ImprovGal2

 

If I was just a little bit "richer", I would have gladly gone on a Disney cruise. I'm a major Disney fan and geek. But alas, i'm not spending $5,000 for inside room 7 day Western Caribbean cruise just so I can watch Frozen instead of Priscilla: Queen of the Desert in the theater (though it's tempting, believe me).

 

Besides. They actually have to shuffle outside on the deck and stare at each other in uncomfortable close proximity until the all clear is given...and we don't.

What a great review!

I found it very interesting particularly because:

1) I was on this sailing

2) It was my first NCL sailing

3) I was in a studio cabin on deck 12 as well

4) I am also a Disney geek and have done nearly all of my cruising on that line

I specifically booked this cruise on Epic because Priscilla was the musical onboard.

Btw, the Disney Fantasy does not have the Frozen stage musical; that one is exclusive to the Disney Wonder. The Fantasy has Aladdin as a stage musical. And not all of DCL's muster stations are outdoors, there are some that are indoors. I try to choose my stateroom from one of the ones with indoor muster stations.

There is at least one vegetarian option on each dinner menu' date=' but your server will work with you to be sure there are things that you like. No separate vegetarian menu, but the will accept special requests and prepare them for you.

 

The Magic is in great shape.[/quote']

 

I haven't sailed since the WBTA in September 2016, but at that time, the dinner menus each had a corner of the menu set aside where they listed the vegetarian appetizers and entrees for the evening. They do not, however, specify between vegetarian vs. vegan.

 

* Disclaimer: I'm on omnivore who generally avoids eating mammals, so I never did any level of double-checking that an item I ordered labeled under the vegetarian heading actually was vegetarian. Your best shot at getting items that comply with your dietary requirements is to tell your server the first night and request a discussion with the head server. The head server is the liaison between guest and kitchen for allergies and special diets.

I would definitely stay at the Hyatt in the airport. We have had very long waits for a shuttle to even a local hotel near MCO, and going out to the port would put you there 2 - 3 hours later. You can walk to the Hyatt without leaving the building, if I recall correctly.

Another vote for the Hyatt. It's actually right in the building. The hotel elevators are over by the land-side Starbucks (which is open 24 hrs if you need anything when you land). There's also an escalator up to the lobby as well.

I was just looking over the Dailies from the first Caribbean sailing and didn't see Second City listed anywhere. It's still on NCL's website, though. Is it gone for good? Or does it have to do with the ship repositioning?

The NCL website still says that Second City is on Epic for Caribbean sailings. However, I went to http://www.secondcity.com/people/touring/ and they only list Dawn, Gem, and Breakaway. I suppose there's a possibility the contract didn't line up exactly with the Epic's arrival into Canaveral after the crossing, but I'm not optimistic.

I'm a bit disappointed because I'm sailing my first NCL cruise in January on Epic (after 1 RCCL and 28 DCL cruises), and I specifically booked it for 3 reasons: Priscilla, Studio lounge/cabins, and Second City (I do improv comedy at home).

Oh well. 2 out of 3 ain't bad, I suppose.

I've heard that there may also be NE and Canada ports from NYC.

The other roundtrip itinerary from NYC right now is a 5-night "Canada & New England" cruise on October 2. It doesn't actually stop at any New England ports -- just the Canadian ports of Halifax, NS and Saint John, NB.

The 21-year old can certainly drink alcohol on the ship.

Youth, Family, and Adult Programming will be in full swing on the ship for the sea days.

I sailed on the first Hawaii cruise back in April 2012, then a 15-night roundtrip cruise out of Los Angeles. On the way out to Hawaii, we had quite a lot of new Hawaiian-themed programming - including hula lessons, storytelling, lei making, Hawaii trivia, and more that I can't remember right now.

I think that since they've split the voyage into two separate one-way voyages, we will probably have similar (or recycled) Hawaiian-themed programming on our cruise. I know I heard that the storyteller from Aulani who sailed on our Hawaii cruise was going to be returning to the Wonder this fall. I suppose it's possible he may just be on the YVR-HNL cruise, but I suspect they'll have him remain on the ship for both.

I'll be on this sailing as well, and am really looking forward to it!

I didn't know that.

 

Fireworks still work well at dusk and July/August, sunset is around 9:30/10:30 depending on the time zone, so not later than the regular Pirates party?

 

Maybe it was local port regulations or being able to get the pyrotechnic supplies that are to Disney specifications locally?

 

It would be a shame if they didn't.

 

ex techie

The Med cruises before and after the Baltic sailings had fireworks. The ship repositions back to the Med on August 3 and I would imagine those sailings would have fireworks. But end of June right after solstice, it just didn't get dark enough. It was still twilighty after the adult cabarets/theme parties let out.

Quoted myself to add that reading the article again, obviously the Wonder on the Alaska cruises cannot have pyrotechnics/fireworks for environmental reasons.

 

Hopefully the Magic will be able to IF it replaces the Pirates party.

 

ex techie

I sailed on the Magic when they initially did the Baltic itineraries in 2010. While we did have a Pirate Night deck party on the sailings, they didn't shoot off fireworks. I'm guessing it was because it just didn't get dark enough in Northern Europe that time of year.

If that's the case, I'm guessing it won't have fireworks on the Magic either.

So, I guess it will replace Pirate Night on both ships, and consequently presuming that the Pixar Pals party won't be returning for the Wonder's Alaska season.

The timing sounds like the repositioning to Dover, but the location doesn't make sense if those Norwegian Fjord cruises are homeporting out of Copenhagen. Maybe they're homeporting out of Oslo?

The Norwegian port is 6/24, Dover is July 10.

The location would make more sense if it were part of Transatlantic crossing from NYC or something, but the dates don't jive.

Scandinavian cuisine features a lot of herring. Perhaps there's a red one in here somewhere.