(Used to be) Live from the Magic - Christmas Cruise 2008 - now with pictures pg4

[nzdisneymom]

What’s that? It’s Christmas morning and the children are still all snug in their beds and it’s 9 a.m.???? We’ll have none of that! There’s lots to do today, so we’ve gotta get started. Or maybe not!

Santa left stockings filled for the boys just inside our stateroom door. I’m not sure if he spent the night on the Magic after finishing deliveries all over the world, but he was onboard this morning beginning at 8:30 to have the children visit and get another gift. Of course for those children who might be a bit busy and / or not want to wait in a line, their parents could visit Shore Excursions desk to pick up their gifts. The gifts this year were a Disney/Pixar calendar. Good thing I hadn’t already gotten calendars for the boys! They also opened their Secret Santa gifts and enjoyed seeing what another DISer left for them. Our Fish Extender has also had a lot of action today.

Bedtime Stories was premiering today at 10:30 in the Buena Vista Theater, so after a quick stop in Mickey’s Mates for a t-shirt (40% off) and to collect the third in the series of free pins, I did the DCL thing and went to the theater and – gosh – are you ready for this? I saved seats for my family. Whew – good thing I did as the theater ended up being full. But my guys got there in plenty of time so it didn’t get hairy with the whole seat-saving thing. I wear bi-focals so I find that if I sit on row H, that works best for me. We really enjoyed the movie and will likely see it again.

After the movie, we checked the laundry room and found there were a few empty washers, so we got our laundry and did our last laundry for the trip. We waited until our clothes were in the dryer and then had lunch. DH had the seafood buffet in Topsiders while I got something from Pluto’s. While I was taking care of our laundry, someone wanted to know where we had gotten our shirts as we are wearing our Café Press shirts that our Meet group designed.

On Saturday, we had thought it would be great fun to make a Gingerbread House, so we had gotten tickets for 2 p.m. Today we weren’t so sure, but the boys and I went anyway and enjoyed it. Of course now we have a Gingerbread House that we can’t take offboard with us and will end up putting it in the trash tonight or tomorrow. But it was fun making it together, and I did my best to not offer advice or suggestions and let the boys do the house on their own.

Our DISBoards Digital Scavenger hunt coordinator set 4:30 to be our time to regather for those who wanted to, but we still had a few items we had yet to take a picture of, so I got a new list (I washed our old one – oops). I went in search of the last items, the toughest one being the ship’s compass which I didn’t find – but BearFan’s DH took pity on me and told me where to find it on Deck 10. I had searched Deck 10 from midship forward, but it’s more aft. It was so windy across the ship this afternoon that I thought I was going to be blown off the ship!

Several of us met up and shared pictures and just talked about the cruise and how things are going. It’s funny how different our experiences have been, but the common theme is that this has been an amazing week and we’re not looking forward to it ending. The beginning of the trip seemed to go by slowly with each day feeling like multiple days but now it seems like the days are zooming by.

Oh yeah - our towel animal last night was an angel.

 

[TheDisneyGirl02]

An angel towel animal! How cool is that!

I hope you had a magical Christmas on the Magic!

 

[nzdisneymom]

Thursday – Christmas Day, continued

Christmas Day is “semi-formal” night, but we decided to skip it. We had pretty much decided before we left home that we wouldn’t be doing formal or semi-formal nights because DH just didn’t want to have to dress up. I brought some nice clothes but honestly, by Thursday night, I had zero interest in getting dressed for dinner. Relaxation has totally set in.

I had some chips and salsa in the Promenade Lounge as we were not going to eat dinner until after High School Musical 3 which was at 5:30. We had seen the other two movies, so I wanted to see HSM3. An yeah, I admit it, I like HSM-series! We enjoyed the movie as a family.

We had our Christmas Dinner at Topsiders. DS12 didn’t join us, but DS11 did. We had the turkey dinner, but they also had ham and some other things. I remarked to DH afterwards that I think this was the best dinner of the whole week.

After dinner, I walked around the ship a bit, running into DISers at nearly every turn. It was so nice to have so many familiar faces and talk about how much we’re enjoying the trip. I finally wandered back to Diversions where I found that they have chicken wings out on their snack bar. I had just been talking to Hinsok about it; her kids had been looking forward to getting some from the Outlook Bar but it hasn’t been open all week where any of us have noticed. Too bad I didn’t see her again after that so I could tell her that her kids could find their wings in Diversions!

