Our 2nd MAGICal Disney Cruise!

[PathfinderEss]

Great review, love your pictures.

[Lindypc]

Oh no, :eek: please come back, I'm loving your travelogue! In fact, I've started taking notes when it dawned on me--I'm not even on your ship OR your itinerary! :confused::confused: We'll be on the Dream in a few weeks. One question though--do you sign up for the character breakfast?

Thanks and please finish your delightful story!:)

[FM]

 

For this trip report? Or the actual one I did on the review section?

 

Is the one in the review section the same as the one here ... if it is, then I'll stick to this thread and wait for some more of your adventures to be posted!

[CC Help Jenn]

Love your review style! I read your last review while I was anxiously awaiting my Dream cruise, and now I read this one as I anxiously await my Fantasy cruise. Thanks for feeding into my excitement :)

[karajeboo]

Oh no, :eek: please come back, I'm loving your travelogue! In fact, I've started taking notes when it dawned on me--I'm not even on your ship OR your itinerary! :confused::confused: We'll be on the Dream in a few weeks. One question though--do you sign up for the character breakfast?

Thanks and please finish your delightful story!:)

 

Sadly, there is no character breakfast on the Dream or Fantasy.... they are too large and the dining rooms are really tight. :(

 

Is the one in the review section the same as the one here ... if it is, then I'll stick to this thread and wait for some more of your adventures to be posted!

 

It's different. The one in the review section is more direct and to the point. As you can see I like to ramble a bit here.... :p

[karajeboo]

Great review, love your pictures.

 

Thank you!

 

Really enjoying this trip report. Can't wait to read more!

 

Thank you!!!

 

Can't read this now because I'm at work - but I'm signing up to read the whole thing tonight - and check out the videos.

 

Linda

 

Did you go home and skip dinner to read it???? :D

[karajeboo]

Love your review style! I read your last review while I was anxiously awaiting my Dream cruise, and now I read this one as I anxiously await my Fantasy cruise. Thanks for feeding into my excitement :)

 

It helps me to relive my own cruise, too. It's a long time until our Royal Caribbean cruise next spring break and even longer until my next 7 night DCL cruise!!!

[FM]

Sadly, there is no character breakfast on the Dream or Fantasy.... they are too large and the dining rooms are really tight. :(

 

 

 

It's different. The one in the review section is more direct and to the point. As you can see I like to ramble a bit here.... :p

 

 

I like your rambling so I'll stick to the one here ... have to find some time to relax and read it at my leisure ... ;)

[105263]

Kara, pretty please come back and finish your review. We all love it so much!!!!!

[jimdicap]

hmm....hard to tell if you enjoyed it or not......

Thanks for the fantastic info/reports/videos etc...

[jimdicap]

IT'S LIKE CYBER CRUISING!!!!!!! Hahahahahaha Virtual vacation for those of us stuck at a computer :)

 

-KD

 

aint that the truth...I so love trolling for these!

[karajeboo]

I'll be back I promise! I just fell behind a bit. Will try to update this week.....

[karajeboo]

Quick update to let you know that Jeff DID make the ship and I did NOT have to see an attorney when we got home.....

 

When we got back on the ship, Tammie went to look for the girls but I was absolutely FAMISHED!!!! I had not eaten dinner, between Gatorade driver and Freak boy, so my first stop was up to Pluto's for some good ole greasy food!

 

 

 

I sat right up on deck, watching the port, and the runners, as they were rushing to get back on the ship.

 

I'm sure DCL isn't too bad, but I can only imagine how many people miss their ship when they arrive on those "booze cruise" itineraries.....

 

As I snarfed down my burger and fries (and it was one of the BEST burgers ever.... what little I tasted of it!), I just kept thinking, "so help me, if he doesn't make it on this ship....."

 

So I decided to get a couple of nighttime shots in case this was our last cruise together.... Not to mention nobody was around this night! I had the decks to myself!

