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53 minutes ago, L1211 said:

Realized my whale sighting pic was missing the whale…

Who did you hire for the boat for the day?  Looks great.  The tender line doesn't look great.  I can hear my kids complaining already.

13 hours ago, L1211 said:

Omg, best margaritas of the cruise!!!  Cadillac , mango, strawberry 

10/10!!!

salas and chips really good too! 

Curious how los lobos works.  Is it like Cagneys - one app, salad, entree and dessert pp or something like that.  But when you go to Food Republic it's pick 4 things on the menu and you can share (which works for my family bc I don't eat sushi so I just hang out with my 2 kids and husband and they dine on 2 dinner passes).  Is the Mexican place like that also?  So 4 people can dine on 2 dinner passes since it seems like a lot of shared food?  Trying to figure out how to manage our dining passes for our week.  Hope this question makes sense.

4 minutes ago, ChiefMateJRK said:

They butchered it during a dry dock in February.  Replaced a whole side with cabins (actually a retrofit back to as-built design).

 

disclaimer: I haven't been back on since the dry dock, but that was the advertised plan.  I'm not sure if we've had any boots on the ground reports since.

Wow thanks for the update.  Bummer.  But it sort of makes sense if it's a warm weather boat because the observation room was usually pretty quiet during our spring cruise.

4 hours ago, ChiefMateJRK said:

Not anymore.  

Seriously?  What happened?  Was just on it a year ago.

6 hours ago, L1211 said:

Full house at wine tasting this morning!

Just curious if it was worth the time and $$??  I love wine and cheese!  But I love sun too!

2 hours ago, L1211 said:

First sighting of the Observation Lounge- woweeee- beautiful!!! What an amazing space. Unclear what is is used for - just lounging and observing?  Bar hopping this morning.  Only hot item for breakfast was oatmeal- if they threw in some eggs and bacon it would be for the win! Need a base for wine tasting at 11:30!  anyone know what this space is on other away class ships? 

The Joy has the same observation deck and waterfront area.  We went on the Joy for spring break last year.  We are heading to the Bliss for the last week of March because we loved the layout of the Joy so much (really loved having cocktails along the waterfront when trying to get away from the crazy pool bars).  Loved all your posts - giving me some great info to work with.  My teenage son is losing his mind because I read on another post there are no crepes at the buffet (he always got them at night on the Joy) so can you tell me if there is any crepe sightings?  Also other than Jersey Boys what is the big headliner show since Six isn't there anymore?  Also good tip on the secret back bar by the vibe!!!  Good intel.

Thanks so much for this. I am registered for this certification in Nov. and didn't do any research beforehand. I'm exhausted reading your post and am rethinking the purchase of the drink package for sure. Anyway I appreciate you sharing your experiences.

Thank you! We are going in April. I have a few questions.

 

You mentioned a wine package, how much is it? Is there a regular drink package like on Carnival or RC?

 

 

The kids club...is it free play mostly? Are the kids expected to join in activities?

If you go to the Disney cruise website and search under gifts and amenities you can find the wine packages along with the actual wines and prices. We bought the 5 bottle package and they less expensive and we were very happy. The first dinner your server will explain the package to you so no need to order in advance. One night we didn't finish our bottle so the next night our open bottle was chilled and waiting for us. We thought it was a great deal.

https://disneycruise.disney.go.com/gifts-and-amenities/

We went with kids ranging from 4 to 9 years old and I think they just sort of did what they wanted in the kids club. There are movies playing, video games, crafts, etc. Something for everyone. We never really paid much attention to the activity schedule.

I believe I brought back some of the navigators - if I can attach them here I will try so it will give you an idea of the activities.

I read so many posts here before my cruise that I thought I would share some of my feedback -

1) Excellent experience with Captain Marvin's in Grand Cayman. We did the 2 snorkel and stingray city stop. My 7 year olds were a little young but they enjoyed the boat ride. Then we stopped at the beach for lunch and a little ocean time. Cabs seemed to be $4/person from beach to port which seemed like only a mile or two.

2) Laundry on every floor with an iron and ironing board - no irons in room - laundry was reasonably priced from what my friend said.

3) Dinner was much more casual then we were expecting. People were dressed nicely but not fancy. You could totally get away with wearing casual pants or skirt or even jeans. My kids wore shorts every evening. We just dressed up a tad bit nicer one night so we could take some pictures. But seriously, you can wear shorts and a shirt to dinner and it would be fine.

4) Get to the main shows early (10-15 minutes) to get a good seat. Servers will bring you drinks to your seat if you want. And buy the plastic popcorn container bc refills are only $1.50. This was handy for us because we had late dinner so kids always needed a snack. The Disney shows are amazing!

5) We really enjoyed John Charles (went to 3 of his shows) but did not enjoy David and Leeman - that would be the evening I would skip of all the shows. Just my opinion.

6) I regret not purchasing an autograph book for my kids. It was an oversight on my part because having an autograph book really engaged the kids and made them want to seek out the characters more. My kids just had old notebooks but I even got adorable pictures with Anna and Elsa with my 7 year old boys because they wanted the autograph for their collection. So definitely get a book before you go or they are on the ship for like $12.

7) I'd skip the sit down breakfast next time. It's exactly the same food as the buffet but not as good/hot if you can believe that. It's nice to be waited on and get served coffee but I thought it was just as easy to do the buffet and quicker.

8) We really liked the late dinner at 8:15pm. We would be at the pool until 5pm or so and then go to the 6:30 show and the kids would run around or go to kids club for an hour before dinner. Will definitely always keep that time for future cruises.

