Jump to content

Our Crazy MAGICal Disney Cruise!


karajeboo

Recommended Posts

LOve the review. We will be going out on the Magic again in January, this will be our 3rd DCL cruise, 2nd on the Magic. Peter Hofer is a great CD. He was the CD on our Wonder cruise in 2008, and he was on the Magic for our October 2009 cruise while the Wonder was in Dry Dock, he was on board assisting Clayton Lindsey who was the official CD for our cruise.

 

St. Maarten is one of my favorite islands. We went there in February on RCCL for our 40th birthday cruise. Loved the Blue B***h Bar. You sat in the exact same table as we did, our photos are almost identical in scene and angle to yours, too funny. Love Guavaberry Coladas too, bought 4 bottles of the stuff.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Hollybelle's??? Where is that review? I've read her review on the Princess board and then her WDW reviews on their boards. Where can I find her latest?

 

 

It's on the Disney boards, A Dream Is A Wish Your Heart Makes: A March 2011 Disney Wedding/Honeymoon Trip Report. It is a review of her wonderful wedding at Sunset Point and then their Disney cruise plus a couple of days at WDW after the cruise. She does such a good job on her reviews. I have read several of hers.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

It's on the Disney boards, A Dream Is A Wish Your Heart Makes: A March 2011 Disney Wedding/Honeymoon Trip Report. It is a review of her wonderful wedding at Sunset Point and then their Disney cruise plus a couple of days at WDW after the cruise. She does such a good job on her reviews. I have read several of hers.

 

I'm a member of the Disney boards too. I can't seem to find it. Can I ask you to please email me a link? NYGirl1002 at gmail

 

Thank you so much

Link to comment
Share on other sites

 

And this is what it looked like after a few minutes of decorating!

 

 

Decorateddoor2.jpg

 

 

Kara I was just wondering where did you get your great magnets I've attempted to make some and realise I'm not crafty at all, I especially like your life ring (I think thats what theyre called) in the top right corner, and your licence plates heck I love them all. All I came up with was some clip art with Word art lol, and I photocopied our Disney letter with Goofy and Mickey aboard saying Bon Voyage Crispin Family not very festive at all

Link to comment
Share on other sites

OMG you are hilarious and I love your review. I'm also a Dis'er and hoping to do our first Disney Cruise in April or May!

 

Who doesn't love Disney????? Glad you are enjoying it!

 

I was enjoying the review as well. I don't think she's coming back.

 

I'm back!!! Got wrapped up in all the back to school stuff.... and some idiot decided to volunteer for PTO president this year......

 

Come back, come back we need more please!!

 

I'm baaaaaack (must read in best Poltergeist little girl voice.....)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

"Have I mentioned before how much I loved the characters? How intimate the meet and greets are (not intimate enough with CJ, if ya know what I mean!)? Here was Stitch, never one of my favorites, but I loved him on this cruise!

 

ImportedPhotos00426.jpg

 

He played with Ally for the longest time!!!! She was cracking up!"

 

Can't wait for the rest of the review, great job of mixing pics / videos in with the commentaries. Yes I cried when my dd was too old for the Princesses, but she found Stitch and CJ so even at 20 she still gets excited seeing those characters. More depressing she will legally old enough to drink when we board the Magic :( next year. The bar tab will be higher will need to leave bread crumbs on the ground so we can find our way back to the cabin at night.

 

My first cruise I had the stay feelings of rocking and being in lock down mode but after the first stop and we could kiss the ground everything was good.

 

Going on the Magic next year June 30, 2012 out of NYC it is a little bit longer drive from SC to FL but our cruise will be amazing with the McSparklesons on board.

 

Yeah, once Ally gets to 21, she's on her own..... with Jeff and I for parents, we have enough of a bar bill without adding her to the mix! lol

 

LOve the review. We will be going out on the Magic again in January, this will be our 3rd DCL cruise, 2nd on the Magic. Peter Hofer is a great CD. He was the CD on our Wonder cruise in 2008, and he was on the Magic for our October 2009 cruise while the Wonder was in Dry Dock, he was on board assisting Clayton Lindsey who was the official CD for our cruise.

