Any One Have Any Cool Tips To Do On The Magic!!!

[Bonanno]

Hi we are traveling 12/29/06 on the 7 night Western Magic.
First Disney Cruise!

Does any one know some cool stuff we should know about to make this trip extra special....

Oh and any advice on excursions or shows or anything on the cruise...
We would love to know!

[mom x4,grandma x4]

Hi,
It would help if I knew ages of kids going along, if any kids, but here goes.

Pirate night is a must do!! Hopefully you will all dress up. watch your Navigator on pirate night it will have 2 times you can have your picture taken with Captain Jack Sparrow. This is an awesome picture when you have pirate attire on too. TIP: Be there at least 15 minutes ahead of time because the lines are VERY LONG!!! They request one picture per family. We skipped dessert to do this and it was well worth it, besides at the PP they have a buffet and lots of awesome desserts.

The day before you arrive at Castaway cay they have a family kite making event. This is great to do with the kids, then they can fly them on CC, and it is a nice free souvenir for them to keep. They are small so they store easy for travel.

If you have kids who love the characters the best shows are The Golden Mickeys and Disney Dreams. Both of these shows have lots of characters in them. I dont think most little kids liked Twice Charmed.
Most shows have a matinee which is great when you have kids or if you want more free time to be more leisurely in the evenings. The show is exactly the same, they dont shorten them at all.

The welcome aboard and farewell show have a few characters too. They usually have a comediaan, a magician, and a juggler during the cruise.

The evening family and adult comedy shows are great !!! dont miss them. They also have these 2 shows with a juggler and a magician most cruises, they are very good!!!

The adult show, Know your mate or Match your mate, depending on the cruise director are hilarious!!!

The towel folding class is a lot of fun. You learn how to make a couple of the towel animals you find in your room each evening, kids are welcome there too!!!

Ice carving on deck 9 is fascinating to watch and only takes about 15 to 20 minutes to do.

Take a couple of white pre washed pillowcases and a few waterproof markers and put in a zip lock bag with your name and room number on it. Turn this in on the first day at guest services desk and ask for autographs. The last night of the cruise it will be deliveredto your room all autographed. this is a neat souvenir. Once in awhile you have to pick it up at guest services, but normally they are delivered to your room.

Check your Navigator for times on CC when the characters will be out. Usually 4 or 5 places along the way to the beach for photos and autographs. This is a great time to do pictures because the lines are short and they move quickly, unlike on the ship. because people are all in a hurry to get tot he beach. Also there is an area where you can have yoru picture taken with Captain Jack Sparrow with the Flying Dutchman in the background. watch for this spot, it is a great picture!!!

11:15 P.M. on Thursday i believe, was the dessert buffet!!! This is NOT to be missed either!!! They have a big chocolate fountain at the end of a long double row of lucious desserts. Even a few sugar free desserts on their own table if you are watching th esugar.
You can eat it there or take it back to the room with you.

I guess the best tip I could give someone on their first Disney cruise would be DONT try to do it all. You will run yourself ragged and be exhausted!! Take a little time each day to take a walk around deck 4 or relax on the comfy deck chairs on deck 4 for a few minutes, You'll have a much better cruise!!
I hope you will post a report when you return so the rest of us stuck here on land can read all about your awesome trip!!!

Hope this helped you some,
mom x4,grandma x4

[Bonanno]

WOW thanks mom x4,grandma x4 you really know your Disney cruising.... You gave me alot of great info....I will let you know how the cruise is...by the way the kids are 6 year old girl and 12 year old boy and girl....

[mom x4,grandma x4]

your welcome,
I forgot to tell you that at Key West there is a very good pirate museum that most kids seem to like. It is within walking distance of the ship. Once you are off the pier the first road you come to, take a left and go about 5 or 6 blocks I think, it will be on the right. The gift shop is good there too.
Your son may be intertested in the paper plane class they offer one day on board too. I even did this and it was fun, with plenty of people to help if you get confused. Lots of kids and adults there too.
There is a family drawing class once to learn to draw Mickey that your daughter may like to do too. I had lots of kids im there when I did that too.

