutes for the week ($89.99). I wanted to keep in touch with the family and give daily reports. I went and got the guys up after that and we headed up to Topsider’s for breakfast. The buffet is good, the only problem I had was that the scrambled eggs were a little too soft for my taste. The best part was the fresh fruit and the Krispy Kreme doughnuts. DH and DS loved the bacon, sausage, doughnuts, Mickey waffles, toast, juice, etc… DS spent the rest of the morning in the Kid’s Club, while we explored the ship and went to deck 4 to watch as the Magic came into port at Key West. The anchor room on deck 4 is cool. We picked up DS and had the Italian buffet in Parrot Cay for lunch. DH and I enjoyed it, but DS couldn’t find much that he liked. He did eat some pasta with sauce and lots of bread and the chocolate chip cookies, though. We did our own excursions in Key West. I had some great 2 for 1 coupons that I had found out about from the DIS. So we did the trolley tour around the island and got off at the stop for the Southernmost Point. We found a great little ice cream shop as we walked down to the marker. We did the typical picture with the marker and then headed back to the trolley stop. We boarded and then completed the tour back at Mallory square. We used another coupon for the Aquarium and happened to luck out and get there just as the tour/feeding started. It was small but very cool. During the tour the guide pulled out a small nurse shark and took it around for everybody to touch the tail. DS loved that. He also loved the feeding of the bull shark. We did a little shopping before heading back to the ship. We had a great dinner at Lumiere’s and DS went to the kid’s club afterwards to make chocolate chip cookies. DH and I spent some time wandering the ship again and going to the “Who Wants to be a Mousketeer” show in Studio Sea. We opted not to go to the show in the WD Theatre that night. It was Michael Harrison and he had not impressed us at the variety show, so we just didn’t have any interest to see him again. We picked DS up later and ended up seeing the Mousketeer show again. There were different questions than earlier and DS loved it. We went up to deck 9 for pizza for DS and took it back to the room and ordered the cheese plate for us, along with 3 very large choc. Chip cookies. It arrived in 30 minutes just like the DCL CM had said it would. The cheese plate was nice. There were several different crackers and 5 or 6 different cheeses along with some grapes. Perfect snack size for us and the cookies were wonderful. These were better than the ones we had had on the buffet for lunch – bigger and softer and loaded with chocolate chips. Our second towel creation was a Cobra.

Will post more as soon as I can get it typed up.

 

[Babs417]

Good job Thanks alot

 

[kimsue68]

Great start, waiting for the next chapter!!

 

[Disney owl]

Great start thanks

 

[tjeagle]

Thanks for taking the time to write a report! I am really enjoying it! Looking forward to your next installment!

 

[CRSNDSNY]

Fun report to read so far! Can't wait for more!

 

[Tiggery]

Great report. Thanks for posting, cant wait to read the rest

 

[DWeaver]

Day 3:

First Day at Sea: We had to set the clocks back an hour the night before so the guys slept in. I woke up before them and went to explore a little and check/send e-mail. This became a nice habit that lasted the whole cruise. I retrieved them after I returned and we all went to Topsiders for breakfast. DH and I tried the omelet station this morning and we liked this much better than the “soft” scrambled eggs. The chef took our orders and a server brought them to our table. That was nice not to have to stand there and wait while holding a tray of food. We sat outside again. The view of the ocean was relaxing and we discussed our plans for the day. First up was the Mickey 200. All three of us went. (Get there early. They only did 18 cars and it is first come, first served.) We were told to make a racecar with a potato, carrot, toothpicks, 4 wheels, 4 small nails, a car number (everybody had 53) and 1 table knife. Our name, courtesy of DH and DS, was the “Intimitaters”. We won our first race and did some minor repair work as we waited for round 2. But as luck would have it, one of our wheels came off and we lost race 2. It was too much fun. DS loved this and really wanted to keep the potato car, but he enjoyed dismantling it too. Jeromy was the CM that headed this activity and he told DS that he really liked our car and our name and gave DS a cool Mickey 200 pin even though we didn’t win. DS was all smiles after that. We then took him to the kid’s club. He had free time in the Lab, then lunch at Animator’s Palate. After that they went back to the lab to make flubber.

