Trip Report DCL: Collect the whole set! A Pro9het Turf’less Surf story.

So the Cliff’s Notes version of trip details can be had here:

As is usual we are celebrating our anniversary at sea with DCL. What is not usual is we are doing it from a port that is not Port Canaveral. Our departure port would be New York City. This meant a first time trip to NYC for the both of us. This also meant there would be no WDW turf side to this story as is typical for us. Another first for us was our journey taking place on the Disney Magic. We’ve been on every other DCL ship to this point and we were excited to complete the set with our first Magic voyage. If that wasn’t enough “new” for us we added a new port of call, 2 days at Bermuda. So there ya have it, a series of firsts now lets get this party started.

Tuesday, day before we fly to NYC:
Word on the weather street was that a nor'easter was heading straight for NYC. Worse yet is was supposed to hit NYC while we were flying in that evening. We scrambled tonight to see if we could fly out earlier. Thankfully we found a flight leaving several hours earlier and better yet the seats were together. This would ease some of my bride’s fears of flying but only temporarily. It’s strange how life’s highs and lows can come at you. While we were scrambling to avoid a nor'easter we received a notification of a DVC resale contact that just hit the market. We’d been looking for a small VGC contract for a while and sure enough one popped up. We tossed our hat in the ring with an offer and the caveat that we were about to set sail and couldn’t sign anything until we returned. Fingers crossed!

Wednesday, travel day:
I was scheduled to work today but since we shifted our flight I took an additional vaca day. We left the house a little before 9am and since it was raining out this meant Georgia drivers just took a dump on Ga400. Seriously, this state may have the worst drivers. What should have been an easy, “post rush hour”, trip to the Marta station turned into a gridlock nightmare. It was so bad the usual Marta station we use was at capacity and we had to drive to the next station to catch a train. Thankfully that only incurred another 10 minutes on the road. We navigated the station, and soon were arriving at the airport. Hooray for TSA PreCheck! We passed through security in no time and settled into the terminal, only slightly frazzled.
IMG_7437.JPG


Speaking of highs and lows, while we sat at the gate we received a notice from the DVC resale agent:
IMG_7438.jpg


Our offer was accepted! This high was temporary, though, as it was time to board and my Bride’s nerves would be tested. As we boarded we did find things to distract us. For me it was:
IMG_7439.JPG


For my bride it was:
IMG_7442.JPG


Up next: Flying & Storms don't mix!
 
Last edited:

lostpro9het

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
Saturday, Bermuda Day 1, con't:

With our beach plot secured we decided to explore a bit. As we entered the beach we noticed a little cove off to the right so we decide to start there. This ended up being a cute little "Kiddie Cove" that was shallow and did not have terribly rough water making it the perfect little water sanctuary for the diaper demons. We stayed long enough to get acclimated to the water and catch some wildlife on camera.
GOPR2954.JPG

GOPR2955.JPG

GOPR2956.JPG

GOPR2958.JPG

GOPR2959.JPG

GOPR2962.JPG

GOPR2960.JPG

 

lostpro9het

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
Saturday, Bermuda Day 1, con't:

More from Kiddie Cove. As you may have noted above, there are these beautiful rainbow colored fish that were very shy but very abundant around Horeshoe Bay. I did my best to make them as uncomfortable as possible like some deranged rainbow fish paparazzi. The waters were not always accommodating.
GOPR2963.JPG

GOPR2965.JPG

GOPR2968.JPG

GOPR2969.JPG

GOPR2970.JPG




 

lostpro9het

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
Saturday, Bermuda Day 1, con't:

We left Kiddie Cove for the main beach. Apparently something Bermuda is known for is their "Pink Sand" beaches, at least this is what my wife tells me. Sure enough, though, the beaches did have a pink hue to it from the coral and shells ingrained in it. It was hard to get on camera but I tried.
GOPR2975.JPG


The weather and water were great. It also seemed that most folks were slow to get off the boat or were doing other excursions because the bay was still pretty quiet.
GOPR2977.JPG

GOPR2978.JPG


The wildlife, though, was still active.
GOPR2980.JPG



We explored the main beach for bit enjoying the water and wake.
GOPR2982.JPG

GOPR2983.JPG

GOPR2984.JPG

GOPR2985.JPG
 
Last edited:

lostpro9het

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
Saturday, Bermuda Day 1, con't:

We continued on down the shoreline exploring the beach more.
GOPR2986.JPG

GOPR2987.JPG



We came upon another cove that was far less populated than Kiddie Cove.
GOPR2988.JPG

GOPR2989.JPG

GOPR2990.JPG

GOPR2994.JPG


I was back on the prowl for more rainbow fish action and they obliged me.