DS11 was firmly planted in OQ for the evening while DH and DS12 retired to the cabin. I ordered room service for DS12 and then headed down to listen to Calypso Magic before catching John Charles’ adult cabaret. Soul Drive was still playing when we got there (I met up with Tinkerbell_29 and family) and they are really good. John Charles was entertaining and played an hour rather than the 45 minutes he was scheduled for. It was a good crowd which made it fun for him, too.

When the show was over, the midnight dessert bar, complete with chocolate fountain, was already open. There was not much of a line, so we went through and took our plates down to the Promenade Lounge. DS11 came by then, so I sent him to get his own chocolate fountain fruit. He thought that was the best thing ever!

When we got back to the cabin, DH and DS12 were already asleep, but we didn’t care if we woke them up or not – it was our next to the last night onboard. And we weren’t going to dock at Castaway Cay til 9 a.m., so we knew we could sleep in for a bit.

 

[TheDisneyGirl02]

Sounds like you had a lovely Christmas day! The Christmas dinner at Topsider's sounds really nice! I love HSM also...I cried at the end of it!

I hope you had a great day at CC! Can't wait to read about it!

 

[nzdisneymom]

Friday – Double Dip at Castaway Cay day including a sail-by of the Disney Wonder.

Our last full day onboard and we get to spend the (quoting Christiaan) B-E-A-Utiful day on Castaway Cay. We docked around 9 a.m. and folks were disembarking before 9:30. Our cabin is just above the Aft door, so we get to watch folks coming and going.

Jay the PubMaster was coordinating a 5K run beginning at 9:30, so DH went to meet the group while the kids and I took some time getting ready to go out. DH said the run was nice and he went a bit further as he usually does a long run on the weekends. He said it was a bit awkward running on land after running on the ship all week.

The boys and I made our way down to the sports beach where DH was to meet us. We rented floats but it was really too windy to use them, so we mostly just hung out on the beach til DH got done with his run. DS11 played a few games at Grouper’s Pavilion.

We headed up to the main area for lunch just around noon, and we heard the announcement that the Wonder would be here soon. DH and DS12 went to get some lunch while DS11 and I not only were waiting for the Wonder, we were waiting for the Characters to come by in their golf carts. The Wonder sailed by and it was so cool. We did not get a picture of the Wonder and Magic together, but others from the DIS were able to.

The characters came by and I was able to get them on video, and then we got a bite to eat from Cookies BBQ. Same fare as on Sunday, but no pineapple upside down cake.

We had promised the boys on Sunday that we would rent a paddle boat again but that this time we would paddle them around for half-an-hour. We had a great time and got close to both the Flying Dutchman and the Magic before turning back.

The boys wanted to see Bolt as DS11 hadn’t seen it yet. It was at 3 p.m. which was perfect for us to have time to get back onboard, shower, and then send them to the movie. Only DH and both boys ended up falling asleep about 2:15. I woke DH up before I got in the shower so that they wouldn’t sleep through the movie as I really needed them out of the room so I could pack this afternoon.

Packing is the hardest thing to do on a cruise because it means you’re busy doing “chores” when you want to maximize the last moments onboard. But we were able to get it done in a reasonable amount of time and didn’t have to buy a new piece of luggage (whew – good thing I brought along the DVC bag!). I had to get some extra luggage tags from Guest Services, but whew – the packing was done except for what we’ll have in the morning. I remembered to keep out clothes and spares for Saturday morning.

One of my favorite things to do this week has been to hang out in the Promenade Lounge before dinner (and later in the evening) listening to Calypso Magic. Today was no different. We have enjoyed talking to them and listening to their sets. It’s a great way to relax before dinner and meet up with friends. This was definitely my favorite “new” thing for me as a cruise passenger.

Dinner was in Lumiere’s for the Til We Meet Again dinner. Our server and assistant server did another great job. They were definitely quick but not rushing us, so we were able to enjoy dinner and get out in a reasonable amount of time. We stayed for the flag ceremony and made sure to handle our gratuities with them. We did let them know that we will not be attending breakfast on Saturday morning as we’re opting for Topsiders for an easier time of things (and a later wake-up time for us).

Time for our last evening.

 

[podsnel]

Hope you had fun on your last night! It is the fastest week of all, the week onboard the Magic- isn't it?

What was the spa treatment like?

 

[frdeb1999]

Sounds like you had a wonderful time!! Thanks for sharing them!

