Since I got so much out of other folks trip reports, I thought I'd try this.
My family (husband and me in our 40s, teen daughter) booked one of the only non-'Merrytime' cruises available in December. It was a 4-night cruise out of Miami leaving on 26 Dec, going to Nassau and Castaway. We live in Colorado and wanted to escape to somewhere warm. This was also to be our 'Disney fix' for the year, as the parks around the holidays are not our idea of fun.
This was our first cruise and we weren't sure what we'd think of cruising. We only looked at Disney cruises, because the big feature of this trip was getting to go to Castaway. It was a short cruise; if we hated it we never had to do it again, it was only a few days, and we'd be able to check Castaway off the list.
Embarkation
We selected a 1230 PAT. This was plenty early for us. We flew in the night before, stayed in mid-beach, and got to spend some time playing in the waves before we boarded. The boarding process went fairly well. The port is very much lacking in Disney Whimsy but that's okay; we weren't there long.
We *hate* the announcement process and being clapped on. I had been looking forward to having crab legs at Cabanas. The no-line, multi-station buffet process is pretty chaotic, but there was a fine selection of food and we got a table outside where it was much quieter. Food was not spectacular, but much better than a typical buffet meal. After lunch we dropped off our carry-ons and wandered the ship, took pictures, played ping-pong, had a drink in O'Gils, and then headed up to the Muster Drill.
Our first dinner was in Rapunzel's. The performers were great; we're not big on interaction. But they picked up on that and kept the interaction brief so it was charming. Our serving team was great -- I highly recommend Orlan on the Magic. We had second seating, which we wanted. It was calm and we were able to get a private table. We are also used to eating dinner around 8pm most nights, so it wasn't a hardship.
About half-way through my entree the motion of the ship caught up with me. I don't usually get car sick, I love roller coasters, but it was too much for me. I went to have a lie down. For the rest of the cruise, I had a Gin Gin candy before dinner and was fine. But I needed a day to get my sea legs.
Next Post -- Day Two: Nassau
My family (husband and me in our 40s, teen daughter) booked one of the only non-'Merrytime' cruises available in December. It was a 4-night cruise out of Miami leaving on 26 Dec, going to Nassau and Castaway. We live in Colorado and wanted to escape to somewhere warm. This was also to be our 'Disney fix' for the year, as the parks around the holidays are not our idea of fun.
This was our first cruise and we weren't sure what we'd think of cruising. We only looked at Disney cruises, because the big feature of this trip was getting to go to Castaway. It was a short cruise; if we hated it we never had to do it again, it was only a few days, and we'd be able to check Castaway off the list.
Embarkation
We selected a 1230 PAT. This was plenty early for us. We flew in the night before, stayed in mid-beach, and got to spend some time playing in the waves before we boarded. The boarding process went fairly well. The port is very much lacking in Disney Whimsy but that's okay; we weren't there long.
We *hate* the announcement process and being clapped on. I had been looking forward to having crab legs at Cabanas. The no-line, multi-station buffet process is pretty chaotic, but there was a fine selection of food and we got a table outside where it was much quieter. Food was not spectacular, but much better than a typical buffet meal. After lunch we dropped off our carry-ons and wandered the ship, took pictures, played ping-pong, had a drink in O'Gils, and then headed up to the Muster Drill.
Our first dinner was in Rapunzel's. The performers were great; we're not big on interaction. But they picked up on that and kept the interaction brief so it was charming. Our serving team was great -- I highly recommend Orlan on the Magic. We had second seating, which we wanted. It was calm and we were able to get a private table. We are also used to eating dinner around 8pm most nights, so it wasn't a hardship.
About half-way through my entree the motion of the ship caught up with me. I don't usually get car sick, I love roller coasters, but it was too much for me. I went to have a lie down. For the rest of the cruise, I had a Gin Gin candy before dinner and was fine. But I needed a day to get my sea legs.
Next Post -- Day Two: Nassau
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