We kept exploring further. There was no shortage of secluded beaches and coves to explore.
GOPR2995.JPG

GOPR2996.JPG
 

lostpro9het

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
ImSomeday I will have to try a cruise. It was planned to be on the life list but life changes as does the plan.
All im saying is I know you’re kicking tires on a DL trip and there is a PERFECT DCL itinerary in September that drops you off an hour and a half from DL. I also know of a couple people that have booked that itinerary. Just saying...
 

MinnieM123

Premium Member
It really was. I was kicking myself for not bringing water shoes in case it was rocky. Serenity Bay can be very rocky at times.

Turns out, they were not needed. The sand was smooth, soft and the only real hazard to had to watch for were the big rocks in the water, which you can see in the videos.

I went to Bermuda many years ago. I recall how lovely the beaches were, and everything was so clean on the island.
 

lostpro9het

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
Wow, it looks like a phenomenal beach.
They really were. I've never been on a beach this soft. It was like walking on a tempurpedic matress. Again, this was a free public beach and it was amazing.
I went to Bermuda many years ago. I recall how lovely the beaches were, and everything was so clean on the island.
Still the same! Everywhere we went was clean.
Gorgeous beach photos!
Thank you, ma'am.
 

lostpro9het

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
Saturday, Bermuda Day 1, con't:

So we hiked back to the main beach and it was still pretty uncrowded. We grabbed some funds and made for the food stand.
GOPR3010.JPG


While the beach wasn't crowded it was lunch time and folks were flocking to the food shack. We both agreed the fish and chips sounded good for lunch but we also wanted something to drink with it. I left my bride in the food line and went to the bar to grab us a bucket of beer.
GOPR3011.JPG


Around the time I came back with the beer they were calling our number for the food. All in all we had lunch and drinks about 10 minutes. We made our way back to our chairs and relaxed while enjoying our fish and chips. While the food was good, the fish almost had a chicken texture to the point where I asked my bride if I was eating chicken. It was a firm fish for sure but tasted good regardless.
GOPR3014.JPG


As for our bucket of beer we went with a mix of Elephant beer by Carlsberg and the Unfiltered Lager by And Union brewing. Both were very good and perfect for the warm weather. Cant help but love the PSA on the Unfiltered can.
GOPR3017.JPG

GOPR3015.JPG

GOPR3016.JPG

GOPR3018.JPG
 

lostpro9het

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
Saturday, Bermuda Day 1, con't:

A great lunch, a few beers, and a power nap later and we set off for more exploring. Along our way we passed #tonyfromspain and a few other CMs sunning at the far end of the beach. We walked a lot further than before to a couple coves that were almost completely empty. It was pretty nice having some solitude from kids and crowds.
GOPR3021.JPG
GOPR3022.JPG
GOPR3023.JPG
GOPR3024.JPG
GOPR3027.JPG
GOPR3029.JPG
GOPR3030.JPG
GOPR3031.JPG
GOPR3032.JPG


After a couple hours of exploring we made back for our lounge chairs to finish off the remaining beers and sunning a bit before heading back to the ship. We were still the only ship at the wharf.
GOPR3033.JPG
 

lostpro9het

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
Saturday, Bermuda Day 1, con't:

When we got back to the room we showered up and relaxed a bit before our next adventure. So to add to the list of firsts, this trip would mark the first cruise were we stayed docked at a port over night. This meant there was no "all aboard" time tonight. In fact, if we wanted to we could have booked a night in a hotel and slept on land. All this to say that we had some night time excursions that we could take advantage of that we normally could not. We researched the evening excursions and the Gosling’s Rum sunset trip came back with great reviews and was in our wheelhouse. About 30 minutes prior to our excursion we made our way down to the adult district to meet with the others taking the excursion. We exited the ship and had an easy 3 minute walk to our boat. As we boarded everyone was handed a swizzle which is Gosling’s, OJ, and pineapple juice blended together. They were deceiving as you could not taste the rum at all but you sure felt it if you tried moving.
IMG_7709.JPG

IMG_7710.JPG


So with our first round of swizzles in hand we pulled away from the dock and started exploring Kings Wharf and the Great Sound. Our host for the evening was the entertainment director for Gosling’s Rum. He started out with a story of how he came to work for them and why.
IMG_7711.JPG

IMG_7712.JPG


He then went into a little history of Gosling’s and its impact on the island. This was accompanied by our next round, Gosling’s Gold Seal. This was a mild rum and a little dry. It makes for a good "mixer" IMO.
IMG_7713.JPG

IMG_7714.JPG


A few sips, some more sun, and a few more stories later and the Gosling’s Black Seal was making the rounds. This one stood up more one its own and had some nice dark flavors of vanilla.
IMG_7715.JPG

IMG_7716.JPG


More rum still to come!
 