 

[goofygal1975]

What a magical Christmas Cruise! Thank you for sharing your trip with us!!

I'm glad to hear that the wireless internet worked good in your room! I plan on bringing my laptop on our cruise in May.

 

[Sophie_2003]

Tks for the live reports, hope your disembarkation was painless!

 

[FIREFIGHTERMICKEY]

Im sure you guys had a great time. MERRY CHRISTMAS

 

[Deb T.]

Sunday continued: After DH’s nap, we delivered a few more FE gifts on our way to the DVC Members Celebrations where we saw several DISers. Unfortunately none of us had our names drawn for either a prize or the $200 on-board credit. But DISer Deb T. gave me a tip on a previous cruise – be sure to attend the Group Presentations to increase your chances of winning something. And the DVC lady today said to be sure to come because they always like to have Members there.

Thanks for the shout out!

I really enjoyed reading your TR! It sparked lots of great memories from our cruise together last April!!! I sure wish I could have been on this cruise, too, with you and your awesome family! Please tell the boys and your DH that I said "Hi!". Just think, *only* 19 more months before we cruise together again!

 

[DMMarla07860]

sounds like your trip was great

 

[nzdisneymom]

Hope you had fun on your last night! It is the fastest week of all, the week onboard the Magic- isn't it?

What was the spa treatment like?

It sure does go by fast, but each day feels like multiple days! I could look back and think we'd been onboard for 28 days!

The spa treatment was interesting. It was kinda cool but I'm not sure I buy into that it really works, although I think the science behind what happens with toxins in your body is believable enough - just not sure I agree with how to "crack them" by using red algae to penetrate. The treatment itself was the application of several products including the red algae and then a lotion of some sort. Then you lie down on a bed of thermal clay that is used as a conductor (the clay is covered with a paper towelette so you don't get it on you). Then the electrodes are hooked up and they turn it up til you feel a squeezing sensation which is kinda cool and a bit relaxing. The therapist talks to you about what's going on with your body and gives you tips about stuff we all already know.

I'm glad to hear that the wireless internet worked good in your room! I plan on bringing my laptop on our cruise in May.

I was really surprised at how well the internet was from our cabin. I don't know if it's because of our location or because they have increased bandwidth (I heard the crew members get free internet access???). We were in Cabin 6116 which is just forward of the aft elevators.

Thanks for the shout out!

I really enjoyed reading your TR! It sparked lots of great memories from our cruise together last April!!! I sure wish I could have been on this cruise, too, with you and your awesome family! Please tell the boys and your DH that I said "Hi!". Just think, *only* 19 more months before we cruise together again!

Thanks for reading, Deb, and I passed on your hello's to my family. We had a great time and sharing it with other DISers just added to the enjoyment!

sounds like your trip was great

It was really great. I got a chance to talk to Jay for just a minute and mentioned that I had read about him on the DIS and mentioned you by name. He did coordinate the 5-K which DH enjoyed.

 

[nzdisneymom]

Friday night, continued

This week just went by so fast, yet I can barely remember last Saturday. It’s a good thing I wrote this trip report as we went because I would never be able to reconstruct our week otherwise.

After dinner, DH and I walked around the ship for a bit, checking out the shops and running into even more DISers as many of us were taking care of those last details. We got DH a shirt to match my new DCL one as the t-shirts were still 40% off!

We got back to the room before 8 p.m., and Maricar came by shortly after to give us our comment card. I knew I had a long list of people I wanted to list by name and there wasn’t enough space, so I asked her what I should do. She got me some DCL stationery so I could write all I wanted! My list included not just those who took care of us all week, but other individuals that I noticed working throughout the week that we saw regularly, as well as those who just brought a smile to our faces.

We finished packing, including undecorating our door, and got the suitcases out into the hallway on time. I asked Maricar for an extra bottle of lotion; she hooked me up with a handful. I had room in one bag to put it!

DH and DS12 went out for a final foosball tournament while DS11 was hanging out in Ocean Quest for the night. I checked on him around 9:30 and he was making t-shirts and pillowcases for a souvenir. I wanted to see if we could score a “friendship rocks” t-shirt for the boys but didn’t see the Oceaneer’s Lab counselor that I wanted to ask about it. She had been at the pager-return desk but I had missed her.

