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Pre-planning

We had been planning this trip for some time, we’d done Disneyland and Walt Disney World but hadn’t done a cruise yet. We debated a variety of different cabin types but were told by many people who had cruised before that it was worth the extra money to get the private verandah.

As it turns out they were right, having a quiet private area to enjoy the ocean views is well worth the expense.

Our travel group included my sister and I along with two friends from Arizona and Florida. We planned to be at Walt Disney World from November 29th to December 7th for all of the 100th  birthday celebrations the previous week. Since our friend had moved to Florida and had a large vehicle with a trailer she offered to drive us down to Port Canaveral.

Day One: Saturday 12/8/2001: Boarding in Port Canaveral

We packed things up and headed out around 10 am. It’s about an hour drive from Orlando to Port Canaveral. We wanted to arrive early. They let you board the ship around noon and we wanted to be aboard in time to make reservations at Palo’s, which is the adults only restaurant.

As we neared the port we got our first view of the ship, and it is absolutely huge even from a great distance. We’d hoped to stop and get some pictures of the ship but the traffic didn’t allow us to do so. However we did get some shots of the ship up close

The terminal building is impressive, designed to look like something out of the 1930’s and the glory days of the cruise industry. You enter on the ground floor and then head up an escalator to the check in area. Once you check in you wait for them to open the ship to boarding.

One of the things they have to entertain you is a cross section model of the ship which impressive in itself. They also have characters to entertain the kids and the kids at heart.

One thing to address here has to do with drinks on board ship. While soft drinks and coffee with your meals are included in the fare, soft or hard drinks at the ships bars and other areas aren’t. They do have a mug system similar to that at the hotels at WDW but the cost of the mug is far higher (around $40 for a week).

We decided to bring our own sodas on board. This worked fairly well in providing us with soda but I have to say the real hassle was dragging the case of soda through the line. I’m not sure if I’d do it again, and if I did I’d bring a ‘soda bag’ that I could check. Just a little tidbit to consider as you plan your trip.

We boarded around 12:30 and headed to find our cabins, which were ready for use. Our luggage hadn’t arrived quite yet so we headed to the seafood buffet luncheon. Then we headed upstairs to get our reservations at Palos, which offers adult only dining for a cost of $5 per person. They also offer a champagne lunch for $10. In my opinion both are well worth the cost.

We then checked into our cabins, which were very nice for a cruise ship. A few pictures of the cabin are shown below.

Here is the view looking toward the bed

Here is the view of the sitting area, which converts into a bed

Here is the view looking from the verandah down on the entry gangplank.

And here is a view from later that evening showing just why it’s worth the extra money for the verandah, what a great private show for you to enjoy.

After settling in we headed up to the top deck for the sailaway party, which features music, dancing and lots of characters, along with the wonderful moment where the ship’s horn plays "When You Wish Upon A Star".

We then headed back to our cabins to get ready for dinner at Palos. Now I’ll admit I’m probably the stereotype of the plain old ordinary guy. For me fancy dining is going a step above Red Lobster. So I was really impressed with the service at Palo’s, which is very much in line with what I assume top-of-the-line four-star restaurants offer. The highlight of Palo’s is the desert menu, which of course includes tiramisu along with a spectacular chocolate soufflé. I’ve included pictures just to let you drool a little bit.

When we got to the cabin they had laid out the daily Navigator which is a fold out brochure (8½ by 11) that gives you the daily schedule. It’s a great way to finish off the night, sitting and looking over the next days activities.

Day Two: Sunday 12/9/2001: Day At Sea

We slept in a little bit today, since it was a day at sea and so we didn’t have any need to rush. We’d scheduled ourselves for the Palo’s champagne brunch which was scheduled for 11 am. We got up around 9 am and began getting ready for our day. We were at sea and it offered some spectacular views, which kept us relaxing on our deck area a little bit longer than intended, but it was lots of fun.

Around 10 am we headed out of the cabin and headed out on deck. A lot of our morning was spent looking around. People may legitimately criticize Michael Eisner for a lot of things but he sure got this one right. The ship really evokes images of the Queen Mary sailing the seas in the 1920’s or 1930’s.

Lori and I decided swim and enjoy the pool. One of the nice things Disney has done is to effectively segregate the ship between kids and adults. Which is not to say that I don’t enjoy seeing kids experiencing Disney but it’s nice that they also have made an effort to give each group its own area.

With the pools they have three areas. The kids pool is first and is the largest pool area. Then there is a second pool area for teens, and finally an adults only pool. The kids and teens pool are both open to adults, so that families can stay together if they want.

After we spent some time relaxing on deck we headed back to the room to rest. Sunday was formal night, and we had lots of plans. Since we had the 8:30 pm seating we knew it would be a late night. We spent an hour or two resting in the room. While we were resting I heard some activity outside the deck but didn’t go to investigate.