 

St. Maarten is one of my favorite islands. We went there in February on RCCL for our 40th birthday cruise. Loved the Blue B***h Bar. You sat in the exact same table as we did, our photos are almost identical in scene and angle to yours, too funny. Love Guavaberry Coladas too, bought 4 bottles of the stuff.

 

That is hilarious!!!! But were the Von Trapps there too????

 

Somebody from the travel channel should have been video taping your vacation! This trip and trip report is better and funnier than anything Samantha Brown could ever produce. Can't wait to read the rest!!

 

I LOVE Samantha Brown! Even though she is way more put together and proper than the McSparklesons..... but I bet we have more fun!!! ;)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Kara

I completely agree with the others you are hysterical! I laughed so hard! Please share where you purchased the door magnets? We leave 8/28 but we can use them for next year's DCL Fantasy trip. :D

 

I bought the magnetic paper at Office Max and printed them out on there. Then cut them out and slapped em on the door!

 

Kara I was just wondering where did you get your great magnets I've attempted to make some and realise I'm not crafty at all, I especially like your life ring (I think thats what theyre called) in the top right corner, and your licence plates heck I love them all. All I came up with was some clip art with Word art lol, and I photocopied our Disney letter with Goofy and Mickey aboard saying Bon Voyage Crispin Family not very festive at all

 

Are you implying that I am crafty? Cause that is sooooo far off base! I got them on DISboards, then requested them to be personalized and printed them on magnetic paper. I hope to reuse a lot of them on our next cruise!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

OK, you're right, enough with the pirate talk, I never claimed to be bilingual anyway!

 

We were lucky enough (ok, no luck involved, because I ASKED for the PLA dining rotation) to be dining in Parrot Cay on pirate night. I mean, the only other awesome dining in Parrot Cay would be on Jimmy Buffet night, but I'm guessing that's on another cruise.......

 

We also had Lumiere's on Formal Night, and it's by far the most formal of the dining rooms. Even though DCL is the only cruise line I've ever experienced, I love that they have 3 separate dining rooms for rotational dining, as opposed to just one massive dining room on other lines.

 

So back to pirate night dining. The menu.....

 

ImportedPhotos00439.jpg

 

ImportedPhotos00440.jpg

 

But who needs a menu when I have Dobo? "Dobo, what will I be having tonight?" And as usual, I took his advice and went with whatever he recommended.

 

ImportedPhotos00441.jpg

 

I, of course, began with a Rusty Anchor, which was a rum drink - duh!

 

ImportedPhotos00447.jpg

 

Or as Jeff liked to call all the drinks on the ship, "....another $8....."

Link to comment
Share on other sites

For appetizers, Jeff and I both got the Blackbeard’s Jumbo Crab Cake

With a fruit Salsa and Honey-Lime Tropical Coleslaw. It was an okay crab cake, I mean, I don't think we were in Maryland anymore, Toto, but still an okay appy......

 

ImportedPhotos00445.jpg

 

From there, Jeff and I both ordered the Caribbean-style Conch Chowder

with sherry, sweet peppers, onions, tomatoes, thyme, and garnished with diced potatoes and crispy bacon bits. Um, yeah. Me like.

 

ImportedPhotos00446.jpg

 

For his entree, Jeff ordered the Jack Sparrow’s Barbecue Marinated Beef Short Ribs, Rubbed beef short ribs with tamarind-barbecue sauce served with onion red bliss mashed potatoes and plantain chip

 

ImportedPhotos00448.jpg

 

But I scored big. I took the Dobo's advice, and then when I got back I started hearing from others that this was one of the best entrees of the cruise. I concur. And I agree. And yup, them's right!!!!

 

Treasure-of-the-Seas Grilled Shrimp and Seared Scallops

served on strings of pasta and fresh creamy tomato sauce

 

ImportedPhotos00449.jpg

 

And who says that kids are the only ones who get assistance with their food???

