chinavietmom
Earning My Ears
- Joined
- Mar 22, 2001
Just got back from our June 9-16 Magic cruise (sigh) -- what a wonderful week!!
We were blessed with beautiful weather all week -- just a few sprinkles on St. Thomas and a brief downpour around 3:00 on Castaway Cay -- which helped to cool everyone off!
Thanks to the advice we have received from all the great people on this board, all of our planning and reservations went very smoothly. We flew in the night before, rented a car for the day, and stayed at the Radisson -- Port Canaveral. (The little pasta restaurant next door was nice for lunch.) Saturday morning, we arrived at the terminal just after 10:00 -- there were about 20 people already there. We were told that check-in would not begin until 11, but as soon as the very nice ladies began to take their places behind the long reservation desk around 10:45, everyone began lining up. Check-in was easy -- then one of us sat in the line to board while the others (DH and my mom) took turns watching DDs ages 7 and 4. I had not realized that there is a snack shop in the terminal (very helpful for kids). Also, Chip and Dale, and Donald Duck came out for photos with the kids -- glad we had our cameras ready.
We were told that boarding would be late because of a Coast Guard drill that morning, but we got on the ship at about 12:30 (we were probably in the first 25 who boarded). No names were announced that I could hear, but we did get our embarkation photo taken. Some of the crew tried to direct us to the buffet at Topsiders, but I politely asked for directions to the spa and Palo's. They said, "But those places aren't open yet", yet when we went upstairs to make our reservations, they were.
My mom and I went to the spa to make reservations while DH went to Palo's to make reservations for tea, brunch and dinner. I had no problem getting a cabana massage, surial bath, facial and pedicure. We were done so quickly that we went over to Palo's to help DH. We got on the waiting list for a second brunch at Palo's. Then on to the Oceaneer Club to check in DDs. Found our dining tickets in our rooms -- had the Animator's/Parrot Cay/Lumiere's rotation, second seating. We were at table 50, which is in a terrible location in AP (directly between the kitchen and a large serving station), but turns out to be an ok location at the other restaurants.
The second seating worked out ok for our girls -- I was most concerned that they be rested enough to enjoy the shows (which were outstanding!!), and the first shows were perfect for that. With a full ship (we heard that there were 2766 guests), we had no problem getting excellent seats if we arrived about 25 minutes early. We usually got them something to eat from room service, the buffet or Pluto's before the show. They came to dinner with us 4 nights out of the 7, because we all enjoyed the family we were seated with.
Incidentally, on the shows -- C'est Magique was not offered during our trip -- we were told that the cast had changed only the week before, and that the show would not be offered for six weeks while the cast got up to speed. The Welcome Aboard show, Hercules, Who Wants to Be a Mousketeer, Disney Dreams, and farewell shows were outstanding!!! DDs were on the edge of their seats most of the time. My mom and I would order pina coladas from the crew members taking orders in the theater (aaahh!) get our mugs refilled at Preludes for DDs. After the show, we'd go back to our rooms to spiff up for dinner (or head downstairs for pin trading at 7:30, character photos, or -- one time only -- bingo).
The pools were crowded, but you could still cool off and enjoy the water. We had no problem getting a sun lounger at the Goofy pool. (Thre is a notice in the Navigators that you aren't supposed to save sun loungers or seats in the Walt Disney Theater.) It is a lot hotter around the Mickey pool, I guess because it does not catch a breeze. My mom would go up on Deck 10 with a book and watch us swimming.
We did our own excursions on the islands because we were afraid that the Disney excursions would not give enough time to do whatever was offered. So we got our own taxi to the Butterfly Farm on St. Martin (which DDs loved), and the farm called us a taxi to go on to Marigot. We had lunch at La Vie en Rose (excellent!), then did some shopping while DH and DD had ice cream. Went back to Philipsburg on the Dutch side to look for gifts for my niece and nephew (we learned that the shops there close at 6:00). Back to the ship in plenty of time for Tropicalifragilistic Night and the deck party!
In St. Thomas, DH and DDs went to Coral World while mom and I went (you guessed it) shopping! Had a nice lunch at the Hard Rock Cafe, then back to the boat to enjoy the pools.
Thursday was our "spa day". DH, who is skeptical of all things massage- and relaxation-related, loved the surial bath and wants to do it again! Thanks to posts on this board, I asked about the temperature of the showers for the surial treatment -- the spa lady said that it was important to set the temperature of the first shower (where the muds are) fairly cool so that the showers inside the steam room do not get too hot. We liked several of the products in the room (the refresher gel and milk bath) and bought them later in the day. The prices are the same on the Steiner website.
After the surial bath, the grownups had a wonderful brunch at Palo's. Service and food were outstanding! Mom and I really enjoyed afternoon tea there on Monday as well. The scones and Devonshire cream were super!
