Monday day 3: The first few days on board were kind of rocky, none of us got sick but some did. I later learned in a question and answer session with the Captain, that we were heading into the wind which makes it more rough. However we were alot luckier than the previous weeks cruise, which encountered 12-15 foot seas the whole week, all the crew mentioned how bad the week before had been, unusual for this time of year.
By monday we had started to play bingo on a regular basis, my DS11 became sort of a fixture at the bingo, with the host Robin and Keiliey talking to him, (and one of his highlights of the week) talking about him in the Walt Theatre on Thursday in front of the hundreds there when the final jackpot was over $5,500(tax free international waters). Yes kids can play, they need an adult to buy and cash the card, but they can play the whole game, for the week numerous kids won. For the week we were down overall but we won one game worth $242. There are five games with the final game paying out a progressive jackpot, throughout the week you must cover the entire card in a certain amount of numbers callled, in the final game the first one to cover the card wins no matter how many numbers called. You can buy bingo cards for $10(one card in each game) , $20 (three cards in each game), $38(six cards in each game) and then you can buy three extra just jackpot(fifth game) cards for $10, or six extra jackpot game cards for $18. All prizes are paid in cash!!! However you must pay with your KEY To the World card. It is a fun time and the hosts make it alot of fun, bad jokes and all.
Now if you are asking what is a Key to the World card, it is your key to your room, but also it allows you to pay for every thing on the cruise and Castaway Cay. You must put down a credit card to cover it or cash, if you put down a credit card every $400 that you charge to your KTTW card will be charged on an ongoing basis, this is simialr to DW hotels. Your kids will also have their own and unless you go to guest services and have their cards deactivated, they can charge till their little hearts are content. Ten dollar game cards to QuaterMasters game room go quick.
You can buy soda refill mugs for $35 which the kids can refill at any bar with soda (choices limited to Coke, Dietcoke, Sprite, and Ginger ale), you would think with all the kids they would have orange. The mug is kind of pain for the kids to carry around they tend to loose it or have it scooped by someone. If you buy a drink or soda or even a bottled water, an autotip will be added at 15%.
There is a space on the slip you sign for an aditional tip but jsut remember there is an automatic 15 % on there. For adults you can buy an ESPN beer mug that gives you an extra four onces of beer for the draft price the mug costs $9.95, and makes a good souvenier. Beers run around $3.95, mixed drinks $4.95 and up.
At dinner there is a somewhat limited menu, however if you don't see anything you like ask your wait staff they are more than happy to please. There will usally be a meat, a fish, a chicken and a seafood dish with other dishes on a routating basis. IF you enjoy fish there are excellent choices, and the tenderloin is melt in your mouth good. I enjoy a salad with my meals and I had a ceasar salad waiting for me everynight after my appertizer. The wait staff are there to make your dinning experince enjoyable, and they will make every effort to make your experience magical. As a big I had to try the Mickey ice cream bar one night, off the kids menu and one mom at our table ordered off the kids menu a few nights because she didn't like anything at all spicey. The wait staff is truly an asset that the Magic has going for it they are fantastic!!
I hate to say anything bad about the ship having gone back twice in a row, but I must mention the pools. They are small, very small, don't expect your kids to be able to play alot in them, basiclly they are there to stand in and cool off. The 9th deck gets very crowded during the day, chairs near the pools are at a premium and are filled very early. Hint if you want to go in the pool with less people, they are open till midnight most nights, after dark there is hardly anyone up there. There is an adult only pool, which also features two hot tubs. Adult pool is least crowded, but it is over 18 only. This is the only thing that the design of the ship I feel was overlooked, with all the kids the pools are way too small!!!!
With that said back to the superatives, the shows at night are Disney Magic they start with Welcome Aboard Variety show, Hercules the Muscial, Morty the Magnifecent, A Movie(first run we saw The Rookie), Who Wants to Be a Mousekateer, Disney Dreams and the Farewell Variety Show. Every night depending on which dinner you have first dinner 6pm you have a show at 8:30pm , second dinner you have show at 6:30pm dinner at 8:30pm.