 

ImportedPhotos00450.jpg

 

Or maybe it's just cause Dobo liked me...... love01.gif

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Silly pirates coming over to interrupt our meal.... Godwin, our head server, was just as great as Dobo and Willy, but he's also the one who told me "no." I don't like to be told "no." That was when Willy had promised me all week that he would get me copies of all the menus. Then mean ole Godwin said, "no."

 

ImportedPhotos00454.jpg

 

And of course Ally, who couldn't order an entree off the adult menu, but she sure as heck wouldn't be limited to an ice cream sundae or a Mickey bar off the kids dessert menu!

 

Walk the Triple Layered Chocolate Gangplank Cake, And fall into a rich Chocolate Sauce

 

ImportedPhotos00457.jpg

 

I had the Shiver-me-timbers White Chocolate Cheesecake, On a Macadamia barnacle bottom.

 

I may have ordered it just because I've never seen "barnacle bottom" in a sentence together! <insert Beevis and Butthead laugh here>

 

ImportedPhotos00458.jpg

 

After dinner the servers each grabbed a child and paraded around the dining room in what must surely be their most miserable time each cruise. Seriously, it's great photo ops for families, but even Ally was like, "what?" scared07.gif

 

ImportedPhotos00461.jpg

 

ImportedPhotos00463.jpg.

 

Soon it was time to get ready to head up to Goofy's stage for the Pirates IN the Caribbean party. But Dobo had other ideas.

 

We loved him, truly we did, but bless his heart (I'm from the south, I can say this!!!!) he was just burning out I think , and he needed an ear.

 

He found mine.

 

So while we sipped after dinner drinks ($8), and coffee, we watched as the dining room slowly cleared out, and Dobo just hung out with us, telling us his life story.

 

Neat guy! 39 years old, with a Masters Degree in Hotel/Restaurant Mgmt. But working on a cruise ship because he could make more money there than at home in Bulgaria. He really wanted to come to the US and get his citizenship, but his mother in Bulgaria does not speak English and is too old and set in her ways. So he continues to make money to send to her, by working 9 months on a ship.

 

I think this is a great life for college kids and those right out of college, unless it is a career. But for those like Dobo, I feel bad.

 

He was nearing the end of his 9 month contract, and heading home to Bulgaria to figure out his next career move, and I truly wish him well.

 

But a few fun facts I learned.....

 

Servers work all three shifts (breakfast, lunch, dinner) 6 days a week. On the 7th day they only work 2 shifts. When they are not working in a dining room, they may be cleaning up the decks, like we saw Willy one day out by the pool picking up cups and plates that people just toss aside.

 

It's a very tough life, I'm sure, but if my math is correct, they are compensated pretty well......

 

Anyway, by the time we were released by the Dobo, we were late to the party. I mean, there were pirates IN the Caribbean, and they were ON OUR SHIP!!!!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I did not bring my good camera to this, so please forgive these shots.....

 

ImportedPhotos00473.jpg

 

 

ImportedPhotos00471.jpg

 

 

 

It was right about this time that my, um, er, "plumbing" got my attention. I guess the dungeon from St Maarten scared it right outta me!

 

So I missed the following, but suffice it to say,

 

Mickey saved the day!

 

ImportedPhotos00480.jpg

 

And I made it up in time for the end of this......

 

ImportedPhotos00482.jpg

 

I hate that I missed it! But we have early rotation on our next cruise so we will be sure to get there early!!!!

 

The funny thing is that as we looked off into the short distance, we could see 3 different ships all about as close as they dared, to see the fireworks. Those leacherous scaliwags!!!!

 

ImportedPhotos00485.jpg

 

So I felt kind of special knowing that I was on THE ship where the fireworks came from!!!! Or maybe that makes me a fool for paying for the fireworks that the others saw free?????rolleye11.gif

 

This was a late night for us, as we kind of hung out on deck for awhile after the fireworks. The buffet was going strong but having just eaten (another reason we are doing early dining next cruise!), we couldn't even look at all the food!

 

Up next, St Thomas.......

Link to comment
Share on other sites

We did not dock at the main port in St Thomas, instead we were away from the dowtown area - how far? $5 cab ride, that's how far! rotfl2.gif

 

And again, I loved watching our neighbors come in.....