I went to the Til We Meet Again in the Atrium and met two DDs of a DISer who were waiting for the show to start. One was very excited about getting to stay up late and get pictures and such with the cast of characters; the younger was ready for bed, I think. The characters came down the staircases and out into the audience for those final picture opportunities. Then they did the farewell show and it snowed! I was on port side of deck 4, just below the snowmaker and right near the Christmas tree – it was so cool to see it snowing on the ship!

I ran upstairs quickly to be sure that DH had gotten the last of the suitcases out in the hallway (he had) and then I went back for Calypso Magic’s final show of the cruise and to say goodbye to fellow-DISers who met me there. It wasn’t hard to say goodbye because we’ll be sailing together again in 2010… and of course seeing each other on the boards. Just as we were saying goodbye to Robbie and Lynley, DS11 came by from the OQ – he said he figured that’s where he would find me 

Then up to the cabin to get ready for bed. Because we were doing Topsiders, we didn’t have to get up until 7 a.m. to still have time to be out of the room prior to 8 a.m. We watched the Bridge channel for a few minutes and drifted off to sleep for our final night onboard.

 

[nzdisneymom]

Saturday – Time to say Goodbye

We all slept soundly through the night, I think a bit in denial that the trip was over, yet I think we are all about ready to be home. The boys have Christmas presents to open still, and they don’t know what Santa might have left them.

I woke up at 6:10, peeked out the window and saw that we had, indeed, made it back to Port Canaveral. I went back to bed but didn’t really fall back asleep, so I got up about 6:45 to get ready. The boys got up just before the wake-up call at 7. DS12 was ready first, so he and I headed up to breakfast at Topsiders. DS11 followed, and then DH came after DS12 had already gone back to the cabin. I have to say that this has been one of the best DIS tips – to have breakfast at Topsiders on the last morning. It works for us because we can have a quick breakfast, coming in shifts if we need to, and we don’t have to lug all our carry-off stuff with us. By timing it right, we can be back at the cabin and have time to brush our teeth, double-check the cabin and safe, and still be out before 8 a.m. I had let our stateroom hostess know that we would be eating at Topsiders for breakfast so she would know we hadn’t left for our scheduled 7 a.m. breakfast.

DCL had delivered a beautiful lithograph with Aurora that was designed specifically for the holiday cruise. We had it ready to go and I asked DS12 to be responsible for carrying it off the ship. But somehow in the process of leaving the cabin, he fell backwards into the closet (don’t ask… I think it’s just a 12 yr old thing) and it got bent. We ended up just leaving it because I know I wouldn’t frame it, and with it being bent, it was not of value to anyone any more. Darn – there goes my ebay sale (LOL).

We walked down to Deck 5 and then crossed from Aft to Midship there before heading down. We saw a few DISers in the lobby saying goodbye, and then off we went to the terminal. The porters were all busy when we came off the escalator, but by the time we headed to our luggage area (Purple Minnie), I saw one and he saw me at the same time and bam, we were set.

He whisked us through customs (they didn’t even look at our passports) and out to the hotel shuttle pick-up area where we called for the Country Inn and Suites shuttle to pick us up. They arrived within 10 minutes, we loaded up along with the others who were waiting, and were back at the hotel in less than 20 minutes from the time we disembarked the ship.

We stayed over in Cape Canaveral so we could go to Kennedy Space Center for the day. We enjoyed it, but we were also tired from the week. We did comment about how nice it was to not have to drive home today.

Thanks for reading along with us all week. I’ll have a few more odds and ends that I missed along the way, and I have uploaded our pictures to Photobucket so I’ll be adding those, too.

 

[nzdisneymom]

I'll post a few pictures at a time. We didn't take a lot of pictures, but I know how much I like to look at everyone else's trip with pictures.

DS11 and I with Mickey in the Terminal:

and with Minnie:

 

[nzdisneymom]

Sunrise at Sea on Monday:

Sunset at Cozumel on Tuesday:

 

[nzdisneymom]

DS11 at the Adventures Away

DS12 at Castaway Cay:

 

[DMMarla07860]

It was really great. I got a chance to talk to Jay for just a minute and mentioned that I had read about him on the DIS and mentioned you by name. He did coordinate the 5-K which DH enjoyed.

glad your DH enjoyed the 5-K, I wouldn't be caught dead running on vacation so people who do love to see that, I just use the stairs and walk up them

 

[scottishwee35]

Hi Cindy

Many thanks for your trip report and I enjoyed to read it.

thanks for showing the photos...

Looking forward to meet you in 2010

Scottishwee35