Hiddenhearth
Earning My Ears
- Joined
- May 16, 2001
(I am writing this report as a thanks to all those who wrote reports before me. In all those months prior to the cruise, those reports and messages provided me with entertainment during the wait and insight to make our up-coming cruise more special.)
Anyhow...no, time is not fair. How is it that April 13th could not come sooner, in those fourteen months of wait, after reserving our room - and then to fly so quickly, from the 13th to the 20th??
Seven of us, in three cabins, were on the Magic on those days in April. How special it was for our two boys (15 and 11) to have the company of their three grandparents on this trip. One grandmother (86) was a real trooper: she had recently become a widow and had a hip replacement. She, in particular, was a changed person at the end of the week. She looked years younger by the 20th, adding color and smile to her face.
The other grandmother was the reluctant one to sign up for this trip. By the 21st, though, she was considering a Western Excursion for the future!
I won't bother you readers with goes on for the week. I suspect you all know more than your travel agents by now. As I became a veteran reader of these posts, I enjoyed the brief reflections, so these of my own I shall make.
We did:
Late seating.
Pinel Island snorkeling.
Trunk Bay snorkeling.
Snorkeling on Castaway.
Surial Bath.
Rain forest.
Personal trainer for couple.
A Navigator Series talk.
An Art of Entertaining talk.
All the Walt Disney shows.
All the Rockin Bar D shows at 7:45.
And something very special I wish I could tell you about...
So here we go, in no particular order:
Late seating. Having to accept late seating (for a table of 7) I focused on reading comments about how the late was better. Our 11 y/o ordinarily needs little sleep and can stay up late - but he - after a few days into the trip - he was fading as dinner began. During dinner, on two nights, he actually asked to be excused, in order to go to bed. A rare request.
All of us were ready for bed by the time we left dinner.
But having said that, we made the most of dinner (and I don't just mean by volume). We had two wonderful servers. They were one of the highlights of our trip. Maybe at the late seating, if servers have any energy left, they tend to linger more with their guests. Ours did.
Eddie, from Turkey, was our server, and Zaldy, from the Phillipines, was our assistant. They made us feel special. We waited for the times they seemed to have a bit of a break, and then we joined them into our conversations. Lots of good chat, lots of laughs.
Eddie should be getting a bonus from the entertainment budget on the ship. Every night, towards the end of the meal, he did a magic trick. One was a quarter-through-the-plate trick which he did over and over to the mesmerization of our 11 y/o. The rest were card tricks. By the end of the week, we would gather round the table and watch Eddie intently. One card trick went on and on, amazing us for about five minutes.
Zaldy's laugh was infectious. As Eddie did his tricks, he would stand nearby, watching. He likely saw these tricks every week, I suppose. But each time that Eddie finished, walking away proudly as we all shook our heads in disbelief, we'd ask Zaldy to explain how his partner did it - but he too would shake his head, saying, "I don't know, I don't know..."
I can't praise those two guys enough. We truly enjoyed their company.
As for the food itself, I am so glad I saw so many comments about how the food wasn't/isn't the greatest thing about DCL or Disney facilities anywhere, because I'll tell you what: I did not have high expectations for the quality of the food. And I don't care that much about food anyway. But guess what?! The food was great! Absolutely! From the appetizers to the fish to the steaks to the veggies to the desserts! - oh, I couldn't stop eating! We were all very pleased. (so if you like my philosophy at the start of this paragraph, don't read the paragraph. hah!)
Entertainment. Could anyone not watch Michael Harrison every night? Twice a night??
And the others, too. The Hills Brothers, Rich Purpura, Dan Riley. Each night they performed, we went back for a second showing.
After days into the week, I thought back to when it was last that I laughed as much as I had, after several nights of these shows. Sad but true, I can't remember when I've laughed so hard so much...
As for the shows in the WDTheatre, I pretty much agree with all the comments preceding mine. If you Disney employees are sneaking a peek at us guests' scuttlebutts - here's one more vote for Dreams - DON'T TOUCH IT! - I'm coming back for the Western Excursion in a year or two and I WANT TO SEE IT AGAIN. And now, quietly, now that I've seen it, I could skip Hercules. Maybe I should have seen the animated version - but could somebody please tell me what the heck was going on in that show...??! But read on potential DCL sailors: to give Disney credit where credit is due, I thought all shows - even Hercules - was done well. That is, the performers were admirable. Singing, dancing, the pace, the costumes, the lighting - all top quality. It's just that the book - Hercules, that is - was just so weak. My mind wandered during the show. I'm glad I saw even Herc, but next time (if it's still there)...Hey, you DCL employees (I know you're reading these) - how about another comedian or something instead of Herc?? Another hour of Michael Harrison!!
As for the deck parties, yeah!, good festive fun! Even when the electric guitars were blaring away, even my symphony-minded, 81 y/o father actually shouted to me, "I am actually enjoying this music!"