Rista1313

Well-Known Member
Saturday, Bermuda Day 1, con't:

When we got back to the room we showered up and relaxed a bit before our next adventure. So to add to the list of firsts, this trip would mark the first cruise were we stayed docked at a port over night. This meant there was no "all aboard" time tonight. In fact, if we wanted to we could have booked a night in a hotel and slept on land. All this to say that we had some night time excursions that we could take advantage of that we normally could not. We researched the evening excursions and the Gosling’s Rum sunset trip came back with great reviews and was in our wheelhouse. About 30 minutes prior to our excursion we made our way down to the adult district to meet with the others taking the excursion. We exited the ship and had an easy 3 minute walk to our boat. As we boarded everyone was handed a swizzle which is Gosling’s, OJ, and pineapple juice blended together. They were deceiving as you could not taste the rum at all but you sure felt it if you tried moving.
View attachment 434344
View attachment 434345

So with our first round of swizzles in hand we pulled away from the dock and started exploring Kings Wharf and the Great Sound. Our host for the evening was the entertainment director for Gosling’s Rum. He started out with a story of how he came to work for them and why.
View attachment 434346
View attachment 434347

He then went into a little history of Gosling’s and its impact on the island. This was accompanied by our next round, Gosling’s Gold Seal. This was a mild rum and a little dry. It makes for a good "mixer" IMO.
View attachment 434348
View attachment 434349

A few sips, some more sun, and a few more stories later and the Gosling’s Black Seal was making the rounds. This one stood up more one its own and had some nice dark flavors of vanilla.
View attachment 434350
View attachment 434351

More rum still to come!

Rum... that's my kinda boat ride... ♥ rum!
 

lostpro9het

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
Saturday, Bermuda Day 1, con't:

Up next was, according to our host, the national drink of Bermuda. The Dark and Stormy is a mix of Gosling’s Ginger Beer, dark rum, and a bit of lime. Im not a soda drinker and didn’t think id like this because of the ginger beer but it was excellent. I enjoyed it so much I had seconds, and maybe thirds. I also ordered about a dozen of these while on the NCL trip last month.
68737A45-AF31-4778-A56A-1FC4FE7F39F1.jpeg

9FFC01E4-BFA0-46E4-B6D6-B17302373517.jpeg

9DD3312A-8BD6-4392-8D16-26521B735FEC.jpeg



After the Dark and Stormy came another round of the gold rum.
C780FBB7-B7AE-4F14-BD42-14398D0761E1.jpeg

A4CD57A5-FAE4-4566-9EF5-FECFA76428AE.jpeg

DBD7E055-A168-4953-AB9E-AED183E328EF.jpeg


More rum to come! Perhaps the best rum I’ll ever have.
 

lostpro9het

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
Saturday, Bermuda Day 1, con't:

Next round was a little rouge as we just mixed the gold rum with ginger beer. Hey, it was more rum so I didn’t complain.
98D66849-D64D-4A7E-8BE2-32ACAE8F48BD.jpeg


Sun was really starting to set now ;-).
0F994529-B43B-4490-A178-458A9C43FC6B.jpeg

B2AF512E-55B1-463D-96CD-AA460FCF56A8.jpeg


We were pretty far into the bay now but you could still make out The Magic.
36AAEDCC-E35F-4A49-A2D0-A8A4B92581D3.jpeg


Now I'm not really a rum drinker outside of my Castaway Cocktail mixing so my next statement may be naive. Gosling’s Family Reserve Old Rum is the best rum of all the rums. What ever they do to age it gives the rum some amazingly intense flavors. This is a rum I would buy just to drink straight.
1FEE530E-43F9-482B-B568-D3A0127CC1F2.jpeg


We were offered more rounds after this and we were pretty happy as the sun finally set.
0DF00D16-6009-45D2-A2AE-BF6260B152C8.jpeg

F2C28C6F-DF12-46DD-A135-1C06D14979E8.jpeg



Up next: The Magic at night.
 
Last edited:

Register on WDWMAGIC. This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.

Back
Top Bottom