 

 

 

 

 

[karajeboo]

 

 

 

 

After filling my belly I raced down to the theater to try to find Tammie and the girls for the hypnotist show in the Walt Disney Theater.... As soon as I walked in I saw Tammie and grabbed a chair by her. She informed me the girls were front and center..... oy vey.

 

Before long, I felt the ship moving and knew we were on our way... Well, this was it! Either he's on the ship, or he's not. And since we are in the US, I should be getting a text.....

 

Nope. But luckily I just happened to look over and he was coming down the aisle to join us in the theater!

 

LUCKY BOY!!!!!

 

Dale K was the hypnotist and he was on our cruise LAST spring break too! Funny funny guy! And of the 8 or 9 people chosen to by hypnotized on stage, only 3 or 4 actually went under - the rest he realized were "trying" to be hypnotized , but it just wasn't working. It was a lot of fun and I think the girls enjoyed hanging out up front where the action was!

 

After the show, Jeff and I wanted to watch our beloved Buckeyes in the Final Four so we headed to Diversions for the game. Lots of lots of Buckeyes on the ship so we had a great time, despite going down in flames.....

 

 

Diversions is a really fun sports bar and the crowd was having a great time too!

 

We had taken the wave phone with us this night so Ally could reach us, and soon she called to ask if she could head back to the room. Typically, we give her the run of the ship BUT the rule is that she is NOT to go into our room or anyone else's room without us. We actually try to discourage her from hanging around the cabins at all and stick to public areas..... You just never know.

 

So we told her to go ahead to the room and we'd be back shortly. And then we made a dreadful mistake. Jeff said, "Tell her to order something from room service - I'm starving!" So I relayed his message.

 

About 2 minutes later I get a call back, "Mama, I think you need to come back here. I think I ordered everything on the menu!"

 

Of course my immediate response was.... She started to get upset, trying to explain that she ordered a cheese plate, but the lady on the other end said, "no cheese plate" so Ally tried to order other things and there seemed to be a language barrier. I'm guessing that barrier was that Ally was born and raised in South Carolina and the woman on the other end didn't understand "y'all" or "fixin" so when I laughed at her explanation she just begged us to come back!

 

When we got back to the room I called room service and found out that she had done a great job - she actually DID order a cheese plate and pizza and we all just plopped down on the floor and snarfed it all down!!!!!

 

 

That was one thing we said we would do this trip that we didn't do last trip - order a cheese plate from room service.

 

Check!

 

[karajeboo]

As usual, Jeff was up with the sun on our first "sea day!"

 

 

Sea days are my FAVORITE! I love to just enjoy the ship - when I book cruises now, I could care less where we go, I book for the ships. We are very particular and spend a great deal of time watching youtube vids, reading other cruise message boards, trying to find the "perfect ship." Well, aside from anything DCL!

 

And our next cruise will be on what looks to be the "perfect" non-DCL ship - the RCI Freedom of the Seas..... Soooo excited to explore that big beautfiful vessel!

 

But now we are on the Magic, and I'm still trying to decide if there really is a better ship out there???

 

It was shaping up to be a great day, as we were making our way to the Cayman Islands.....

 

 

What was really amazing was that we could see Cuba all day long. We stayed really close and I don't think Cuba was ever out of our sight..... This is the one Caribbean island that I really really REALLY want to see someday when it opens up to US tourism. I am a big Hemingway fan and would just love to explore Cuba the way he did......

 

When Jeff got back to the cabin with coffee for both of us, I had already taken the liberty of ordering room service the night before......

 

 

 

Now I think I may have figured out why I gain about a pound a day on cruises.....

 

Room service AND breakfast buffet!!! Seriously, I gained 6 lbs on this cruise - Jeff gained 8. Not good at all. Well, it WAS good, just not good.

 

 

The one thing you will never see is an idle crew. They are always polishing, cleaning, shining, or whatever it is they do to keep this 14 year old ship looking GREAT!

 

 

 

 

 

[karajeboo]

We were all ready for a day to do NOTHING, so we found our loungers, and dropped.