Be sure and read what is going on at Studio Sea a swell as the kids navigators, because they have lots of family events in there everyday!! But kids can go without their parents if they want, they are always welcome.

I also forgot to tell you that on deck 9 the drink station has pop and Hi C for free 24 hours a day. Pop is also free in the restaurants, but if you order it at a club or from any wait staff on deck you will be charged for it. SO when you are going to a movie or show stop and grab a drink to take with you, that way it is free. Also if th ekids doa movie, stop on deck 9 and grab some fries, or chips or fruit, a burger or piece of pizza there for their snack with a drink so that will be free too.

If I think of more I will let you know,

mom x4,grandma x4

[Bonanno]

Thanks again for all the info...How many disney cruises have you gone on?

[mom x4,grandma x4]

Hi,
I have been on 12 so far, the last one was 8/5 this month and we have 3 more booked. a 7 day on 11/25/06 and another 7 day on 11/24/07 and a 3 day on 4/5/07.
On this next crusie we will probably book one for 08 then we can just change the date later is we need to, but will still get the 10% off and $200 room credit. Then when it is almost time to go if they offer florida resident discount we ask for those and sometimes get close to 1/2 off although we then loose our room credit, but that is ok, I'd rather loose $200 and gain 1/2 price!!!
Since we are only 90 minutes from the port we have no airfare or hotel bills which help us to go more often.
mom x4,grandma x4

[Bonanno]

You are very lucky you can afford to go as often as you do, and why always the Disney cruise? Have you tried any other cruises or other vacations? Who do you travel with?
We paid around to $11,000 for a family of 4 for a veranda balcony. I know we are going at New years so that pushed up the price but we thought New Years Eve would be really amazing on the Disney cruise plus I herd the ship is decorated for Xmas still. I can't wait. Even though I am afraid to fly and afraid to be on boats I'm pushing my self because I know its going to be GREAT! oh yea and so my kids can experience it. My 17 year old doesn't want to come. So we are not bringing him. He wants to be with his friends on New Years Eve. This is hard for me. I can't understand it! So sad that he is growing up to fast! I really wanted to share this trip with him and have my 12 year old boy and 6 year old girl have there big brother to make memory's with!
oh well, We will have a great time we have good friends coming with us they have a 12 girl.

[mom x4,grandma x4]

we have only done DCL. We have looked into other lines and liked what we saw, but most other lines do not have non smoking rooms. My husband is allergic to smoke and is an asthmatic. Just being in a room that has alingering smoke smell could send him to the hospital, so until they have non smoking rooms we will stay with DCL.

we have cruised just the two of us many times, but also have had our kids and grandkids along when they can come and we can afford it for them.
our last cruise this month we had our oldest daughter, son in law and 2 grandkids with us and in November we will have our youngest son and his girlfriend with us. The next two cruies it will be just us unless something changes.

we love to go even if it's just us,
so much fun!!! I always have some kind of a meet with people from different cruise boards the first day so we get to know several people we are cruising with. we see them all week on the ship and that is really great to do.

mom x4,grandma x4

[lborne]

Hi,

...Most shows have a matinee which is great when you have kids or if you want more free time to be more leisurely in the evenings. The show is exactly the same, they dont shorten them at all....

mom x4,grandma x4


Do you know what time? According to a Navigator I saw, the shows are at 6:15 and 8:30 (to accomodate Main and Late seating), but I could not find a matinee listing. I'm very interested because we will be Main (5:45 probably) dinner and our small children will probably not be able to stay awake for the 8:30 show, especially if we've been running around all day.

Thanks

[mom x4,grandma x4]

The matinee was at 2 P.M. both times.

mom x4,grandma x4

[lborne]

Does it show up on your Navigator? Is this a new thing? Thanks.

[Bonanno]

That sounds good. I put a roll call out no one has responded yet. I hope to do the same. As for cruising only with Disney. If it isn't broke don't fix it...LOL...
Well did you ever cruise on New years Eve?
What do you think about the Mediterranean cruise Disney is having?

