Trip Report Our First Disney Cruise...it was "Magic"al!!

Well we are all settled back in at home, routines are in order - back to work; back to school and thank goodness for pictures on my phone that I can look at to reminisce about the wonderful trip we had (remember when you had to rush to the photo booth at your local Walgreens with your 15 rolls of film to be processed so you could finally see your pictures only to realize half on the roll weren't even good)! Our trip was amazing! From start to finish, I wouldn't change a thing and feel so blessed we were given this opportunity by my husband's parents to go on this trip.

I'm still getting my notes and pictures in order, but wanted to get this TR started to force me to do this! I've been reading so many great TR's over the last couple weeks (and trying to get to those I haven't read yet!) and wanted to join in the fun too

So for those who didn't see my very brief PTR, my husband's parents took the entire family (13 of us) on the cruise to celebrate their upcoming 50th wedding anniversary. We were on the Disney Magic from February 26th through March 3rd. We ported out of Miami and our stops were Grand Cayman and of course, Castaway Cay (which I think if we would have docked the ship there the entire five days I would have been okay with that).

I won't bring in the extended family too much as I'm not sure if they want pictures of themselves floating around on wdwmagic, so you will most likely see me (Chris), my husband (Brian) and our 14 year old daughter (Emily)!

I will get to our first day soon, but I will leave you with this photo (disclaimer - I am NOT a photographer and all of my pictures were taken on my phone, but it's the thought that counts!). Couldn't you just look at this view all day long (sorry about a shirtless Brian...but hey we were on vacation...in the sun)

 

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We had a great view of the deck party!

We call it the fingernail moon

Then it was time for the Pirate of the Hour!! I see you

He's ready to go take on those Pirates on deck!

 

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What kind of Disney party would it be without fireworks?!

Of course the pictures do not do the fireworks justice. They were awesome! There was just nothing like being on a cruise ship and seeing fireworks go off (if we were to ever do a Disney cruise again, I would try to get up on Deck 10 instead - I bet the fireworks looked great from there without any obstruction!) It was so much fun!! The fireworks were the best part. Although seeing Mickey fly through the air was pretty cool too!

After the party, it was time for dinner!

 

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We were at Lumiere’s again tonight.

Mo and Santiago were dressed as pirates (except it seems I only have a picture of Mo):

My photography skills at their finest!

What the?

Well...these are just lovely - good thing I kept this one!! Anyway, the bread service was I have no clue what it was and of course cannot tell from the menu what it was (looks like it could be corn bread although I can make out "cake" in the menu?), but I remember it was delicious!

I know I had the crab cake for the Appetizer, but can't seem to find a picture of that, so I must have been too hungry - you know because on the cruise you are just starving all the time. But I did remember to take a picture of the lovely Romaine Wedge salad I had because I must have thought I may not remember when lettuce looks like when I get home

Then I know I had fish...but the lovely blurred menu up top gives me no indication what kind of fish I had and what went with it. I do remember it too was very tasty - but hey at least I got a picture!

Of course dessert was next. Oh look I got a nice picture of that menu!

I was so plump full at this point, but I did go ahead and order the Rum-Soaked Chocolate Cake since it was Pirate's Night and Rum and all!

It was okay. The cake was kind of dry, so I only had a bite or two and then just left it. After dinner the staff all marched around in a little parade, so that was a fun way to end the party!

Loved the chandeliers in this restaurant

 

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After dinner Emily had seen that Captain Jack Sparrow was available for autographs and pictures so she wanted to meet him. So she and I got in a short line and met him (look at how red her face is - she has had a crush on "Jack Sparrow" for years!). Oh my goodness did he play the part. And he was so handsome too

After that, Brian headed back up to the room and Emily and I perused through the shops. I walked out of one of the shops and the magician from the show earlier tonight was taking pictures, so I hoped in line and got one of me and him!

After that we were ready to call it a night at about 10:30. Got back to the room and found another present:

Another fun-filled day and we were exhausted!

 

[amjt660]

The excursion looked like it was a lot of fun (after you got through the logistical nighmare stage)
Not sure I want to kiss a dolphin but having one power me around looks cool

The pirates party also looked good.
Red faced when meeting Jack - priceless

Max

 

[fractal]

What a memorable experience the dolphin excursion must have been! Very cool.

One of these days I'm going to take a cruise...

Enjoying the report and looking forward to what's next!

 

[gdisneyfans]

The excursion looked like it was a lot of fun (after you got through the logistical nighmare stage)
Not sure I want to kiss a dolphin but having one power me around looks cool

The pirates party also looked good.
Red faced when meeting Jack - priceless

Max

Actually it wasn't so bad! I was feeling the same way, but it really was the experience of a life time! And I think you'd do it if everyone else around you was

The pirates party was soooo much fun!!! And yes, Emily and her red face is priceless. She still talks about Jack and wanting to meet him again

 

[gdisneyfans]

What a memorable experience the dolphin excursion must have been! Very cool.

One of these days I'm going to take a cruise...

Enjoying the report and looking forward to what's next!

It really was! I would do it again in a heartbeat...even knowing there are jellyfish out there

You would love it! I think the best part of a Disney cruise is having the "Disney touches" all around you but not having the hustle and bustle of running from ride to ride or show to show. I still love that too, but it is more of a relaxing vacation. I can't wait to go again!

Thank you so much. More on it's way!

 

[gdisneyfans]

Wednesday, March 1st

Day at Sea!

Not a whole lot to report about this particular day since it is another relaxing day at sea...but have lots pictures - especially from dinner!

We were up about 7:30 again. Brian ran up and got us some coffee and we enjoyed it out on the balcony just looking at the beautiful sea.

