[geeman]

Hi all,
Well, we're back from a wonderfully magical week aboard the aptly named Disney Magic. Our journey was filled with a nice little romp through Key West, snorkeling with fish and Stingray in Grand Cayman, exploring the ancient Mayan ruins and luscious beach of Mexico, as well as a stay at Disney's private island, Castaway Cay.
The weather was perfect. The week seemed more like two weeks. The service was good, the restaurants were great, our servers were fun, and we met a nice group of people at our table.
There were a couple of minimal distractions, which either I or my gf (Amneris) will report on eventually. Right now, I'm busy reveling in the magic, going through some of the pictures to see what will be posted, and planning out my next website tribute. I also have tons of video to sort through and make something of (thankfully, this is a hobby of mine).
We capped off the week with stays at the CBR, which was almost as cool as the real thing. We inadvertently kept in theme, by staying at CBR, dining at the Yacht Club as well as at the Portabello Yacht in Downtown Disney.
Sunsets, sunrises, smiles, sun and surprises are the best way to describe the wonderful week we just had. I highly recommend the cruise to all. We'll probably be posting more on this as we catch up during the next couple of days.
:)
geeman

[geeman]

Did we have fun? Take a guess.:)
A quick first picture us (Geeman & Amneris) aboard the Disney Magic:

[Fantasy]

Sounds wonderful! I can't wait to hear more!:)

[roncss]

Glad you are back, Geeman, and thanks for the preview photo. Can't wait for more photos and the trip reports. One thing; where in Mexico does the ship put in?? Thanks.
Ron

[disneydana]

Sounds great. I look forward to hearing more. I'm curious how it impacted you cruising without kids on a cruise ship that attracts families with children.

[geeman]

Originally posted by roncss
Glad you are back, Geeman, and thanks for the preview photo. Can't wait for more photos and the trip reports. One thing; where in Mexico does the ship put in?? Thanks.
Ron

The ship pulls into Cozumel. We took a small boat over to the mainland, and then an hour long bus ride to the Mayan Ruins at Tulum. An adventure and a half. I'll try to put it all into words and pictures soon.

[geeman]

Originally posted by disneydana
I'm curious how it impacted you cruising without kids on a cruise ship that attracts families with children.

Absolutely no problem whatsoever. Since the ship has all day activities for children and teens, they shepherd them away somehow and the majority of folks you run into are the older sort.
At our dinner table, we sat with 2 other couples without children as well as a mother and older son travelling together. We only really noticed the kids during the character greetings.
Disney also ingeniously seats most of the children to dinner at a different time than adults. Adults can have a later dinner time. So there were hardly any kids at dinner when we went (at 8:30pm).
I loved watching the faces of the kids who I did see, who were dressed in their favorite character costumes, meeting Mickey, Donald, Goofy and the rest.
But I must say, adults can have a great time on this ship, as well. The excursions we booked also attracted only the more "adventurous" clans - so the kids on the trips were very interested and well behaved.
In all, I highly recommend the voyage to anyone even thinking of travelling the seas.
True, other lines might cost less. But, hey, this is Disney. You do get something for what you pay for. Personally, I think our rate was a bargain, and surely beat a week at the park/resort in terms of cost (especially since it includes all meals).
More info coming soon. I'd better get some rest, as it's back to work for me tomorrow!:hmmm

[crystalrp]

I have to agree. The first time we took a Disney Cruise, it was just DH and myself. I swear, we hardly even noticed there were kids onboard. The adults have an adults only pool, and even on Castaway Cay there is an adults only beach. And of course the nightclub section of the ship is only open to adults in the evening anyway. Cruising Disney without children is not a problem by any means.

[MickeyRon]

Welcome Home Gee!!

Can't wait to hear more!!

[llama]

Originally posted by disneydana
Sounds great. I look forward to hearing more. I'm curious how it impacted you cruising without kids on a cruise ship that attracts families with children.

Although this sounds ridiculous, I think I saw less of children on the Disney cruise than one any others we've taken. There are so many activities for them and they're kept so busy!! Like noted before - the adult pool is almost surreal. The family pool is just steps away, yet you would never know it. Don't know how Disney does it - just more of the magic, I guess.

[goofyguy1958]

"The excursions we booked also attracted only the more "adventurous" clans - so the kids on the trips were very interested and well behaved."

Hey Geeman,

I will be going on the Western Magic in May of 2004 and was hoping to go on some of the "adventurous" excursions with my DD of 7 -- my DW will be staying with my DS of 4 during these excursions. Do you think the excursions are too much for a 7-year-old?

[Amneris]

Well, how do you define adventerous? I wouldn't have called our stuff that, but it was definitely a couple of notches above the beach excursions. (A beach excursion is where they charge you lots of money to take a bus to some hotel's beach. ;) ) You can't book your excursions until a certain number of days before the trip (surprise surprise...) BUT the book describing all of the excursions comes just in advance of this. We found some things had changed slightly from the websites and Passporter book. Anyway, there are age requirements for some of the excursions, so if they didn't think a 7 year old could hack it, they wouldn't let one come. The sail/snorkeling would be scary if your child isn't a good swimmer (not that you can sink in a life vest, but psychologically... the bottom was 20+ feet down...). This was a lot of fun though, and back to the old adum(sp???) of "you know your child best". The other one we did was the Tulum ruins in Mexico. Which require taking a boat to the mainland, to a bus, to the ruins, and all that in reverse. The Disney cruise just goes to the Cozumel island, and pulls up right to a gangway (no boat required). It's a touristy bar and cheap souvenier junk place, so by all means head for the mainland! :) Key West was another bar filled cheap t-shirt dive, but at least there was plenty to walk around and look at on the houses/trees side of things. And it's a LOT of walking, btw. I probably just did all this rambling without answering much! Anyway, check the age guidelines for the excursion, and if you happen to be thinking of one we did we could answer those questions for you. :)

[goofyguy1958]

[quote]Originally posted by Amneris
The sail/snorkeling would be scary if your child isn't a good swimmer (not that you can sink in a life vest, but psychologically... the bottom was 20+ feet down...). This was a lot of fun though, and back to the old adum(sp???) of "you know your child best".


Well, yes you have answered my questions. The sail/snorkeling thing was what my daughter started telling everyone she is going to do when we go on "our Big Disney Cruise." Since daddy is a good swimmer and daughter thinks she is, I would take any suggestions and/or insight you have about the snorkeling.

Thanks!!!!:D

[crystalrp]

Goofyguy...they also have snorkeling excursions available on Castaway Cay. Even if you have never been snorkeling, it isnt a problem there. There are maps available to show you neat places to snorkel right there on the Castaway Cay beaches...some are further out and some are right beside the family beach. Maybe your DD would enjoy snorkelling with Dad there?

[geeman]

As for insights- you might want to pick up some cheap snorkel gear ahead of your trip and make sure it fits her properly. I wasn't too fond of the fact that you had to use "USED" snorkel stuff. I think that scared me more than floating above the water.
There were small kids on the catamaran - some as young as maybe 5. And they dove in with their folks, so if your DD is ready, I'm sure she'll get a kick out of it.
And at Castaway Cay, as crystalrp has stated, there is plenty of snorkel gear for the renting and it's under more controlled circumstances.

BTW - a young girl - about maybe 7 - was even chosen to "steer" the ship back.