[mom x4,grandma x4]

Howdy,
yes the matiness will be listed in the Navigator. A few months ago they designed a new Navigator which I do NOT like. It is too easy to miss things when reading it, but the shows are listed there. Tgis is not a new thing, at least 2 years old.


We havnt cruise New Years eve, but have cruised the first week of January a couple of times.
I think the Med cruises are way over priced!!! I dont like to fly so even if the price was right I wouldnt want to fly back from that far.
I'm sure they will have lots of new activities on the ship that would be awesome!!!
I also believe although they have had agood response to it, I believe they are having a little trouble filling the ship for this. I have friends going and on their trip there are still plenty of empty rooms available.

Sometimes it does take awhile to get responses from others who are sailing with you, dont be afraid to try other boards for this, some are better than others for roll calls.

mom x4,grandma x4

[lborne]

Looks like the Matinee show is only on the Magic.

[mom x4,grandma x4]

that is probably correct, however the 4 day wonder use to have a matinee on their sea day, dont remember which show it was. They may of changed it now.
I hope not because the matinees are always a great time savor for the evenings.

mom x4,grandma x4

[Bonanno]

Hey mom x4,grandma x4
Since you are a pro at all this Disney stuff. What would you say is the best restaurant, Show, game or event on the Magic? Oh and what do you think is the best excursion you have ever done in the Western (with Kids of Course)?
why your at it you can give me your life story too! LOL just kidding! No really I know thats alot of questions but just wondering. You seam to be the best messeger on this board.......soooooo what do you think!

[mom x4,grandma x4]

Boy I'm on the spot now, guess I'd better have an answer otr two, it seems I have a reputation to live up to! Ha! Ha!

Ok, my favorite show on the ship is The Golden Mickeys. It even has a short film segment with Roy Disney so it just seems so much more Disney like, more magical as they would say. Disney Dreams is a close second, both are a must see!!! Dont care for twice charmed.

For an adult game on board: there is one that has gone by two names, different on each ship. One was Match your Mate, the other was Know your Mate. This is hilarious!!!! As long as your not one of the 3 couples picked to play the game. This one would be sooooo embarassing to play but such fun to watch others. It is a spin off of the old Newlywed game show. They try to pick someone married the longest, the newest and one in between from the audience.Oh, the questions are great!!!

For a family game show I would pick: Who wants to be a Mousketeer??
It is in Studio Sea the family club. It is played like who wants to be a millionaire. But even kids can be picked at random to play. No cash prize, but disney pins or tokens are the gifts and everyone will recieve something that plays. It is all questions about Disney and Disney cruise line.
They help the kids with a few hints if they get nervous and get stuck right away, so it is a lot of fun even if you dont know much you will still win something.
Even though it is not a game, the family karoake is fun to watch too. so many kids singing their hearts out, but never hitting one note!!!

Excursions on the Western with kids are very tricky. Not a lot there in my opinion. Mostly beach excursions. At Key West there is a neat pirate museum within walking distance of the ship and the aquarium too. Both you do on your own,not an excursion. You are all day at Key West so you can go to the beach for afew hours and still have time to do the museum and aquarium. I have heard the Schooner ship excursion is a lot of fun too, but I havnt done it myself, so not sure of the age restrictions on it. My daughter and grandkids ,11 and 14 did a snorkeling excursion on a sailing ship , cant think of the name but they loved it. They sailed and snorkeled.
At Grand caymen we did the city tour. Kids loved the turtle farm and the weird rock formations at "Hell". But the rest was boring for kids. You could just take a taxi to the turtle farm if you wanted then have them drop you off at the beach, there you can catch a taxi later in the day to return to the ship. I really cant think of much there for kids accept the beach. If the kids are older the snorkeling excursions are great at all the ports. We didnt do Cozumel, it was till closed from last years hurricane so we went to Costa Maya instead and did the Chaauban(spelled wrong) excursion with kids and they loved it!!!

