Wild Turkeys & Dancing Nanas Take over Magic 11/25 (Thurs @ Sea)

[mom x4 grandma x4]

Good report Cheri,
keep it coming, only a few days to go!!!

kathy

 

[pgfour]

We grabbed a couple burgers at Pluto's and headed back to the water taxi. On this foray into Phillipsburg, we wanted to relax on a beach, and then perhaps try our luck one more time.

I had originally planned on going to Little Divi Bay (based on tips from the DIS), but because time wasn't on our side, we decided to stay close to the pier. We walked to the far end of the beach, passing many vendors who wanted to set us up with chairs, umbrellas, jet skis – you name it. (We politely declined every offer.) We spent a little over an hour enjoying the sun and general peacefulness of that end of the beach before heading back into town for more shopping and gambling.

We found a nice shop that had a great selection – what the casino workers lacked in friendliness, the shop keepers definitely compensated! After buying some shirts, we headed down the street to the Princess Casino for one last hurrah. This casino was more open and had table games, but had no servers bringing drinks to gamers. We played some more video poker and Lady Luck smiled upon me again as I won another 4-of-a-kind (it's no Royal Flush, but I'll take it!). Again, we walked out of a casino a tiny bit richer than we entered.

Time to head for “home.” (I was starting to have some weird sixth sense that DD might be ready to leave the OC after a full day there.) This time, the water taxi did wait longer to make sure anyone heading to the ship caught a ride. We sat near Lorna (Fireman's Wife) and her family (and Aunt Connie!); I'll bet their kids slept great that night!!

We went straight to the OC where DD was moderately happy to see us! (All my worries were for naught.) We ordered some snacks for us from room service (All Hands on Deck cheese platter x 2, plus some virgin Pina Coladas that we doctored in our room.). DD rested for a bit before insisting it was time to go back to the OC (my prayers were being answered!!!) for Pirate Night festivities.

Since DD already had dinner with the other kids, and DH wanted to see the Illini play basketball, we decided to try out Topsiders for dinner. The comments I had read on the DIS were right on and then some! Our server, Cynthia was AWESOME – very friendly, and the food was outstanding. We both ordered the Porterhouse steak and made a trip to the salad bar. (I just wish I hadn't eaten so much CHEESE before going to dinner!)

TIP: Try dinner at Topsiders some night!!! They offer table service in a quiet, intimate setting without having to wait to be seated. The menu is basically the same they offer in the dining rooms. However, you'll need to tip in cash.

We waddled past the Pirate buffet and headed down to “DI-Vuhsions” to watch the basketball game where it was us, the bartenders, and a couple other patrons. It was really great to basically have the place to ourselves! Sometime after 10:00, I retrieved DD from the Club so we could go up to the Pirate Party. We timed it perfectly to catch the start of the fireworks. We ended up right next to Shell & Bill, Tonya, Trey & Hunter, and a bunch of our other DIS buddies!!

After the show, DD was tired, so we went down to deck one and called it a day. (A GREAT day!!)

Next: St. Thomas. . .

 

[mom x4 grandma x4]

Hi Cheri,
Loving your report, glad you won in the casinos. We put $5 in a slot once and after a couple of minutes we were 50 cents ahead,so we cashed out and ran with our winnings We are NOT lucky at gambling!!!
Keep the report coming!!

kathy
P.S. Arnt you proud of me for remembering you still

 

[pgfour]

Because we had to be up early for Immigration, we had Mickey give us a wake-up call around 6:45. I had read about the whole procedure, but nothing had prepared me for how EASY it was!

We simply went up to the WD Theater with our birth certificates & ID's at about 7:00, gave our room number, and walked down to the “document checkers” where we got our hands stamped. Although they had coffee, juice, rolls, etc. set out for us to grab, the line moved so quickly that we never had a chance to eat or drink anything at all until we were routed to Diversions after moving through the line.

Since DD had grabbed food, we sat at a porthole table and looked out at St. Thomas and the approaching rain while she ate. We had anchored in the bay so that meant we were the lucky ones to tender ashore. (I'll get to that in a bit!)

The CM's were directing people to Parrot Cay for breakfast (just like they do upon embarkation) and we decided to take them up on the offer since we knew we wouldn't eat much on the island. I had my usual eggs, sausage, fruit, and Mickey waffle with strawberries & whipped cream.