We had first dinner again and would have time to catch the family variety show in Rockin D bar before the main show at 8:30pm. These shows feature the preformers in the main show in a more intimate atmosphere, and they are very enjoyable, my DS11 and I recomended them.
Most nights there is entertainment that goes on until 2 am, there is always something for just adults and there are family activites, each night you receive your daily Navigator, which details all the activites for the following day, it is well laid out and helps you decide what you would like to do the next day. Good hint is to carry it with you so you can glance at it to find out what is going on where and when you want to do something.
Excursions and alot more
Tuesday: St Marten. This island is not much to look at, it is very poor, dirty and it leaves you feeling kind of dirty when you leave. The beaches are nice, and shopping is good if you know what you are looking for and stay to the reccomended shops. Fake and knockoffs are all over the place.
We took a cab right off the ship at 9:00am and went right over to Orient beach. The cost was $5 per person, and we didn't wait at all. Got to the beach and we were dropped off at the same beach club that the Magic excursions go to, and got lounge chairs with nice pads for $5 each for the day. There are facilities there and a restaurant. At lunch we choose to have just burgers, cost about $8 and sodas were high at $3. But for $26, we were way ahead of the excursion price of $45 and we went there when we wanted to and left went we wanted to leave also. My DS11 had grown his hair longer than normal because he wanted it braided and after bargining with the women he got his whole head done for $40. If you enjoy, like I do, this process than St Marten is fun, everything is up for negotiation. We went down the beach and after bargining with three different dealers we got a Waverunner for an hour for $60. There wasn't much sun and it was kind of rough but the kids had a blast. I took them one at a time and came back in a switched them off, so they each got an equal turn.
We had arranged for the cab driver to pick us up there at 3pm, if we hadn't there is a cab stand further down the beach it is standard $5 per person one way to and from the docks. Instead of going right back to the ship, we had the cab driver go to Marigot, and nice shopping town on the French side. I was in search of some Cohiba Cuban cigars. I found just what i was looking for, a word of caution, is to stick to the recomended places, I also did purchase later a cigar on the Dutch side that was fake. Mairgot is a nice town they are building docks there for yachts and I would have liked to walk around some more. We headed back to the Phillipsburg on the Dutch side, the boys wanted fake watches and we got some Rolexes and some fake Oakley sunglasses they were happy.
All in all St Marteen is a very depressed island, the cab driver told me that tourism has been down 80% since 9/11 and they are now in their slow season and they don't no what they will do. The island itself is not very picturesque, it is kind of like a desert with lots of trash and decent beaches, and lots of shops. Talked to many on board the Magic and no one was impressed with this island.
Not to be missed on this night Tuesday is theTropicalafragilistic party on deck 9 at night it is a highlight!!!
St.Thomas/St johns: Wednesday we got to St Thomas and yes everyone on board must go to the Walt Theatre to present themsleves to customs. This is some paperpushers idea that it is a security thing, it is not. The inspector doesn't even glance at your birth certificate and you just kind of walk through and go out. I wish Disney could do something about this policy, they have taken the bugs out of debarkation at Cape Canaveral, why can't they do it here?? Anyway we had breakfast and went down and caught a cab to Red Hook, you can also get a ferry right at the docks over to St John. I suggest you do this get to St John you will not be disappointed, It is gorgeous!!!! The island is spectactular, we went to Cinamin Bay this time, last time we went to Trunk Bay. I wanted to see a different place, both places are run by the park service and have facilities and small restaurants. The ferry from Red Hook was only $6 adult, $2 kids roundtrip. The cabs were more expensive at $8 per person on St Thomas and $4.50 on St Johns. The ferry at the docks is a better way to go for price, but the ferry ride is alot shorter from Red Hook.