More later -- happy and safe cruises to all!
Barb
We were blessed with beautiful weather all week -- just a few sprinkles on St. Thomas and a brief downpour around 3:00 on Castaway Cay -- which helped to cool everyone off!
Thanks to the advice we have received from all the great people on this board, all of our planning and reservations went very smoothly. We flew in the night before, rented a car for the day, and stayed at the Radisson -- Port Canaveral. (The little pasta restaurant next door was nice for lunch.) Saturday morning, we arrived at the terminal just after 10:00 -- there were about 20 people already there. We were told that check-in would not begin until 11, but as soon as the very nice ladies began to take their places behind the long reservation desk around 10:45, everyone began lining up. Check-in was easy -- then one of us sat in the line to board while the others (DH and my mom) took turns watching DDs ages 7 and 4. I had not realized that there is a snack shop in the terminal (very helpful for kids). Also, Chip and Dale, and Donald Duck came out for photos with the kids -- glad we had our cameras ready.
We were told that boarding would be late because of a Coast Guard drill that morning, but we got on the ship at about 12:30 (we were probably in the first 25 who boarded). No names were announced that I could hear, but we did get our embarkation photo taken. Some of the crew tried to direct us to the buffet at Topsiders, but I politely asked for directions to the spa and Palo's. They said, "But those places aren't open yet", yet when we went upstairs to make our reservations, they were.
My mom and I went to the spa to make reservations while DH went to Palo's to make reservations for tea, brunch and dinner. I had no problem getting a cabana massage, surial bath, facial and pedicure. We were done so quickly that we went over to Palo's to help DH. We got on the waiting list for a second brunch at Palo's. Then on to the Oceaneer Club to check in DDs. Found our dining tickets in our rooms -- had the Animator's/Parrot Cay/Lumiere's rotation, second seating. We were at table 50, which is in a terrible location in AP (directly between the kitchen and a large serving station), but turns out to be an ok location at the other restaurants.
The second seating worked out ok for our girls -- I was most concerned that they be rested enough to enjoy the shows (which were outstanding!!), and the first shows were perfect for that. With a full ship (we heard that there were 2766 guests), we had no problem getting excellent seats if we arrived about 25 minutes early. We usually got them something to eat from room service, the buffet or Pluto's before the show. They came to dinner with us 4 nights out of the 7, because we all enjoyed the family we were seated with.
Incidentally, on the shows -- C'est Magique was not offered during our trip -- we were told that the cast had changed only the week before, and that the show would not be offered for six weeks while the cast got up to speed. The Welcome Aboard show, Hercules, Who Wants to Be a Mousketeer, Disney Dreams, and farewell shows were outstanding!!! DDs were on the edge of their seats most of the time. My mom and I would order pina coladas from the crew members taking orders in the theater (aaahh!) get our mugs refilled at Preludes for DDs. After the show, we'd go back to our rooms to spiff up for dinner (or head downstairs for pin trading at 7:30, character photos, or -- one time only -- bingo).
The pools were crowded, but you could still cool off and enjoy the water. We had no problem getting a sun lounger at the Goofy pool. (Thre is a notice in the Navigators that you aren't supposed to save sun loungers or seats in the Walt Disney Theater.) It is a lot hotter around the Mickey pool, I guess because it does not catch a breeze. My mom would go up on Deck 10 with a book and watch us swimming.
We did our own excursions on the islands because we were afraid that the Disney excursions would not give enough time to do whatever was offered. So we got our own taxi to the Butterfly Farm on St. Martin (which DDs loved), and the farm called us a taxi to go on to Marigot. We had lunch at La Vie en Rose (excellent!), then did some shopping while DH and DD had ice cream. Went back to Philipsburg on the Dutch side to look for gifts for my niece and nephew (we learned that the shops there close at 6:00). Back to the ship in plenty of time for Tropicalifragilistic Night and the deck party!
In St. Thomas, DH and DDs went to Coral World while mom and I went (you guessed it) shopping! Had a nice lunch at the Hard Rock Cafe, then back to the boat to enjoy the pools.
Thursday was our "spa day". DH, who is skeptical of all things massage- and relaxation-related, loved the surial bath and wants to do it again! Thanks to posts on this board, I asked about the temperature of the showers for the surial treatment -- the spa lady said that it was important to set the temperature of the first shower (where the muds are) fairly cool so that the showers inside the steam room do not get too hot. We liked several of the products in the room (the refresher gel and milk bath) and bought them later in the day. The prices are the same on the Steiner website.
After the surial bath, the grownups had a wonderful brunch at Palo's. Service and food were outstanding! Mom and I really enjoyed afternoon tea there on Monday as well. The scones and Devonshire cream were super!
More later -- happy and safe cruises to all!
Barb
