Danna's Disney Magic Western Caribbean Cruise April 5-12, 2008

We had a fabulous time! We were the first family to walk in the cruise terminal Saturday morning. I have to tell you…it was really cool to be there all by ourselves and watch the crowds gather over the next few hours. The gentleman handling our check in gave us the good news that we were switched to First Seating (5:30pm) AND we were placed at the same table as our friends we were traveling with. That really set up the perfect start for our holiday. Once we were let onto the Ship we headed directly to Rockin Bar D and I was able to book Palo for one night and our friends added us to their brunch reservation. All my worries just seemed to disappear within minutes!

After a quick lunch at Topsiders we went to check out our staterooms… 1066 and 1068. Not having been on a Cruise Ship before I really didn’t know what to expect. My first impression…wow are those staterooms small! I am really glad I brought along a hanging shoe rack to aid in bathroom organization. The first night sleeping we noticed quite a bit of noise. There was one particular sound that we couldn’t figure out what it was. It was very scheduled which had us believing it was engine noise at first, but then we realized it was probably elevator hydraulics. It became background noise quickly and didn’t affect our sleeping whatsoever. We spent a fair amount of time in our friend’s stateroom 8002 which allowed us some comparison between the two (lower deck vs. upper deck with veranda). Their room seemed slightly larger (easier passage from the door to the window without having to climb over the bed) and the bathroom counters were definitely more roomy. But overall I enjoyed our 2 rooms on deck 1 and would stay in them again. One big bonus was that we could go ashore quickly by just walking down the hall instead of navigating the utterly slow elevators. Which, by the way, after the first day we came to the conclusion that the stairs would be the most efficient method of getting were we needed to go.

We booked our excursions by purchasing our tickets online prior to our departure, instead of going through Disney. In Key West we chose the Trolley Tour which was quite fun depending on the driver we got. (Bubba was my favorite! He was a hoot to listen to. Unbelievably knowledgeable and full of stories.) We made a detour to Pirate Soul, which cost a fortune and in my opinion was not worth it. They did have a very cool interactive touch screen tool that the kids spent lots of time navigating through. We also stopped at Kermit’s for key lime pie, ice cream and the most delicious Mango Smoothie. Kermit’s has a nice shaded patio area big enough for the 11 of us to sit and cool off a bit. Really nice kids working there. One just happen to have lived down the street from us in Sammamish! What are the odds of that?

In Grand Cayman we took a bus to the Marriott at 7 mile beach. As a tip to your customers…bypass all the people holding signs advertising $4 or $5/person rides to the beach and walk about a block up and get on a $2/person bus that holds about 12-14 people. We paid our driver a little extra in exchange for coming back for us at a predetermined time. And I have to say…they actually came back right on time! Excellent snorkeling and even though it down poured on us for about 15-20 minutes we still had a great time. Another tip…we put SPF 50 on the 7 children with us twice during our few hours at the beach and each one of them got a pretty horrible sun burn. I would use a SPF higher, if they make such a thing.

In Cozumel we hired a taxi to take us to Chankanaab Park. We had bought Royal Swim Encounters at Dolphin Discovery online prior to the cruise. Disney doesn’t offer this exact encounter, and I have to tell you it was a once in a lifetime AMAZING experience! There is an age requirement and it is quite expensive at $150 per person. As a tip…that price includes the cost of the round trip taxi ride and entrance to the Park which is noted in the confirmation email. However that particular note is in Spanish. Unless you know how to read Spanish it may be wise to ask them to resend the confirmation in English. This particular encounter allowed us to hitch a ride on two Dolphins while holding their Dorsal Fins as well as a Toe Push where the dolphins come from behind put their nose against your feet and push you through the water as if you’re flying like Superman. OMG! It was so unbelievably cool! My 10 year old and 8 year old had the time of their life, as well as my husband and I. I took my 6 year old and 3 year old on the normal Dolphin Encounter that I believe is part of Disney’s excursion line up. I wasn’t as impressed with that particular encounter. The trainer wasn’t as personable with her audience and wasn’t as willing to give everyone a chance to touch the dolphin.

Castaway Cay was spent relaxing on the adult beach for the first half and family time (hair braiding, shopping, etc) the second half. It was quite difficult checking the kids into Scuttles Cove. With 4 kids in 4 different groups I spent more than an hour walking around the island trying to get them to their designated spots. An example…we were told the 10-12’s were at Gil Fins, but once we got there the group had been moved somewhere else and since their walkie-talkies weren’t working properly no one knew exactly where we were supposed to go next. So I spent a lot of time walking from Scuttles Cove to the next activity destination to find that the group had been moved to another location, then back to Scuttles Cove to be sent yet again somewhere else. All this because we showed up at 10:00am instead of 9:00am. We finally made it to the adult beach at 11:30 in time for a very good lunch of Blackened Mahi Mahi and Grilled Chicken…and a few Coronas to wash them down and aid in the “island” experience. ;-)

Overall we had an excellent first experience cruising. Our dinner time of 5:30pm worked out well and allowed us to socialize a bit more than if we had a later dinner time. It was a quite hurried experience trying to get back to the ship in time to get dressed for dinner on port days, but as I walked past the restaurants at 8:00 on my way to the show I was SO happy I had just finished dinner and not just starting it.

Another very important note I should mention in regard to the kid clubs. I was so impressed with how all the counselors seemed to thoroughly enjoy their jobs. It was very reassuring to me especially how by the 2nd day they addressed my children by their names and would volunteer a thoughtful compliment or a funny story about their stay when I picked them up. The clubs (Ocean Quest in particular) were very cool and very fun. Given the option at dinner…would you like to see the show or go to the clubs…the answer always was CLUBS!

Danna