At Cinnamin Bay we rented Snorkeling equipment for $5 each and went in the warm water. I was in by myself and followed a turtle for about 15 minutes as he explored the coral, it was amazing to watch him move about. There were fish and coral creatures, it was nice there at Cinnamin but Trunk had more to see I thought both are real nice Trunk tends to be more crowded. We had lunch there again about $7 for a burger or chicken sandwich. The boys enjoyed the snorkeling and they saw the wild donkeys, yes wild donkeys live on St John, they came right on the beach. They also saw a mongoose and caught numerous lizards. Our cab driver again had arranged with us and the other family we shared the cab with to be back at 2pm. We meet him and went to the mall at the docks called Mongoose Mall. It is a nice place and very picturesque, it is in amongst the tree and has nice cool places to sit like in a bistro. The boys both got stuffed animal puppets. I got a Ben and Jerrry's Cherry Garcia bar, we were all happy. The ferry back to St Thomas and then the cab ride to the docks only aloowed us enough time to pock around the Havensight Mall which is located right at the docks. The ship leaves at 5pm you must be on by 4:30pm and THEY WILL LEAVE WITHOUT YOU. I talked to someone on board and they knew of someone who got left behind.
All in all ST Johns to me is not to be missed it is so beautiful!!!!!!
CASTAWAY CAY: pronounced "key" Friday : It is Disney's private island, although I heard from a crew memember that Disney rents it, does not own the island. It is great the island is well equiped with plenty beach chairs umbrellas. They serve you lunch right there on the island, which is inclunded. We had a nice BBQ at Cookies. There are plenty of drink stations and wait staff around to get you drinks. The teens have their own private place and they like to hang together they stay off to themselves almost all week. The adults have there own side too that is accesible with tram. I stayed with the boys on the family beach and we played in the water, there is a jungle gym in the water that kids can climb rope over the water, the boys enjoyed this alot. Snorkeling here is good for beginners because the water is almost like a salt water lake. Because of the way the lagoon is laid out there is a protective barrier of rock all around it so waves are minimal. It is very smooth, and Disney has made a manmade coral reef that features lots of fish, the 20,000 leagues sub and Mickey. Snorkeling equipment is $25 Disney is not cheap here, and if you bring your own equipment you must go and get a vest that they provide for free to snorkel. Yoiu can also rent mats and tubs to float on, go on banana boat ride, paralsail, or water trike all at a price. To relax on your last day is also nice just take a chair put at water edge and sit and enjoy, wait stafff will be by and take your drink orders. It is a great island all will enjoy it, too bad you don't come here twice and skip St Marten. From what I heard from Crew it gets so buggy there at night the ship will never port there overnight.
Be back with more later, any questions I would be glad to answer for anyone .
By monday we had started to play bingo on a regular basis, my DS11 became sort of a fixture at the bingo, with the host Robin and Keiliey talking to him, (and one of his highlights of the week) talking about him in the Walt Theatre on Thursday in front of the hundreds there when the final jackpot was over $5,500(tax free international waters). Yes kids can play, they need an adult to buy and cash the card, but they can play the whole game, for the week numerous kids won. For the week we were down overall but we won one game worth $242. There are five games with the final game paying out a progressive jackpot, throughout the week you must cover the entire card in a certain amount of numbers callled, in the final game the first one to cover the card wins no matter how many numbers called. You can buy bingo cards for $10(one card in each game) , $20 (three cards in each game), $38(six cards in each game) and then you can buy three extra just jackpot(fifth game) cards for $10, or six extra jackpot game cards for $18. All prizes are paid in cash!!! However you must pay with your KEY To the World card. It is a fun time and the hosts make it alot of fun, bad jokes and all.
Now if you are asking what is a Key to the World card, it is your key to your room, but also it allows you to pay for every thing on the cruise and Castaway Cay. You must put down a credit card to cover it or cash, if you put down a credit card every $400 that you charge to your KTTW card will be charged on an ongoing basis, this is simialr to DW hotels. Your kids will also have their own and unless you go to guest services and have their cards deactivated, they can charge till their little hearts are content. Ten dollar game cards to QuaterMasters game room go quick.
You can buy soda refill mugs for $35 which the kids can refill at any bar with soda (choices limited to Coke, Dietcoke, Sprite, and Ginger ale), you would think with all the kids they would have orange. The mug is kind of pain for the kids to carry around they tend to loose it or have it scooped by someone. If you buy a drink or soda or even a bottled water, an autotip will be added at 15%.