Look at these coffee cups...like we're in the parks

We were enjoying our peaceful morning on the veranda, but we were all starting to get hungry so went up to Cabana's for breakfast. My plate

Our view while dining

After breakfast we wanted to head to Deck 4 as we hadn't been on that outside deck yet. This is the deck that has the running/walking “trail” (3 laps equals one mile). Brian and I walked three laps. It was very interesting to see some of the parts of the ship that aren’t just visibly available unless you walk this trail. But first, those important lifeboats!

Oh look, a bench!

 

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Some pictures of the ship from the walking trail:

We sat and looked around in this area for quite a while. It was so neat to see this part of the ship:

I can't even imagine what kind of work goes on behind the scenes!

 

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It was kind of a windy day so Brian and I headed up to our usual spot on Deck 10 to grab some chairs. On our way up we walked past

Next cruise, I definitely would like to check it out.

We got up to Deck 10 and saw they were doing some maintenance this morning.

The were re-varnishing this "box". That's one thing we did notice - there were workers constantly doing maintenance on all parts of the ship, but were never in anyone's way. They finished this box up in probably 30 minutes.

Finding Nemo was playing on Funnel Vision - in Spanish! I completely understand why they did this from time to time, but it was interesting watching a movie that you know so well in a different language!

Brian sat and relaxed while I walked the deck and got three more miles in. On my walk I took some additional pictures of the ship.

Selfie!

 

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The little kids' pool area looked like lots of fun!

After I finished walking, we went and got our suits on. We relaxed out on the chairs and just enjoyed the beautiful weather. Time for ice cream!

The only one I had on this trip, but it was delicious - it was pineapple Emily and Brian did the slide a few times - there was hardly a wait so they had loads of fun on the slide.

It was time for lunch - Emily just wanted pizza. I swear she had about 50 pieces of this exact same pizza while we were on board

Brian and I went to Cabanas for lunch as we hadn't been there since the day we boarded the ship. My plate

Then Brian asked why I wasn't taking a picture of his plate too? I said I would but he said he wanted to be in the picture with his
plate

I did notice this lovely item in the dessert area

Oh my goodness they were so good! They hard caramel or chocolate sauce to dip them in. YUM!

 

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After lunch we hung out in the lounge chairs and enjoyed the sunshine. It was a very windy day, but it helped to not be quite so warm while lounging too. While we were lounging, Stitch made his way around Deck 10 so it was fun to watch all the kids and adults run up and get their picture with him!

I asked Emily to come with me to get our picture taken and she said no She must have been too cool for Stitch, I guess I'm not!

He was so playful - I just loved my interaction with him!!!

(Can you see the white line from my sunscreen? Yeah, we were wearing like 50 it was so hot!)

We stayed out on Deck 10 for the afternoon and again, just enjoyed relaxing and visiting with everyone in our group. But it was already about 4:15 and we had to start getting ready for dinner and the show, plus we had plenty of sun too. We sat on the balcony for a while and then slowly got ready. We were the only ones in the group to go to the show this evening and it was Tangled the Musical.

A few pictures of some cute wall art available for purchase on our way to the theater:

They had a very nice selection of prints. Some day!

 

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Enjoying more Disney popcorn

Just like in the movie

It was very good! We enjoyed it a lot. After the show, we met up with the group at the Promenade Lounge and had a drink and listed to the musical group playing.

My Blue Moon

We saw Princess Tiana walking through, but by the time I got my phone out to take a picture, I only got her back side. Still a good back side

Then it was time for dinner in the place I had been looking forward to all week!!!

 

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The themeing in this restaurant was spot on!

Even the dishes were!

Mo in his black and white vest

A family picture!

A little better tonight!

 

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The bread bowl reminds me of the elevator in the lobby

For my Appetizer I had the black truffle pasta - OMG GOOD!!

For the Soup I had the Bakes Potato and Cheddar - very good, but very filling so I didn't eat all of it.

And for the Main Entree I had the tenderloin. Again, very good!!

Dessert Menu!

But before our dessert was delivered, we were treated to this (lots of photos coming!) Things are starting to change colors

 

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MICKEY!!!

And then our servers came out in their colored vests

And then we were served our desserts. I had the Sweet Temptations. It was good, but I only had a bite or two of each as I was stuffed!

After dinner, we decided to call it a night. We were full and tired and knew we had a big morning coming up - the Castaway Cay 5k! Didn't want to be too tired for that! Our friend in our room when we arrived

 

[amjt660]

Your "not a whole lot to report about" was actually a lot!!!
Loving the pics of on the decks and around the ship
The dinner looked wonderful and I am sure it tasted the same

Diligently following along

Max

 

[gdisneyfans]

Your "not a whole lot to report about" was actually a lot!!!
Loving the pics of on the decks and around the ship
The dinner looked wonderful and I am sure it tasted the same

Diligently following along

Max

LOL - True! I guess when I looked at my notes for the day, there wasn't a whole lot there, but it ended up being more than I thought!

Thanks for following along

 

[gdisneyfans]

Thursday, March 2nd

Castaway Cay and the 5k!

(These next few posts will be picture heavy!!)

We were up plenty early and were able to watch the boat dock into Castaway Cay right from our veranda. It was really neat to see all of the workers and how they “tie up” this large boat!

They would shoot balls out to these guys with ropes attached to them so they could grab the rope and tie up.

I wonder if this guy is lost? Maybe he missed his ship a few days ago

I wonder what these guys are talking about? Upcoming weekend plans?

We headed up to Cabana’s for a light breakfast – we didn’t want to eat too heavily as we were going to be on the run soon, so I just had a yogurt parfait, Emily had some fruit and Brian had a Danish. No pictures of breakfast. Sadly this would be out last morning in there too