OK so I FINALLY caught up...phew...Actually thinks to work who has blocked pictures I didn't even realize you had come back and posted it.
It looks like you all had a blast...forgive me for going back and posting some things..
-we have never done the water parks but it looks so amazing we just may have to try it one of these days. Of course by saying this I may mean I will wait until little man is old enough to do things..but it looks fabulous.
-you look amazing...I love the suit...gorgeous.
-The hubs and I have are contemplating a cruise next March on one of the older ships. I am so glad to see this report and how amazing everything looks. Seriously we never had any doubt but its nice to see it being reported. So thank you.
-The flight excursion you guys did looks amazing. How awesome would that be truly. I love it. Makes me want to go do it myself.
-The flowers for Moms day are gorgeous. Seriously. And I love the card. LOL. I think my husband would do something like that, just say something simple and it be put exactly like that. He would then try and say well..LOL
-Sunsets are gorgeous.
-I always wondered if they truly left people who were stragglers behind. And I agree I bet they got a pretty stern talking to....I shall have to remember this when we take it.
Thanks for all the kind words. I highly recommend at least Typhoon Lagoon (totally doable with a little one, too) and cruising with Mickey.
Oh they absolutely will leave stragglers behind. They try not to but if the ship sits at the pier longer than they've already paid for the cruise line will get fined. We talked to some crew about this, actually. If you are on an excursion booked thru Disney and something happens that you don't get back to the ship on-time the ship will either wait for you or make arrangements to get you back onboard
at their expense. But, if you aren't on a Disney-booked excursion and you don't come back on-time they will leave you before they start accruing additional pier charges. We were told a number in the ballpark of $10k per 30 minutes. We wondered if that would be fined to the passengers but the people we talked to said no, they'll just leave before they start getting fined. At that point, reconnecting with your cruise is your problem. You can arrange to meet up at the next port of call. Or, as some fellow-cruisers stated their friend did on a non-Disney cruise when he ran down and the ship was still within the harbor, the first small fishing vessel he saw asked him how much cash he had. $200. For $200 they took him alongside the ship where he was able to hop on. Lucky! That's gettin' off cheap!
Ahhhhhhh!!!! Your pics from Key West are awesome! Even the pics from the plane. LOL! Especially the ones of the ship from the air! I either need to get on another cruise to see Key West stat or hop on a plane and just do Key West! I am still so bummed we missed it. I would have rather stopped in Key West than Nassau (but the seals were spectacular).
I think you had the same exact dinner as I had at Parrot Key. That ribeye was huge! I ate to the point of nearly being sick that night. The banana bread was so yummy and the banana bread french toast......Aaaaahhhhhhggggg (said like Homer Simpson lol).
I loved how convenient the laundry was. We were on deck 7 pretty close to the laundry. We only used it once because Dan only brought 1 pair of khakis and one dress shirt. :brick: I told him many times that we would have to dress somewhat nice for dinner and specifically told him to bring some dress clothes. Then he was dumbfounded when we got there and I told him he had to dress in pants! Luckily he did bring some polo shirts.
Keep the report coming! With the marathon next Jan, a trip to WDW with my sister's family in Aug and hopefully the Disneyland half in Sept, it looks like I won't make it on another cruise till 2014! I need more cruise fix!
You've got the cruise bug! Yes, it's so addicting! Key West was beyond words. I'd love to go back. Yeah, I agree, even with Atlantis I'd ditch Nassau in a heartbeat for Key West. Although, next time we're in Nassau I might just do that seal interaction thing you did. That looked really neat!
We've been planning a first trip to Disneyland this November all along. We're really looking hard at it right now, tho. We're unanimously voting for the Magic out of Galveston or maybe RCI's Mariner of the Seas out of Galveston instead. Just more doable with the port right here. I'd love to do the 8-day Christmas cruise out of Galveston on the Magic. It stops at Key West! And that stop is from 12:30 to 11:30 so we'd be able to do the Sunset Festival. Buuuuut, current pricing with a balcony for our family starts at over $9k.
Ugh, that's not happening....
Loving the TR about your day in Key West. We've been there twice. Unfortunately for us, we didn't have the luxury of stepping off a ship and just being there. We had to fly from Sacramento, CA to Miami, FL and then drive down through the Keys (all in one day ). Your photos bring back so many fine memories, such as the Conch train, Truman's little White House, Mallory Square, Hemingway House, Mallory Square, and doing "the Duvall Crawl". Thanks so much for the fine pics.
You gotta really wanna be in Key West to make that gruelling journey! Worth it, tho, I'm sure. I loved Key West so much. How was that Duvall Crawl??? We don't recupperate from the wild partying as easier as we did in our younger years but it's fun to read about...
So excited to read another Kelly report! I have so many little comments, I'm afraid I'll forget some...