There is a space on the slip you sign for an aditional tip but jsut remember there is an automatic 15 % on there. For adults you can buy an ESPN beer mug that gives you an extra four onces of beer for the draft price the mug costs $9.95, and makes a good souvenier. Beers run around $3.95, mixed drinks $4.95 and up.
At dinner there is a somewhat limited menu, however if you don't see anything you like ask your wait staff they are more than happy to please. There will usally be a meat, a fish, a chicken and a seafood dish with other dishes on a routating basis. IF you enjoy fish there are excellent choices, and the tenderloin is melt in your mouth good. I enjoy a salad with my meals and I had a ceasar salad waiting for me everynight after my appertizer. The wait staff are there to make your dinning experince enjoyable, and they will make every effort to make your experience magical. As a big I had to try the Mickey ice cream bar one night, off the kids menu and one mom at our table ordered off the kids menu a few nights because she didn't like anything at all spicey. The wait staff is truly an asset that the Magic has going for it they are fantastic!!
I hate to say anything bad about the ship having gone back twice in a row, but I must mention the pools. They are small, very small, don't expect your kids to be able to play alot in them, basiclly they are there to stand in and cool off. The 9th deck gets very crowded during the day, chairs near the pools are at a premium and are filled very early. Hint if you want to go in the pool with less people, they are open till midnight most nights, after dark there is hardly anyone up there. There is an adult only pool, which also features two hot tubs. Adult pool is least crowded, but it is over 18 only. This is the only thing that the design of the ship I feel was overlooked, with all the kids the pools are way too small!!!!
With that said back to the superatives, the shows at night are Disney Magic they start with Welcome Aboard Variety show, Hercules the Muscial, Morty the Magnifecent, A Movie(first run we saw The Rookie), Who Wants to Be a Mousekateer, Disney Dreams and the Farewell Variety Show. Every night depending on which dinner you have first dinner 6pm you have a show at 8:30pm , second dinner you have show at 6:30pm dinner at 8:30pm.
We had first dinner again and would have time to catch the family variety show in Rockin D bar before the main show at 8:30pm. These shows feature the preformers in the main show in a more intimate atmosphere, and they are very enjoyable, my DS11 and I recomended them.
Most nights there is entertainment that goes on until 2 am, there is always something for just adults and there are family activites, each night you receive your daily Navigator, which details all the activites for the following day, it is well laid out and helps you decide what you would like to do the next day. Good hint is to carry it with you so you can glance at it to find out what is going on where and when you want to do something.
Excursions and alot more
Tuesday: St Marten. This island is not much to look at, it is very poor, dirty and it leaves you feeling kind of dirty when you leave. The beaches are nice, and shopping is good if you know what you are looking for and stay to the reccomended shops. Fake and knockoffs are all over the place.
We took a cab right off the ship at 9:00am and went right over to Orient beach. The cost was $5 per person, and we didn't wait at all. Got to the beach and we were dropped off at the same beach club that the Magic excursions go to, and got lounge chairs with nice pads for $5 each for the day. There are facilities there and a restaurant. At lunch we choose to have just burgers, cost about $8 and sodas were high at $3. But for $26, we were way ahead of the excursion price of $45 and we went there when we wanted to and left went we wanted to leave also. My DS11 had grown his hair longer than normal because he wanted it braided and after bargining with the women he got his whole head done for $40. If you enjoy, like I do, this process than St Marten is fun, everything is up for negotiation. We went down the beach and after bargining with three different dealers we got a Waverunner for an hour for $60. There wasn't much sun and it was kind of rough but the kids had a blast. I took them one at a time and came back in a switched them off, so they each got an equal turn.
We had arranged for the cab driver to pick us up there at 3pm, if we hadn't there is a cab stand further down the beach it is standard $5 per person one way to and from the docks. Instead of going right back to the ship, we had the cab driver go to Marigot, and nice shopping town on the French side. I was in search of some Cohiba Cuban cigars. I found just what i was looking for, a word of caution, is to stick to the recomended places, I also did purchase later a cigar on the Dutch side that was fake. Mairgot is a nice town they are building docks there for yachts and I would have liked to walk around some more. We headed back to the Phillipsburg on the Dutch side, the boys wanted fake watches and we got some Rolexes and some fake Oakley sunglasses they were happy.