Since we hadn't booked an excursion, we weren't in a huge hurry to join the throngs of people heading to the Buena Vista theater for tender tickets. By mid-morning, we had packed our beach bags and walked up to the BVT to join all the other “happy” cruisers. Without going into a lot of detail, tendering is a nightmare! To make matters worse, some tenders were having mechanical problems. We FINALLY got on a tender boat, and about 20 minutes later, we had docked at the pier.

Our only objective on this day was to get to Sapphire Beach. DH had been there about 10 years before and had told me that WE would go there someday to enjoy the water and view. “Someday” was finally today! It took us a while to find a taxi driver willing to take 3 people to Sapphire Beach (they kept trying to get us to go to one of the other popular beaches so they could fill the vehicle), but we finally found a reasonably nice fellow to do the honors.

We arrived at the beach in time to be greeted by another rain shower. I perused the hotel shop (DH was still looking to supplement his wardrobe) while DH & DD played in the water. After a few minutes, the rain passed and the sun made an appearance. We paid the $6 or $7 for a beach chair and spent the afternoon plying in the waves and sand.

DH was “nice enough” to bring a live sea urchin and set it on the chair for us to examine up close!!! After letting the other nearby beach-goers have a look, he took it out to the coral reef where it wouldn't harm anyone (or be harmed). Later in the afternoon, we ran into Jeff (jd99) and family, who were there following their morning Sonny Liston excursion.

We left Sapphire Beach around 2:00 or so so we'd have time to do a bit of shopping before catching a tender back to the Magic. (We promised to hold the ship for Jeff in case they were running late!!) We picked up some souvenirs and hopped a tender to the Magic. After another 30 minutes, we were finally back to our room. We ordered some snacks and pina coladas from room service and relaxed before our evening festivities.

 

[Dixielady908]

Yeah Cheri......it seems like it was so loooong ago.....but am enjoying our trip all over again......keep the report coming.


Denise

 

[mom x4 grandma x4]

MORE MORE MORE !!!!!

Cheri, keep it coming,

Kathy

 

[pgfour]

In my previous installment, I had forgotten to mention that we did go up to Deck 10 to watch the Magic pull away from St. Thomas. The turn maneuver to get out to open waters was quite impressive! Shortly after we departed, another ship also followed us out to the fuzzy gray horizon.

After feeding DD, we decided (on a whim) to see if they had any more hair braiding appointments available. Sure enough, we could get DD's hair done the next day around 5:30. After a few moments', I decided I should keep my Caribbean tradition alive with a couple braids for me so my appointment was scheduled for 6:00.

DD skipped dinner with us in favor of attending Goofy's Giggle Gala (pajama party) in the Lab. One negative aspect of late dining is that several of the “once-a-cruise” OC or OL events (PJ party, cookie baking, pirate activities, etc.) take place during that time. Thanks to our wonderful table mates and servers, DD wanted to go to dinner with us almost every night so she missed several of the activities she previously wanted to attend. (Prior to the cruise, she had told us on several occasions that she would eat every meal with the kids' group! )

Our plans were to finally have some adult time with the other DIS-ers and go to the cabaret show in the Rockin' D Bar. We made the mistake of checking on DD (or perhaps she paged us??), and she was more than ready to leave. She didn't care for the movie they were showing and the Captain's Closet dress-up time was not happening this evening (little kids were in the Lab while the bigger kids time in the Club.). I went down to the Bar to let the Nana Heads know we wouldn't be joining them after all. This was one of the few times I got to talk to Wendy!!! (We've decided she should room with us on the 2007 Nana reunion if her whole family is unable to attend! Then I'll see her ALL the time!! )

Since our evening plans had been thwarted, we called it an early night.

Next up:

A Rockin' Day at Sea!!!

 

[pgfour]

Final Full Day At Sea:

We awoke on Thursday morning to a noticeable side-to-side rocking (even way down on deck 1 midship). I didn't find it to be too bad as I went up to get our coffee. DH went up to the Internet Cafe to check on everything at work. We had two relatively new assistants running the office, so we thought we should check in.

While he was on the computer, I took DD up to Topsiders for some breakfast. We sat outside in the sun as she feasted on cereal, fruit, and a doughnut. I then took her to the club so DH and I could go to the fitness area for the first time all cruise.