 

 

 

We love to find chairs up on Deck 10 overlooking the Quiet Cove Pool. Unlike on the Dream, where the areas surrounding AND overlooking the Quiet Cove Pool are adult only, on the Magic the area above is not limited, so Ally can easily find us by just coming back to our chairs and waving down to us if we are taking a dip to cool off.....

 

See?

 

 

We try to get away, but the kid always finds us......

 

 

But it was bloody mary time, right? I mean, it IS vacation!!!

 

 

Looks like we have company! I tried for the longest time but couldn't figure out what ship this was..... Later we were being "chased" by what appeared to be a really large ship (Oasis? Allure?) but she turned off before getting close enough to see....

 

 

[karajeboo]

All things considered, it's a quiet day in the Mickey Pool.... ugh. So glad I have never had to spend any time here....

 

 

 

After a VERY busy morning of doing... NOTHING.... it was time for lunch! I mean, talk about working up an appetite!

 

Looking back from just above Topsiders....

 

 

Walking back, with Topsiders inside dining on the left....

 

 

The ice cream station. I am so surprised by little skinny minny Ally didn't gain as much as we did because I think every time she joined us, she either had ice cream, or the telltale signs of ice cream recently.....

 

 

Continuing back toward the front of the ship, getting ready to pass the Mickey Pool.... ugh again!

 

 

[karajeboo]

Quick lunch today from Goofy's Galley - a yummy turkey sandwich and a bit of fruit..... gotta save room for another lunch later!!!! And you were thinking the fruit was healthy!!!!

 

 

I'll be honest, I'm a sandwich girl. You could offer me surf and turf and I'd still choose the sandwich for lunch. Now dinner is another story, but there is something about a sandwich for lunch.....

 

Did I mention lunch #2? OK, so it wasn't much, I really just went for the desserts...... ONly 6 lbs? Amazing!!!!

 

Now one thing we discussed before we left for this cruise, was what we could try "new" this time..... And one thing we decided was that we would do the Art of Animation.

 

I first did this at Hollywood Studios with Ellen and the DISmoms last year and LOVED it!!! So I took my mom, niece, and Ally back in December when we all traveled to WDW...... Ally and my niece loved it so much that I took them a second time that week!

 

This time we decided to get Jeff involved and he was ready to draw!!!!

 

So off we headed to Animator's Palate to draw Mickey!

 

 

Seems only fitting, right?

 

 

They look happy, right?

 

 

That was BEFORE they put pencil to paper......

 

Not sure who drew this, but I'm soooo glad they titled it Mickey Mouse so you didn't confuse it with Mighty Mouse, or any of the rats from steerage....

 

 

 

 

[karajeboo]

Ahhhh, wonder who drew THIS Mickey??????

 

 

Oh wait, that's MINE!!!!!!

 

I will admit, Ally did much better in WDW with the underlit table and the paper locked in place.

 

Poor Mickey......

 

Did I say poor Mickey? How about poor Goofy??????

 

Yes, I made them all stay and draw again!!!

 

Not bad, Ally.....

 

 

I think Jeff was drawing a cross between Woody and the Evil Snow Queen....

 

 

And who could have drawn this masterpiece???

 

 

Well I'll be... I think that is MINE!!!!

 

So we did it! WE fought back against the "deck gravity" that had us firmly in its grasp on our last cruise. We fought back and got OUT OF OUR DECK CHAIRS and actually did something different on our first day at sea!!!!

 

AFter a bit more sun and fun, it was time to get ready for more food!!!! It's Prince and Princess Dinner, time to dress up and celebrate Ally's birthday (a day late.....)!!!!

 

[karajeboo]

I think this is the day that our vacation REALLY started. I mean, Day 1 is so overwhelming that you really don't get to relax and enjoy. In this case, Day 2 was in KW and we didn't really get to enjoy as much of the ship, so we decided TODAY was the start of R&R for the week!

 

 

Although, how can you NOT relax when you're 11? I mean, actually, 11 years and 1 day!