GTO for now. Anyone reading this? Want more?
Steve
Anyhow...no, time is not fair. How is it that April 13th could not come sooner, in those fourteen months of wait, after reserving our room - and then to fly so quickly, from the 13th to the 20th??
Seven of us, in three cabins, were on the Magic on those days in April. How special it was for our two boys (15 and 11) to have the company of their three grandparents on this trip. One grandmother (86) was a real trooper: she had recently become a widow and had a hip replacement. She, in particular, was a changed person at the end of the week. She looked years younger by the 20th, adding color and smile to her face.
The other grandmother was the reluctant one to sign up for this trip. By the 21st, though, she was considering a Western Excursion for the future!
I won't bother you readers with goes on for the week. I suspect you all know more than your travel agents by now. As I became a veteran reader of these posts, I enjoyed the brief reflections, so these of my own I shall make.
We did:
Late seating.
Pinel Island snorkeling.
Trunk Bay snorkeling.
Snorkeling on Castaway.
Surial Bath.
Rain forest.
Personal trainer for couple.
A Navigator Series talk.
An Art of Entertaining talk.
All the Walt Disney shows.
All the Rockin Bar D shows at 7:45.
And something very special I wish I could tell you about...
So here we go, in no particular order:
Late seating. Having to accept late seating (for a table of 7) I focused on reading comments about how the late was better. Our 11 y/o ordinarily needs little sleep and can stay up late - but he - after a few days into the trip - he was fading as dinner began. During dinner, on two nights, he actually asked to be excused, in order to go to bed. A rare request.
All of us were ready for bed by the time we left dinner.
But having said that, we made the most of dinner (and I don't just mean by volume). We had two wonderful servers. They were one of the highlights of our trip. Maybe at the late seating, if servers have any energy left, they tend to linger more with their guests. Ours did.
Eddie, from Turkey, was our server, and Zaldy, from the Phillipines, was our assistant. They made us feel special. We waited for the times they seemed to have a bit of a break, and then we joined them into our conversations. Lots of good chat, lots of laughs.
Eddie should be getting a bonus from the entertainment budget on the ship. Every night, towards the end of the meal, he did a magic trick. One was a quarter-through-the-plate trick which he did over and over to the mesmerization of our 11 y/o. The rest were card tricks. By the end of the week, we would gather round the table and watch Eddie intently. One card trick went on and on, amazing us for about five minutes.
Zaldy's laugh was infectious. As Eddie did his tricks, he would stand nearby, watching. He likely saw these tricks every week, I suppose. But each time that Eddie finished, walking away proudly as we all shook our heads in disbelief, we'd ask Zaldy to explain how his partner did it - but he too would shake his head, saying, "I don't know, I don't know..."
I can't praise those two guys enough. We truly enjoyed their company.
As for the food itself, I am so glad I saw so many comments about how the food wasn't/isn't the greatest thing about DCL or Disney facilities anywhere, because I'll tell you what: I did not have high expectations for the quality of the food. And I don't care that much about food anyway. But guess what?! The food was great! Absolutely! From the appetizers to the fish to the steaks to the veggies to the desserts! - oh, I couldn't stop eating! We were all very pleased. (so if you like my philosophy at the start of this paragraph, don't read the paragraph. hah!)
Entertainment. Could anyone not watch Michael Harrison every night? Twice a night??
And the others, too. The Hills Brothers, Rich Purpura, Dan Riley. Each night they performed, we went back for a second showing.
After days into the week, I thought back to when it was last that I laughed as much as I had, after several nights of these shows. Sad but true, I can't remember when I've laughed so hard so much...
As for the shows in the WDTheatre, I pretty much agree with all the comments preceding mine. If you Disney employees are sneaking a peek at us guests' scuttlebutts - here's one more vote for Dreams - DON'T TOUCH IT! - I'm coming back for the Western Excursion in a year or two and I WANT TO SEE IT AGAIN. And now, quietly, now that I've seen it, I could skip Hercules. Maybe I should have seen the animated version - but could somebody please tell me what the heck was going on in that show...??! But read on potential DCL sailors: to give Disney credit where credit is due, I thought all shows - even Hercules - was done well. That is, the performers were admirable. Singing, dancing, the pace, the costumes, the lighting - all top quality. It's just that the book - Hercules, that is - was just so weak. My mind wandered during the show. I'm glad I saw even Herc, but next time (if it's still there)...Hey, you DCL employees (I know you're reading these) - how about another comedian or something instead of Herc?? Another hour of Michael Harrison!!
As for the deck parties, yeah!, good festive fun! Even when the electric guitars were blaring away, even my symphony-minded, 81 y/o father actually shouted to me, "I am actually enjoying this music!"
GTO for now. Anyone reading this? Want more?
Steve