Since this was my first time in the fitness area ever, I can't comment on the improvements they during the Magic's last dry dock. I thought the area was quite nice and seemed to have plenty of machines for any suckers, I mean cruisers, who wanted to work out while on the high seas. I already mentioned the side-to-side rocking of the ship; it was quite a bit more pronounced here on Deck 9 Forward (DUH!).

Ready for a challenge, I hopped onto a treadmill and soon kicked it up to a nice steady pace. OMG! Talk about a training exercise in balance and concentration!!! There were many times that I had to grab hold of the hand rails so I wouldn't step off the side of the treadmill. Most intelligent people would probably stop and find another mode of exercise, or go down to the track on Deck 4. Apparently, I don't fit into that category because I continued on, mentally cursing the conditions! After two miles, I knew I had to make some changes to make time go by faster, so I started doing “intervals” -- fast for ¼ mile and slower for ¼ mile. Finally my 4 miles were done and I could quit.

We sipped some fruit-infused ice water and headed for the front of the spa and down to our cabin. I couldn't avoid smirking as we walked the corridors of the spa knowing that somewhere, behind one of those doors, was the Rasul room that I've read so much about!!!!!

We ate breakfast at Topsiders and staked out an area on Deck 10 overlooking the Quiet Cove Pool. It was so nice to just sit and read without interruption. I strolled around Deck 10 and saw fellow- DIS-ers Denise and Dreamboat Wally. I hadn't run into them much at all on the cruise. They told me they had rebooked for a 2008 cruise. Hmmmmmmm. That sounded like a good idea! I mentioned my thoughts to DH and he didn't think we should wait until 2008 – what about the same week in 2007 (my wildest hopes were coming true!)??

I checked into prices for a veranda cabin just for fun. The price difference between the Cat 10 and a Cat 7 was more than our air fare would cost. The frugal side of me booked a Cat 10 (same cabin – again!) knowing we could always make changes later. I imagine we are the only people in DCL history who have voluntarily booked #1079 not once, not twice, but THREE times. I can just see Shell shaking her head in disgust as she starts up a collection for us!!!!!

Our cruise now re-booked, we spied Bill & Shell down by the quiet pool. We went down to say “Hi” and got into the very warm “wave pool.” Tonya & Trey joined us soon after and we all sloshed around until the Pool Game people arrived. After a hasty retreat, we went to the OC so DD could get a little rest before the “Celebrate the Journey” rehearsal.

 

[mom x4 grandma x4]

Lets have some more, you're getting close to the end now.
I am waiting very inpatiently to read the rest,

kathy

 

[pgfour]

DD had a brief rest while DH & I “lit the drinking lamp.” We ordered up some virgin pina coladas that could be spiked upon arrival.

We took DD to the designated meeting place and DH & I went to the WD Theater to await the youngsters' arrival. It was a cute, sappy little ceremony made more special by the fact that Jess was actually able to attend (last summer she missed it because she was ill).

Time was growing short before our hair-braiding appointments, so I rushed up to Deck 9 to take the first round. I asked for a few corn rows on one side of my head just to get a little “tropical” feel. OMG!! I was having hairs pulled into the braids that I didn't even know existed!!! The nape of my neck was being stretched unnaturally! (Apparently all those kids getting corn rows were being punished by their parents!!!!!!!) Six braids, and I was done. Time for DD's braids. . .

Since she had hacked some layers into her hair a few months before, we opted for some regular braids along the top of her head (much less painful!!). After about 30 minutes we were finished. I was surprised (and excited!) to see the cost of the braids was only $2 per cornrow and $1 per braid. (Much cheaper than I had gotten in Nassau!!)

Time to get ready for another yummy dinner! Once again, DD didn't want to go to the Club afterwards, so we went up to Deck 10 to watch Cars on the big screen. DH & I shared a couple of beers (though hauling that mug around was starting to be a pain!) and DD brought some of her snacks from her gift basket. We lasted until about 2/3 of the way through the movie before we called it quits. (DD had already seen it twice so her attention wasn't captured.)

Next up – a great day at Castaway Cay. . . plus some pictures!!!!

 

[pgfour]

Lets have some more, you're getting close to the end now.
I am waiting very inpatiently to read the rest,

kathy

I hope to wrap it up by the weekend -- please put away the whip!!!!

 

[mom x4 grandma x4]

Gee whiz, you just want to take away all my fun!!
No whip??

Ok, as long as you finish by 9:00 P.M. sunday evening.
I WILL be checking!!!!

Kathy