As it turns out one of the passengers had suffered a heart attack and had to be evacuated to Puerto Rico so he could be flown back to the US for treatment. They had lowered the lifeboat right below our cabin, so that’s what I’d heard. Our friends in the cabin next door got some video of the event.

[Just to digress a little here people often wonder about getting travel insurance from Disney. Well, the little diversion to send the sick man off the ship cost him $25,000. Hopefully this was covered by some trip insurance. But just a word to the wise that it’s probably worth ‘wasting’ the $99 for trip insurance rather to risk.]

After our rest we got changed for formal night. Since dinner was at 8:30 we decided to see the show for the evening at 6:30. The show was Hercules the Muse-ical, which is a stage version of the movie.

I have to say that we looked pretty darn good in our nice clothes. Since I’m the author I figure it’s only fair to embarrass myself, so here’s me.

We then headed to the Walt Disney Theater for the show. I have to say this is one of the nicest parts of the ship, a Broadway quality theater and a great tribute to Walt.

The show was excellent, but we couldn’t get any good pictures since, as at any Disney attraction, they prohibit flash photography. The program follows the basic story of the film but adds a number of comic aspects, including a hilarious male muse. Considering they perform this show week in and week out aboard a cruise ship I was really impressed with the quality.

Before I discuss dinner I’ll cover the restaurants aboard ship. There are three restaurants on the Magic. You rotate from restaurant to restaurant each night and your serving staff goes with you. I was really impressed with our serving staff.

Our head server was Alan who is from the UK, he had several tables to cover so we didn’t get as much contact with him as with our regular but he was very nice and made sure we were always happy.

Our main server was Zoran, he and his wife both work on the ship and are from Hungary. Interestingly they both have advanced college degrees but they can make more money on the ship than they can at home, so they are working to save money for starting a family.

Our assistant server was Maurizio and he is from Australia. By the time the week was over we had already been invited to visit down under and he’d been invited to visit our parts of the world. It’s really nice the way people get to know you and you get to know them.

One thing to consider though is the fact that since many of the servers are from Europe they are used to dealing with European tourists who expect the server to be ‘seen and not heard’. As a result they may seem a little stiff to those of us from the USA. But once you make it clear you want to interact with them they are the nicest people in the world. Here is Maurizio enjoying tropical night.

Now on to the three restaurants. One is called Parrot Cay and is a slightly more informal restaurant decorated in a Caribbean theme.

The second is Lumieres and is the more formal restaurant decorated in the theme of Beauty and the Beast.

The third is Animators Pallate and is decorated with artwork on the walls. Some of you may have heard about this one because the whole room, including the waiters, change from black and white to color. I have to be honest that I wasn’t as impressed as I expected but it is a nice place.

Our formal night dinner was at Parrot Cay, which wasn’t the best place I suppose but we still had a lot of fun. I also found out at the end of dinner that it was my birthday and I just didn’t know it. Since we weren’t going to be together for my real birthday in January (the feast of fools day actually) the group decided to celebrate today. I got a nice cake and a special song from our servers and the room, which was a lot of fun

Day Three: Monday 12/10/2001: Day at Sea

Today was our second day at sea en route to St. Maarten. I won’t have a whole lot of pictures for today since we were at sea but I’ll give you a rundown of the day.

We decided to enjoy some of the ships activities today. We first headed to one of the Navigator series shows. These are programs they offer during days at sea which allow you to see behind the scenes. Unfortunately due to the restrictions after September 11th some of the programs have been suspended, including the bridge tour. Hopefully they will be back soon.

We did get to see the dining series where they featured one of the ships dessert chefs. The dessert he fixed was tomatoes with nuts and fruit. Yes, I did mean to write tomatoes. He told a very interesting story about the origins of this treat.

It seems he was in a major competition and had intended to prepare a dish of figs with nuts and fruit. But when he went to get his ingredients he accidentally took tomatoes and by the time he realized his mistake it was too late for him to get the right item. He improvised a new dish and ended up winning the gold medal.

After the dessert series we did a little looking around and some shopping before deciding to grab lunch. We had the option of eating at one of the restaurants but decided instead to grab some burgers from one of the pool bars and headed back to our room to eat on the verandah. It was a nice way to relax for a while.

But someone else decided to join us.

We decided to take advantage of the free movies on board and went to see Cats and Dogs, which was a really cute movie. The free movies are something nice because they are first run movies and they give you a nice break, especially on sea days.

CONTINUE OR CONTENTS

Where: Disney Cruise Lines, 7 Day Eastern Caribbean on Disney Magic

Who: Myself, Patrick (33-year-old attorney) and my sister Lori (31-year-old nurse). First time cruisers.

When: December 8 (Saturday) through December 15 (Saturday) 2001

Transportation: By plane from Sacramento to Orlando, by private car from Orlando to Port Canaveral.

Accommodations: Category 6 (Cabin 6564)

Room type: Deluxe stateroom with verandah

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