Best excursion we have ever done was the mayan ruins at Costa Maya.
I know the ship doesnt go there now so that doesnt help much. So 2nd favorite was on St. Johns island when we stopped at St. Thomas. We did the Eco hike which was alot of fun for all ages. That was the Eastern cruise so again that doesnt help much, sorry!!!

The Western is an awesome cruise, but it really doesnt have many excursions for young kids in my opinion. It seems like they only have beach excursions for the little ones. And the turtle farm of course.

I think it was at Grand Caymen they had a semi submarine ride, the kind that does NOT submerge all the way. This is an awesome ride for all ages. I forgot all about it. You go out in the bay area a little ways where there are tons of reefs and so many colorful fish to see. It is air conditioned anc comfortable seats with windows everywhere so everyone has a perfect view of stuff. It is narrated quite a bit and they do leave the door open in case you want to step on the small deck for some fresh air.

As for my life story, well I guess I am a grandma with too much time on her hands!!! Most of my family live in Oregon, and I am retired early due to medical problems. So I have lots of time to get on line each day and check out a few different boards where I try to help answer questions when I can. It is so much fun and I get to meet such nice people. Many whom I have got to meet in person when they vacation at WDW. Or on the cruise ship.

well if I can answer any more questions please ask and I will try to answer them. Sorry I wasnt much help with excursions on the Western for kids.

mom x4,grandma x4
Kathy

[Bonanno]

Thanks again for all the info! I knew I could count on you! Disney should put you on PAY ROLL!!!

[Majesty Fan]

I have been to the W. Many times just not on Disney.

Key West: There is the Pirate Meseum, and Ripleys. I think Ripleys is on Duvall street. You can rent a bike and tour the place. The beach is nothing. Hemmingways to see the six toe cats.

GrandCaymen is pricy- but the turtle farm would be nice for smaller kids. The used to have a city tour that did the Turtle farm, Hell and a semisub. All very interesting. I hear a new Margaritaville will be done in Sept and it is suposed to be like one in Jamiacia with waterslides.

Cozumel: This is our favorite port; There is a wonderful mini golf place six blocks up from Mexican flag. There are many big iguanas there. We always do this. We go to Mr. Sanchos beach. We used to swim at the El Cid Laceiba but thanks to the huricane we can no longer do that. Mr. Sanchos is about a 15 minute taxi ride. We always rent a jeep for the day around $50. There is a restrraunt, beach, watersports, banana boats, jets ski, massage way cheaper than the ships. small pool beach side tables.
Lexi

[Bonanno]

Mr. Sanchos beach looks nice. Do they have horses to ride also? or is that just for pictures? We were looking at Paradise Beach http://www.paradisecozumel.com/index.html
Do you know anything about that place!

[bearette]

I have been to Paradise beach it is really nice. If you get there before the crowd does you can get a lounge chair and umbrella for free. Otherwise it gets crowded and they are all gone.) They have a bar with food and you never have to leave the beach. They will bring everything to you. They have nice bathroom facilities as well. A major plus for me. If you pay for a wrist band ( I can't remember the exact price I think it was about $8-$10) you can use the Kayaks, water trampoline, snorkel gear and Ice burg (an inflatable one that you can climb). I highly recommend this beach. Just be careful when taking a taxi- when I was there last they had the prices posted for what a taxi is supposed to cost and they were trying to get people to pay more then the posted price. Even when i pointed out the sign one guy didn't want to abide by the price. Just walk outside the gates and ask one of the drivers there-they will take you for the correct price. This can happen going anywhere in Cozumel though so make sure you read the taxi rate sign!

[mom x4,grandma x4]

Sorry i don't know anything about those places.

mom x4,grandma x4

[jimandmaureen]

Try this...

www.passporter.com/dcl (http://www.passporter.com/dcl)

Jim
Disney Wonder 2004
Disney Magic 2005
Disney Magic (in Just 3 weeks:)

[Bonanno]

Try this...

www.passporter.com/dcl (http://www.passporter.com/dcl)

Jim
Disney Wonder 2004
Disney Magic 2005
Disney Magic (in Just 3 weeks:)


Great Web Site Thanks....