 

Time to head in and get all purtied up for dinner and Ally's belated celebration!

 

One thing we learned after our first DCL cruise.... the drinks at the captain's reception do NOT go on your shipboard account! Bottoms up!

 

 

Remember when our Palo server, Mo, told us that this was our captain's first voyage? Well, we had some questions for ole Captain Bobby.....

 

 

Ally: So, Captain Robert, tell me about the engines on this ship. Are they Sultzer Z40 with 514 RPM? I find it fascinating....

Jeff: Huh? Where's the free booze?

Ally: I see the 5 bowthrusters and main power 43200 KW.

Jeff: Huh?

Kara: Oh, Captain Bobby, I love a man in uniform.

Jeff: Huh?

 

It was stimulating conversation as usual.....

 

Captain Robert: So did you find my free booze?

Ally: Oh for goodness sake, really?

Jeff: Huh? Where?

Kara: Oh Captain Bobby, you so silly! Nice uniform!

 

Now, I'm not sure if it was seeing two ladies in red, or if he was aware of our collision course with an iceberg, but ole Captain Robert was sweating like nothing I've ever seen!!!! I mean, SWEAT! This was no ordinary easy going captain greeting passengers. So? What's the deal Bobby?????? Are you nervous about driving the ship? Or driving conversation with crazy passengers like the McSparklesons..... OR were you just star struck??? That's it!!! You recognized us as THE McSparklesons??????

 

After I pulled Jeff away from his 5th waiter handing out drinks...... it was time for dinner.

 

 

 

 

[karajeboo]

The bread service for this night was the Fig and Date Ciabatta Roll

with minted yogurt dip

 

 

Hmmmm, I think someone is excited to celebrate her birthday again!!!

 

 

 

Jeff and I ordered a bottle of wine for the evening, and it drove me NUTs when our assistant server always poured for Jeff first, even though I oftentimes ordered the wine.

 

 

For our appy, we all ordered the Double-Baked Aged Reggiano Parmesan Cheese Souffle with gorgonzola blue cheese, spinach, and mascarpone sauce with white truffle oil.

 

 

 

Jeff also ordered the "Belle's" Scallops Au Gratin - Seared scallops and mushrooms in a light white wine sauce topped with breadcrumbs and baked in the oven.

 

 

[karajeboo]

Sadly, both were not as good as they were last year. Once Jeff ordered the scallops he remembered them from last year, very flavorful, but they are the teeny tiny scallops.... I do not know why the cheese souffle was not as good, but last year we went through THREE of them for the three of us, and this year, Ally ordered her own, ate one bite and pushed it aside. I had to agree it was a bit "mushy" this year......

 

I honestly do not remember our soup or salad, and I guess it wasn't very exciting because I have no photos.... so on to the entree!

 

Jeff ordered the Rack of New Zealand Lamb with a Dijon Mustard Crust

with gratin potato cakes, baby Mediterranean vegetables, and rosemary flavored jus.

 

 

He really really enjoyed this.....

 

I got the Roasted Filet of Beef Wellington covered with mushroom stuffing wrapped in puff pastry served with fingerling potatoes, baby vegetables, and a cabernet black truffle jus, which is what I ordered last year and it was DELICIOUS!

 

 

Ally was ordering off the adult menu a lot this trip, and she ordered the Parma Ham Wrapped Chicken Breast - Stuffed with mozzarella cheese and vine ripened tomatoes on fingerling potatoes drizzled with spinach pesto and proclaimed it a "keeper."

 

 

I tried it and it was really YUMMY!

 

I needed a little something after dinner to keep me awake. All that fun and sun on deck just tuckered me out!!! And I think I know just the thing....

 

COFFEE! With a little sumpin sumpin on the side.... as in Frangelico!

 

 

Which goes GREAT with birthday cake!!!

 

Our servers made a HUGE deal out of her birthday, much more so than last year it seems....