Brunch at Palo: During that time, DH and I got dressed and went up for brunch at Palo’s. DH wore a polo type shirt and pants and I wore a casual skirt with a nice top. Another couple got there when we did and they explained to the gentleman that shorts weren’t acceptable, so he left to change. Nice to see that they did enforce that rule. We were shown to our table next to a window overlooking the sea – great view - and were given a champagne cocktail. Our server was Zita from Hungary. She took us on our tour of the buffet and explained about all the selections that we had to choose from. She was super informative and very helpful. We never had an empty glass and she even brought us things to try that she thought we might like and of course we did. Our favorite appetizer was the bacon wrapped scallop. DH and I tried the caviar, but both of us agreed it just wasn’t our thing. DH loved the crab claws, too. We tried the pizza and loved it. She had the chef make it half pepperoni and half Italian sausage. I had eaten way too much after that, but DH decided to try the chicken and pasta dish. He loved it. It was very tender and juicy and the pasta was cooked just perfect. We then tried the desserts and they were good, but the best dessert was the one that Zita brought to us. The sweet bread with the fresh whipped crème and berries. DH and I split that. It was a huge serving.

Formal Night: DH headed back to the room for a much-needed nap and I went to Studio Sea for the Cake and Plate Decorating class. I picked up DS on the way back to the room, but ended up taking him back to the club. He wanted to attend the luau party and then play in the club during free time. This became his favorite time to be in the club – Free Time. I had my hair done at the salon this afternoon for formal night. Daniel did a wonderful job and it only took him 15 minutes. He asked if I wanted a dressy hair clip put in, but didn’t get pushy at all when I declined and he didn’t offer me any other salon products. All three of us got dressed up for tonight. DH wore his suit and tie and DS wore his dress pants, dress shirt and tie and I wore my ¾ length black cocktail dress and heels. We had some great pictures taken before and after dinner. That way there was lots to choose from. The Captain’s Welcome Reception was nice. They gave out free drinks during the party. DH and I had one, but DS didn’t. They offered him a Shirley Temple (no alcohol), but he didn’t want to try it. We had a nice dinner in Animator’s Palate. I had the grilled salmon, which was wonderful and DS had two servings of cheese pizza. DH couldn’t make his mind up, so Philip brought out both entrees for him. He had the stuffed pasta and the filet with shrimp. DH definitely ate well on this cruise! After dinner we went to Rockin’ Bar D for Freddy Fusion’s show. We all loved this, but it was hard to find seats. Definitely need to get there early for this one. Thankfully all the kids were invited to sit on the dance floor directly in front of the stage. So DS had a great view, since he ended up right in front. The Golden Mickeys was next. We all loved the characters and the movie tunes. Even though we had seen this on the Wonder a year ago, it was still fun to see again. We never did have any trouble finding seats in the W. D. Theatre, but there were only 3 of us. After the show we called it a night and headed back to the room. Tonight’s towel creation was a shark.

 

[firstmickey]

Im really enjoying your detailed report!

 

[curlybop]

Great report! Keep on going!

 

[mom+3girls]

Where did you get the coupons for Key West?

 

[DWeaver]

I learned of them from another DIS member. Go to www.keywestfun.org and look for the half off coupons link.

 

[mom+3girls]

Thanks, I will add that website to my list.

I am loving your trip report.

I was on Sept 9th 05 Western and loved it, have Dec 1, 2007 western booked.

thanks again for the info

 

[DWeaver]

Grand Cayman:

Nautilus Semi-Sub Excursion: I got up and did my usual morning routine then we all went up to Topsiders for breakfast. Afterwards we gathered at the promenade lounge for our DCL excursion on the Nautilus semi-sub. The tender ride was not long at all and after getting to the island we were escorted to some small busses (they only held about 10-12 people) that took us about a mile or two down the road to the dock. We boarded the boat and DS was very excited. You sit about 5 feet below the water’s surface and the windows were large. They told us that if you got queasy you could go up top, but none of us had a problem. It was cloudy that morning so it was a little hard to see out at first, but the sun did eventually come out and the water became very clear. We saw a bunch of fish, coral, two shipwrecks, rays, etc… It was neat when one of the crew dove into the water and fed the fish some bread. He went to all the windows so that everybody got to see him and the fish. We enjoyed it and we didn’t have to get wet. DH and DS aren’t much of the snorkeling types. We were dropped back at the dock and the same busses from earlier took us back to the shopping district directly in front of the tender spot. It was getting a little cloudier, but we decided to do some shopping before heading back to the ship. DH found a great pirate T-shirt and DS decided to purchase some pirate toys. I didn’t get a chance to find anything due to the impending thunderstorm. DS hates thunder and lightning and gets very upset when it comes around. So we rushed back to the tenders and made it through security just as the bottom fell out and the tender left. Luckily a DCL CM saw that DS was very upset and escorted us back through security to a covered area next to the tenders. He then found us a seat and tried his best to get DS to smile, but to no avail. When another tender arrived he escorted us back through security and directly to the tender. I wish I had gotten his name, but I was trying my best to keep DS under control. So whoever you were thank you so much for what you did! I was able to put a poncho on DS to keep him dry, but DH and I ended up getting soaked on the tender back to the ship. We literally dripped all the way back to the room.