-It is amazing to see how much your kids have grown throughout your trip reports over the years. Handsome men!
-Love the upgrade, what a view!
-Keep wearing that bikini, you are gorgeous!
-We checked into Pop a few days after you guys. I wish you could have bumped into each other! This was my first time staying at Pop and it has become my favorite of all the Values for sure.
-I remember your dress from your anniversary dinner and you ROCKED it! Gorgeous, gorgeous!
-Love that you guys went on a private plane tour. How awesome is that?!?!?! Your kids will for sure look back on that moment when they get older and will appreciate it.
-I CAN'T WAIT TO READ MORE!
I know! Chandler is now officially taller than me. Brian isn't far off. I wish we could've met, too! Good ol' Pop. Seriously. We were far more satisfied with the room for the money this go around than in other recent trips. Pop is a great resort. Very fun!
Thanks for the compliments on the 2-piece (I don't call the ones I wear at this age bikinis because there's waaaaaay more fabric involved than there was before I had babies) and on my dress. Love that stinkin' dress. Problem is the quality is kinda bad. The seems want to come apart around the empire bodice. I've fixed it a bunch of times and there's parts coming apart again... **sigh**
The plane tour was so amazing. When the boys were little and we went to Niagara Falls for Tracey's baby brother's wedding we splurged on a helicopter ride over the falls. That was a big deal, too. We try to make things memorable. The cool thing is when you get home and your kid is on the internet trying to find a cruise to pay for for YOU to go on without him. Chandler got a little irritated at me because I put a stop to it. He works. His money should be in his bank account. I love that he looks towards taking us on adventures but for now he needs to relax and enjoy the ride Mom & Dad provide. His time will come soon enough, right?
I took notes:
So glad that helped Chandler was okay with the plane trip!
Sharks!!!!! Yikes!! I’ve got to admit that was the first thing I looked for in your water pictures. A helicopter pilot friend of ours told us how shocked he was the first time he flew over a beach in Florida. He thought surely all those dark shapes around the swimmers were dolphins? Um. Nope.
I LOVE the pictures above the Magic!! I would want to spend all 50 minutes above it taking pictures!!!
I am going to be stalking the Travel Channel watching for you.
I remember the dress!! Woo hoo!
Gorgeous sunset pictures.
Your story about your Dad made me tear up a little. We take for granted what others have sacrificed for us.
Followed by wonderful words of advice “Don’t go yack on other people.”:lol:
Laundry!
That is kind of sweet that he was up watching the sunrise!
Can't wait for more!
There was a LOT of sharks out there. Nicholi said that 85% of them were nurse sharks (virtually harmless) but I'm still a little freaked over the other 15%. We were told those are bulls & blue-tips both of which are pretty aggressive. Eeek!
I know! I would've been fine with all our flying being close to the ship, too. LOL!
The production guy we filled out forms with said he'd send an email with some footage to the email address I listed if they were going to use it or something like that. I sorta doubt this, though. I mean, think of how many people they'd be trying to send footage to. Our people numbers were in the 700s. I'm not counting on receiving anything. If you spot us, lemme know!
Awwww...I know. It's not something people think about normally with the guys and their service. There's sacrifices that go far beyond just the service members ((like you having to move the family, your kids going to so many different schools, etc.)). It's something not many think about. I try to remember and thank our serving men & women as well as their friends & family who work hard to support those service members. So thank YOU!
Don't worry, we'll be doing laundry again before we get off the ship. :lol:
Right I'm finally caught up
Loving the TR so far Kelly :wave:
Typhoon Lagoon looks awesome, it is gonna be our choice of water park this year and we are looking forward to seeing shark reef for the first time!
Seeing the Magic again is like seeing pics of an home away from home, love that ship and from what I have seen of your ding your servers are as good as ours were :sohappy:
Can't wait to see more
Thank you! This trip was chock-a-block full of excellence. No regrets. Love the Magic and all her little treasures!
Wow. What a great trip report. Vary bitter sweet for me. Makes me wish I was there right now.
Bittersweet for me, too. I wish I was there right now with you! Thanks for reading!
great trip report... how every one is commenting about diets etc.. were you on a diet? How much did you lose you look great!!!
I ballooned my weight pretty bad over the winter months. In February I hit the diet & exercise hard. Lost a little over 20 lbs. prior to the cruise. Unfortunately, I put 7 back on during the 7 days of vacation... :lookaroun I need to get back on the diet/exercise wheel just as hard. It's brutal trying to get back to the healthy cooking, etc. I'd much rather go sit at a table and have the trough brought to me! LOL!
Great TR! I love the pictures (and I hope to sail on the Magic someday).
The Magic is a wonderful ship. The boys swear they liked her better than the Dream. I like them about the same but for very different reasons.
The boarding photo looks great too.