All in all St Marteen is a very depressed island, the cab driver told me that tourism has been down 80% since 9/11 and they are now in their slow season and they don't no what they will do. The island itself is not very picturesque, it is kind of like a desert with lots of trash and decent beaches, and lots of shops. Talked to many on board the Magic and no one was impressed with this island.
Not to be missed on this night Tuesday is theTropicalafragilistic party on deck 9 at night it is a highlight!!!
St.Thomas/St johns: Wednesday we got to St Thomas and yes everyone on board must go to the Walt Theatre to present themsleves to customs. This is some paperpushers idea that it is a security thing, it is not. The inspector doesn't even glance at your birth certificate and you just kind of walk through and go out. I wish Disney could do something about this policy, they have taken the bugs out of debarkation at Cape Canaveral, why can't they do it here?? Anyway we had breakfast and went down and caught a cab to Red Hook, you can also get a ferry right at the docks over to St John. I suggest you do this get to St John you will not be disappointed, It is gorgeous!!!! The island is spectactular, we went to Cinamin Bay this time, last time we went to Trunk Bay. I wanted to see a different place, both places are run by the park service and have facilities and small restaurants. The ferry from Red Hook was only $6 adult, $2 kids roundtrip. The cabs were more expensive at $8 per person on St Thomas and $4.50 on St Johns. The ferry at the docks is a better way to go for price, but the ferry ride is alot shorter from Red Hook.
At Cinnamin Bay we rented Snorkeling equipment for $5 each and went in the warm water. I was in by myself and followed a turtle for about 15 minutes as he explored the coral, it was amazing to watch him move about. There were fish and coral creatures, it was nice there at Cinnamin but Trunk had more to see I thought both are real nice Trunk tends to be more crowded. We had lunch there again about $7 for a burger or chicken sandwich. The boys enjoyed the snorkeling and they saw the wild donkeys, yes wild donkeys live on St John, they came right on the beach. They also saw a mongoose and caught numerous lizards. Our cab driver again had arranged with us and the other family we shared the cab with to be back at 2pm. We meet him and went to the mall at the docks called Mongoose Mall. It is a nice place and very picturesque, it is in amongst the tree and has nice cool places to sit like in a bistro. The boys both got stuffed animal puppets. I got a Ben and Jerrry's Cherry Garcia bar, we were all happy. The ferry back to St Thomas and then the cab ride to the docks only aloowed us enough time to pock around the Havensight Mall which is located right at the docks. The ship leaves at 5pm you must be on by 4:30pm and THEY WILL LEAVE WITHOUT YOU. I talked to someone on board and they knew of someone who got left behind.
All in all ST Johns to me is not to be missed it is so beautiful!!!!!!
CASTAWAY CAY: pronounced "key" Friday : It is Disney's private island, although I heard from a crew memember that Disney rents it, does not own the island. It is great the island is well equiped with plenty beach chairs umbrellas. They serve you lunch right there on the island, which is inclunded. We had a nice BBQ at Cookies. There are plenty of drink stations and wait staff around to get you drinks. The teens have their own private place and they like to hang together they stay off to themselves almost all week. The adults have there own side too that is accesible with tram. I stayed with the boys on the family beach and we played in the water, there is a jungle gym in the water that kids can climb rope over the water, the boys enjoyed this alot. Snorkeling here is good for beginners because the water is almost like a salt water lake. Because of the way the lagoon is laid out there is a protective barrier of rock all around it so waves are minimal. It is very smooth, and Disney has made a manmade coral reef that features lots of fish, the 20,000 leagues sub and Mickey. Snorkeling equipment is $25 Disney is not cheap here, and if you bring your own equipment you must go and get a vest that they provide for free to snorkel. Yoiu can also rent mats and tubs to float on, go on banana boat ride, paralsail, or water trike all at a price. To relax on your last day is also nice just take a chair put at water edge and sit and enjoy, wait stafff will be by and take your drink orders. It is a great island all will enjoy it, too bad you don't come here twice and skip St Marten. From what I heard from Crew it gets so buggy there at night the ship will never port there overnight.
Be back with more later, any questions I would be glad to answer for anyone .