Back on the Ship: We had lunch at Topsiders and afterwards DS spent a half-hour in the Goofy pool, since the Mickey pool was closed for “routine cleaning”. There wasn’t a shady place to sit and be able to see DS in the pool so we didn’t stay long. The disadvantage to the Goofy pool was that the water level was much lower than the actual side of the pool and I couldn’t see DS while he was in the water unless I was right next to it or at a level above it. And all those spots were in the sun. DS decided to go to the club after getting cleaned up. They were having some fun with parachutes and then going to Studio Sea for the Ultimate Challenge. DH and I headed back to the room to dry our clothes from earlier and to relax for a bit. Later, we retrieved DS from the club to get ready for dinner. But he didn’t want to go with us so we took him back to the club so he could have dinner with them and some more DCL fun. DH and I had dinner at Parrot Cay alone. I had the beef and DH had the stuffed fish filet. Both were good. But my favorite part was dessert. I had the mint chocolate chip sundae and DH had the cheesecake. After dinner DH and I headed to Rockin’ Bar D to see Jeff Civillico. He was funny and a good juggler. Then we went to see “Twice Charmed: An Original Twist on the Cinderella Story”. I went to check on DS and he didn’t want to see the show. After I got back to my seat we were paged to pick him up. He had changed his mind. So I went and got him and he ended up liking the show as much as we did. It was very good, and very Disney! After getting back to the room DH and DS went up to get us all some pizza and drinks for a late night snack. The towel creation that night was the Leaning Towel of Pisa, in celebration of their Med. Cruises next year.

 

[CRSNDSNY]

Great read! Can't wait to hear more!

 

[MichiganMouse]

We love reading about your cruise, it gets us all excited for ours!!!

 

[Jacob's Mom]

Great trip report. I am enjoying it and we are a similar family of three on the Western Magic in August. So, I am subscribing for further installments. Thanks!

 

[DWeaver]

Sorry I haven't posted more on the trip this week. I have been busy with the July 4th holiday and my DS's birthday. But, I will be posting more soon!

 

[DWeaver]

Cozumel:

On the Ship: Again the guys got to sleep in and I went up to the Cove Café. I treated myself and had a latte that morning while I checked our email and sent messages to family and friends. Afterwards I roused them out of bed and we went up to deck 9. We found a great table in the shade next to the Mickey Pool. We had all decided that we did not want to get off the ship in Cozumel. So today was a day to relax and play in the pool . DS headed straight to the pool and DH and I took turns going to Topsiders to get breakfast. That morning, in addition to all the regular dishes, they had a section of granola, dried fruits, nuts, yogurt, etc… I went back and got a bowl of the dried fruits and nuts to have on the table for snacking during the morning. DS would come by every little bit and get a handful. It wasn’t crowded since most of the cruisers had gotten off to do excursions or go shopping. DS made a new friend at the pool and they played all day together. We all had lunch from Pluto’s and continued to relax and play by the Mickey Pool until about 3 p.m. DS must have gone down that slide a hundred times.