 

 

And what I really remember about all our dining room experiences is that our HEAD server really spent a lot of time with us this cruise. We never had any issues, so there was no reason for him to schmooze us, but he was just very attentive and I felt we knew him MUCH better than our head server last year.....

 

From left to right, Assistant Server Stiliyan, HEAD server John, and Server Gusti.

 

John and Ally....

 

 

 

 

[karajeboo]

I bought a special cake for her birthday, but I don't think I'd do it again. It was beautiful, and really tasty, but if I recall it was about $30 and we gave it to our servers to take back to their room.

 

 

Plus, they will bring out a single serving cake to celebrate, at no charge. AND if you buy the celebrations decoration package, with the room decor, it comes with a cake, which we ended up giving to our cabin steward. We just couldn't even think about eating in the room - if we did get hungry, there was always room service.

 

We just didn't let Ally order!!!!

 

And even though we had that big ole cake, we still ordered dessert! Jeff had the Prince Charming Chilled Chocolate Souffle - Semi-frozen chocolate cream with almond brittle.

 

 

And I got the Cinderella's Lemon Cheesecake - Lemon-infused cheesecake with dark cherry compote.

 

 

I have become such a sucker for any lemon desserts lately. And this was really good! We knew up front we would be offering the cake to our servers to take back and share with their roommates, so we all just had little tastes, and then ate our desserts....

 

Hmmmm, I still wonder how I managed to gain so much weight on this cruise?

 

[karajeboo]

This is the first night the spanx started screaming. I mean, that dress was S-N-U-G...... there was only one way to hold it all together. Ladies? You know what I"m talking about!!!! Spanx are a girls best friend. Diamonds? yeah, yeah.... But they can only emphasize one little finger. Or an earlobe. Or a wrist.

 

But spanx? They can help out a whole midsection. I mean, top to bottome. Am I right or am I right????

 

So as I made my way, very carefully, out of LUmiere's to head back to de-spanx myself...... look who we found???

 

 

Now Minnie entertaining the kids is great. And this is exactly why I say the DCL is so much more intimate than WDW. No pushing or shoving to get to Minnie. She's not in and out in 30 seconds. She's there to really mingle with the kids. LOVE IT!!!

 

But I think I took this shot because of Midtown. That is the duo that was always in the Promenade Lounge. And we still imitate her when she does her tribute to Michael Jackson. I swear, on both our cruises, we must have seen them EVERY single night. Somewhere. They were even on Castaway Cay.

 

If you've ever seen her do her Michael Jackson tribute, you'll get this.

 

"Whoo hoo!" Flip the hat and put on a child's head.

 

Enough said.

 

But to see Jeff do HIS Michael Jackson tribute?

 

Once we made it into the elevator (cause the spanx said NO to the stairs!), I felt very safe knowing we were being escorted to the 6th deck.....

 

 

And then it happened.....

 

Ally decided she wanted to stay in our "fancy" clothes for the show......

 

That's when the spanx started SCREAMING!!!!

 

But that's not all that started screaming.....

 

 

Again, ladies, need I say more?????

 

We met up with Tammi and Tori at the entrance to the theater so we could see Twice Charmed....

 

 

And of course the Big Cheese himself, all decked out and looking handsome.... and Jeff looked okay, too....

 

 

 

 

[karajeboo]

I believe Tammi must have made the girls a better offer, because Ally ditched us and Jeff and I settled in to watch the show.....

 

 

I was trying to get out of this show, but Jeff talked me into seeing it again and I'm very glad he did. The only show I will never see again is coming up later. Just gets me so emotional.....

 

After the show we went to find Ally and quickly learned why she ditched us.....

 

 

So she DID get a better offer!!!!

 

Jeff and I headed back to the room to get changed and off we went to find some adult entertainment... wait, that didn't come out right. We went to find some , well, we went out clubbin!

 

 

 

And being the party animals we are, we listened to one song, ordered one drink, and headed back to the cabin where Ally met us about 2 minutes later.

 

A perfect end to a perfect day!!!!

 

Up next: Grand Cayman and the BEST port excursion EVAH!!!!