 

Holland America Line,

 

ImportedPhotos00509.jpg

 

We knew we had plenty of time before All Ashore so instead of hitting Topsiders for a quick breakfast today, we decided to relax at Lumiere's for a nice sit down breakfast.

 

Besides, Ally said "her boys" were working there and that is where we had to eat.....

 

Now I'm not sure how tipping goes for breakfast, when you do not have your assigned dinner servers, but each time we followed our servers to whichever room they were working for breakfast or lunch, they were quick to spot us when we walked in and take us to their section. Is this normal? Or were we just their favorites?

 

I'm thinking we were just their favorites, but then again, we are McSparklesons.....

 

No idea what we ate, but here it is!

 

ImportedPhotos00517.jpg

 

PB&J pancake!

 

ImportedPhotos00518.jpg

 

ImportedPhotos00519.jpg

 

I needed to run back to the room for a second before we left, and look who I ran into! They were just strolling along arm in arm. I actually felt like I was interrupting a "moment."

 

Talk about feeling like a 3rd wheel!!!!

 

ImportedPhotos00521.jpg

 

But that Daisy is sweet as can be. Unlike the female rodent...... who shall remain nameless.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Soon it was time to hit land again, and head to Magen's Bay for a nice relaxing day on the beach.

 

ImportedPhotos00523.jpg

 

And I thought the lizards were creepy in Florida!

 

ImportedPhotos00524.jpg

 

We wandered straight through the port area and hit the taxi stand. Within about 10 minutes we were in an open air taxi and heading to Magen's Bay!

 

ImportedPhotos00525.jpg

 

ImportedPhotos00526.jpg

 

Our driver was AWESOME! If he were not as awesome as he was, or lacked in awesomeness in any way, I would have freaked out driving to Magen's Bay.

 

A) They drive on the WRONG side of the road!!!

B) We drove UP the moutain then DOWN the moutain. Sometimes I think we literally were driving straight up and then straight down.

C) The truck was weighted down and looked like nothing more than an old Chevy pickup that was restructured to hold about 24 adults. That is a lot of weight!!! The truck SOUNDED like it was not happy with this makeup.

D) They drive on the WRONG side of the road!

 

But due to his awesomeness, our driver warned us about all this before we ever left. He also told us that he drives slower than most of his taxi driving friends, and I was okay with this. Because, did I mention that they drive on the WRONG side of the road????

 

It was a beautiful drive, and as much as we wanted to get lots of pics heading UP the mountain (Straight up, remember?), Andy Awesome told us he would stop at a beautiful overlook on the way down.

 

But being antsy, I had to snap away......

 

Main cruise port right near downtown.

 

 

Heading up.....

 

ImportedPhotos00530.jpg

 

And up.....

 

ImportedPhotos00534.jpg

Link to comment
Share on other sites

And up.... OMG that truck is driving on the wrong side of the road too!!!!

 

ImportedPhotos00536.jpg

 

It took us about 25 minutes to get to Magen's BAy, and when we arrived Arthur Awesomeness set up two different times that he would be back to pick people up for the return trip to our port. Have I mentioned he was awesome???

 

This is one of the "World's Most Beautiful Beaches" - Top Ten I believe.

 

ImportedPhotos00539.jpg

 

ImportedPhotos00540.jpg

 

ImportedPhotos00541.jpg

 

ImportedPhotos00542.jpg

 

 

It was nice. It was crowded. We paid for EVERYTHING! Locker, float, 2 chairs, drinks. Lots of icy cold drinks.......

 

But it was too crowded for me, and that took away from the beauty of this beach. What makes it so pretty is that it is a bay, hence the name..... duh!

 

The water was blue, the hilld were lush and green, and the people were EVERYWHERE!

 

So as far as Magen's Bay goes.... been there, done that. Probably wouldn't go back.

 

A few minutes before we were ready to pack up, Ally comes running up from the water, "Mama my swim suit broke!"

 

Oh yes it did! The plastic hook on the back of her top snapped right in half! Thank GOODNESS she had worn a t-shirt and shorts instead of just a coverup! There was a gift shop there where we could have purchased a shirt, but we had to spend a lot of time taking back our chairs, floats, and getting our locker key turned in, so I'm glad we didn't need to shop, too.