9) We had very few professional pictures. Although a ton were taken they have some kind of face recognition software and so our picture folder had a bunch of other people in it and only a couple of our family. So make sure to snap your own photos. We didn't care because I didn't want to spend hundreds of bucks on pictures.

10) Register before you leave online for kids club. Then when we got to registration the day of our cruise there was a HUGE line to get the wristbands for the kids. Everyone told us the line on the ship would be just as crazy but we walked onto the boat, directly to kids club and there was NO ONE there other than us and got our wristbands in 5 minutes and got to explore the club with the kids.

11) We brought on 4 bottles of wine but next cruise we will probably skip it or only grab 1-2. Alcohol was not expensive at all and so we just drank around the boat when we wanted. We live in Chicago and thought the drinks were cheaper on the cruise then at home. We got the wine package for dinner which we also thought was a great deal.

12) We bought the 10% off a future cruise deal with a $250 deposit and did not pick a specific future sail date. Was told if you sail between Thanksgiving-Christmas (or something like that) they offer 20% off. FYI.

13) There is a lovely little quiet adult coffee shop called the Cove (I think) by the adult pool - for a few bucks you can get a latte or whatever. Pastries are also served (no additional $$). It's quiet and peaceful in there.

I think that's all I can think of. Hope this might help someone with their planning. We had an amazing time and look forward to our next cruise!

I read so many posts here before my cruise that I thought I would share some of my feedback -

1) Excellent experience with Captain Marvin's in Grand Cayman. We did the 2 snorkel and stingray city stop. My 7 year olds were a little young but they enjoyed the boat ride. Then we stopped at the beach for lunch and a little ocean time. Cabs seemed to be $4/person from beach to port which seemed like only a mile or two.

2) Laundry on every floor with an iron and ironing board - no irons in room - laundry was reasonably priced from what my friend said.

3) Dinner was much more casual then we were expecting. People were dressed nicely but not fancy. You could totally get away with wearing casual pants or skirt or even jeans. My kids wore shorts every evening. We just dressed up a tad bit nicer one night so we could take some pictures. But seriously, you can wear shorts and a shirt to dinner and it would be fine.

4) Get to the main shows early (10-15 minutes) to get a seat. Servers will bring you drinks to your seat if you want. And buy the plastic popcorn container bc refills are only $1.50. This was handy for us because we had late dinner so kids always needed a snack. The Disney shows are amazing!

5) We really enjoyed John Charles (went to 3 of his shows) but did not enjoy David and Leeman - that would be the evening I would skip of all the shows. Just my opinion.

6) I regret not purchasing an autograph book for my kids. It was an oversight on my part because having an autograph book really engaged the kids and made them want to seek out the characters more. My kids just had notebooks but I even got adorable pictures with Anna and Elsa with my 7 year old boys because they wanted the autograph for their collection. So definitely get a book before you go or they are on the ship for like $12.

7) I'd skip the sit down breakfast next time. It's exactly the same food as the buffet but not as good/hot if you can believe that. It's nice to be waited on and get served coffee but I thought it was just as easy to do the buffet and quicker.

8) We really liked the late dinner at 8:15pm. We would be at the pool until 5pm or so and then go to the 6:30 show and the kids would run around or go to kids club for an hour before dinner. Will definitely always keep that time for future cruises.

9) We had very few professional pictures. Although a ton were taken they have some kind of face recognition software and so our picture folder had a bunch of other people in it and only a couple of our family. So make sure to snap your own photos. We didn't care because I didn't want to spend hundreds of bucks on pictures.

10) Register before you leave online for kids club. Then when we got to registration the day of our cruise there was a HUGE line to get the wristbands for the kids. Everyone told us the line on the ship would be just as crazy but we walked onto the boat, directly to kids club and there was NO ONE there other than us and got our wristbands in 5 minutes and got to explore the club with the kids.

11) We brought on 4 bottles of wine but next cruise we will probably skip it or only grab 1-2. Alcohol was not expensive at all and so we just drank around the boat when we wanted. We live in Chicago and thought the drinks were cheaper on the cruise then at home. We got the wine package for dinner which we also thought was a great deal.

12) We bought the 10% off a future cruise deal with a $250 deposit and did not pick a specific future sail date. Was told if you sail between Thanksgiving-Christmas (or something like that) they offer 20% off. FYI.

I think that's all I can think of. Hope this might help someone with their planning. We had an amazing time and look forward to our next cruise!

Sailing on Disney Magic this Sunday. Couple last minute questions/confirmations - can you take Disney towels to non-Disney scheduled excursions (I..e Captain Marvins)? And if we bring wine or beer on board is there a small refrigerator in the room? Or should we bring a small cooler? Is ice readily available?

Also in late Jan/early Feb would you bring light jackets/pants?

Thanks!

Thanks so much everyone. This was my first post and such helpful comments. I decided to book a Captain Marvin's Stingray City and 2 stop snorkel trip. Fingers crossed the weather cooperates. So excited for this cruise. It's taken me 8 years to convince my husband to go on a cruise after a very subpar experience on Carnival.

Hi - I am going on a 5 night cruise end of Jan on Magic and we are stopping at Grand Cayman and we want to go to Stingray City. It's me and my husband and my two 7 year old boys. I cannot figure out which excursion to book on Disney - there are about 4 variations in titles and prices but the descriptions to see the Stingrays are almost all identical. Does anyone have any recommendations on what to pick? There's a dolphin viewing option also but not sure if that's worth it or not. My kids are really excited about the Stingrays. Any other thoughts on GC is appreciated. Thanks.