Pirate Night: We got changed for pirate night and DH wore his pirate T-shirt he had bought in Grand Cayman, I wore a sundress, and DS wore his pirate costume with a Mickey Ear’s pirate bandana along with his pirate sword he had gotten in Grand Cayman. We all headed to the CC Reception up on deck 9 at the Quiet Cove Pool. That was nice. There were free drinks and an appetizer buffet. We met some of the DCL officers too. The coconut shrimp were good. We then went and had some great pictures taken. My favorite was of DS standing with his sword in his mouth. He looked ready for a fight. Very cool picture! Dinner was at Lumiere’s that night. After we got there DS decided he wanted to go to the club, so we asked Philip to bring his dinner out quick. Philip smiled and turned immediately around and went to the kitchen only to return a few minutes later with DS’s dinner! This was even before we ordered our meals. Talk about great service! So DH and I had another dinner sans DS. I had the seafood pasta and DH had the lamb shanks. Both were great. After dinner we went to Studio Sea to see the “Walk the Plank Game Show”. Very funny with CM’s Jeromy and Pikey doing their best pirate act. Afterwards DH and I headed up to get a good spot for the Pirate’s in the Caribbean Party. We ended up at a table on deck 9. The wind up on deck 10 was too much. We retrieved some drinks from our room and just relaxed and talked until show time. I went and got DS from the club in time to see the party. I had brought some glow in the dark necklaces for us from home. DS thought that was cool and didn’t even ask for us to buy him something else. We sat next to another DIS family, I believe it was MickeyTeacher and her group. Her DS and my DS decided to sit next to each other and play and talk and watch the party. That was a great help, since my DS was a little tired and cranky. We almost didn’t get to see the party because of his antics, but with her DS’s help he calmed down. The party was fun. Lots of music and dancing . The characters were up on the stage too. Mickey kicked off the fireworks. They were short but a nice touch to end the night with. As soon as it was over we headed back to the room for the night. We found a paper that had been slipped under our door. It was a notice that DS had been picked Best Dressed Pirate from the kids club! He loved that. The towel creation tonight was a crab with pirate coin eyes. We all had pirate coins under our pillows, too. Chocolate Treasure!

 

[DWeaver]

Second Day at Sea (Semi-Formal Night):

Character Breakfast: This morning we all slept in. We had had to set the clocks forward an hour, back to Eastern Time. We barely made it to our Character breakfast in Parrot Cay. Mickey, Minnie, Goofy, Pluto, Chip and Dale each came to the table for pictures and a quick hello. They also signed autographs if you wanted and Mickey and Minnie had the professional photographers with them. Breakfast was good. Similar to Topsiders fare, but I got to order my eggs the way I like them. We had our normal servers, Philip and Kira, which was nice too. Chip and Dale entertained us with two musical numbers that were fun. We all had a good time.

Daytime Activities: We spent the morning by the Mickey pool again. DS found the same friend from the day before too. It wasn’t crowded until later that morning. Then we found it necessary for one of us to be near the pool to keep an eye on DS. Lots of kids! We had lunch from Pluto’s again and stayed until about 1 p.m. It was just too crowded to stay any longer. We all went to Studio Sea after getting cleaned up and attended the class on Towel Folding. DS and I made a puppy out of a hand towel and a bath towel. We also got instructions on how to make several others, which we plan on trying out at home. DS went to the club after that and stayed the rest of the afternoon. DH and I tried our hand at the Final Jackpot Bingo in the WD Theatre. We came close every time, but someone always shouted BINGO before we could get that last number. We had fun though. We stayed in the Theatre for the “Celebrate the Journey” kids club “graduation”. When we finally spotted DS in the throng of kids, he was on the stage in the center and had his Mickey ears graduation cap on sideways. Leave it to him to be different. After Mickey and Minnie left the stage I got the best picture of DS standing up with his hands way above his head. He had jumped up before the other kids got up and he was very excited to have been up there.

Evening Activities: We dressed for dinner and decided that DS probably was going to stay in the club so we didn’t go get him. As we were going up in the elevator the pager went off. He wanted us to pick him up! So DH went ahead to Animator’s Palate and I retrieved DS and got him dressed in his nice clothes, since it was Semi-Formal night. Dinner was nice. We were all together this time. DS had pizza, I had the chicken and pasta and DH had the lobster tail and the venison medallions. He couldn’t make up his mind again, so Philip just brought him both. DH ate them both too! He never went hungry on this cruise. After dinner we changed and DS went back to the club. They were doing Gasses in Action and then free time, his favorite activity. DH and I went and did some shopping at Shutters and at Mickey’s Mates. Later we picked DS up and took him to do some shopping too. We went back to the room and DH went and got us some pizza and drinks for a late night snack before we turned in. Tonight’s towel creation was a shirt, I think.

FYI: The movie “CARS” premEARed at sea at midnight that night, but we were too tired to stay up to see that showing. It showed three more times the next day in the WD Theatre.