 

Adn what is it with the McSparkleson girls and wardrobe malfunctions????

Link to comment
Share on other sites

All aboard was 4:00 today so I believe we had our driver pick us up at 1:00. We knew that would give us plenty of time to hit downtown, do a little shopping, grab lunch, and still make the ship in plenty of time, right?

 

First, p*mp my ride......

 

ImportedPhotos00543.jpg

 

ImportedPhotos00544.jpg

 

Goodbye Magen's Bay! Nice to see you, glad I met you, but you have too many other friends for my taste!

 

ImportedPhotos00546.jpg

Link to comment
Share on other sites

We left Magen's Bay, and when I look at the photos now, I can sort of see why it's one of the world's most beautiful beaches, but I was glad to leave nonetheless.

 

We headed back to our designated meeting spot, and there was Alexander Awesomely waiting for us!

 

ImportedPhotos00543.jpg

 

We were first on! I didn't want to take any chances of missing this shuttle and then having to wait. So we got on and just waited a couple of minutes before we were on our way!

 

ImportedPhotos00544.jpg

 

The ride down was so pretty, and as promised, we stopped for a few minutes at a scenic overlook.

 

These photos are panning from left to right....

 

ImportedPhotos00551.jpg

 

ImportedPhotos00552.jpg

 

ImportedPhotos00553.jpg

 

ImportedPhotos00554.jpg

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

The main port (Havensight) is to the left, and the "others" get the port to the right. You can see the Magic and the HAL ship all alone over there.....

 

ImportedPhotos00555.jpg

 

Apparently Captain John did NOT tell the port authority that the McSparklesons were on board..... snooty.gif

 

ImportedPhotos00563.jpg

 

In just a couple of minutes, Arthur Awesomerelli was calling us to leave.

 

He asked if anyone wanted to be dropped off at Havensight, the main shopping area, other that going back to the ship.

 

Since it was only 1:00 and all aboard was not for another three hours, we decided to get off and do a little shopping.

 

This is where Ally had fun.

 

If you remember I had gone to a St Thomas Shopping Highlights presentation by "Flash" Gordon. During this presentation I got lots of "free" coupons that Ally was intent on collecting.

 

So off we went. She became quite a pro at walking into a jewelry store, flashing her coupon, and following the associate to her treasure.

 

She got a sterling silver dolphin charm, a blue gem, a gold charm bracelet, a "pearl," and we even sprang for a $20 sterling silver chain for her to keep all her collectibles around her neck!

 

By the time she was done she looked like the gansta that she tried to be in St Maarten!

 

ImportedPhotos00415.jpg

 

Word.

 

Jeff was checking out all my shopping highlights, and making sure Ally didn't miss any of her freebies, when he started really looking at what St Thomas was known for.

 

And he found ammolite. It is the newest "rock" to achieve gemstone ranking and he was adamant that his lovely bride would be taking home some ammolite jewelry this trip.

 

See, Jeff's birthday was April 2, the day we debarked this cruise, and I told him to look for a watch in St Thomas, since it is THE jewelry shopping capital of the world. He needed a new watch anyway.

 

I really didn't need anything.... except apparently for ammolite.

 

Now all I can figure is that with the Magic in port, there was pixie dust all over the island, because Jeff was trying to get Ally some special earrings, too. We tried to find her a nice set of ammolite earrings to match mine, but it didn't quite work out.

 

We looked for aquamarines, her birthstone, but couldn't find the "deal" that we needed.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

  • Forum Jump
    • Categories
      • Welcome to Cruise Critic
      • New Cruisers
      • Cruise Lines “A – O”
      • Cruise Lines “P – Z”
      • River Cruising
      • ROLL CALLS
      • Digital Photography & Cruise Technology
      • Special Interest Cruising
      • Cruise Discussion Topics
      • UK Cruising
      • Australia & New Zealand Cruisers
      • Canadian Cruisers
      • North American Homeports
      • Ports of Call
      • Cruise Conversations
×
×
  • Create New...