IrishCowboy
DIS Veteran<br><a href="http://www.disboards.com/s
- Joined
- Feb 16, 2001
January 19, 2002 Magical Cruise! - Part 2
Our cast, DW Vicki (35), DD Autumn (11), DS Billy (5) and myself, Bill (40). This was our second cruise, both on the Disney Magic. Our first cruise was back in May 2001.
Sunday, January 20
We had pre-ordered our room service breakfast on Saturday night. Its a very simple procedure, you fill out a card with your requests and hang it outside your cabin on the door knob with the time that you want your breakfast delivered. Nothing fancy, juice, milk, coffe, danish, donuts, pastries and cereals are available. We received a phone call from room service at 7:25am informing us that our breakfast was on the way. It arrived in a few minutes and Vicki and I had breakfast out on the veranda as the children slept. Its very relaxing to just sit out there, read a book/magazine and have a light breakfast.
We had lunch that afternoon in Lumiere's. I always try to make lunch in Lumiere's, the food is always very good and I prefer to order off the menu vs going thru a buffet line. Mariana from Brazil was our server and she was great. I had her tell Autumn about her homeland and now Autumn knows a few facts about Brazil and Portuguese. She seems to enjoy learning things this way. I had the steak sandwich for lunch, well, actually I had two of them, they are so good! Vicki and Autumn had the penne pasta and both agreed that is was good. For dessert, I had the pecan pie, which was fabulous.
After lunch, Vicki and the children headed off to the pools while I tried to find a TV showing the NFL playoff games (GO RAMS!!).
Later in the afternoon, we prepared for the first formal of the week, Master Chef Series and the Captain's Welcome Aboard Cocktail Reception. You can enjoy a FREE cocktail as the formal evening begins in the Atrium decks 3 & 4. You also have the opportunity to meet the Captain, Hans Mateboer in Preludes. The cocktails are Manhattans and Mai-Tais. They also have Shirley Temples. Even if you don't want the alcoholic drinks, stop by and grab a Shirley Temple. Its a nice atmosphere and one of the few times that you get something for free during the trip. We also had some formal portraits taken in the Atrium lobby. There is no obligation to purchase the portraits, so take advantage of this opportunity. You may end up liking them and purchasing them in Shutters.
Dinner was in Lumiere's. I estimate that less than 5% of the men had on tuxes, about 60-70% with suits or sport jackets, and the rest in shirt and tie. I think you should wear whatever you want. Its your choice. I always wear a suit or jacket, but one day I'd like to get tuxes for my son and myself. I had the shrimp and lobster spring rolls appetizer (very good). Again, I ordered 2 entrees, grilled pork tenderloin(Sacheet's recommendation, excellent) and the mahi mahi (my choice, average). My son Billy doesn't enjoy dressing up (what 5 year old boy does?). He didn't eat anything for dinner and I thought that he was just brooding over having to dress up. We later discovered that this was the beginning of a 24 hour sickness/fever/cold.
After dinner, Autumn checked into the Oceaneer's lab. We tried to get Billy to go to the Oceaneer's club but he said he was tired. We had thought about going to see Hercules The Muse-ical but decided to stay in and let Billy get some rest. We had seen the show on our previous show and thought that it was cute. Nothing fancy, but entertaining for the kids.
After watching a movie, I went to pick up Autumn at the Oceaneer's lab and we headed over to the Midnight Dessert Buffet in Lumiere's (11:30pm-12:30am). If you decide to go, bring your camera. There are some beautiful ice sculptures and castles made from chocolate. You can dine in Lumiere's or fix a plate to take back to your cabin. Autumn and I opted for the latter. The desserts are ok, some better than others. I recommend the Black Forest cake.
Don't forget to turn your clocks forward tonight!
Monday, January 21
Breakfast was room service again on the veranda. I know that there are other options for breakfast, but I like to use the veranda as much as possible and besides, it is sooooooooo relaxing! We had a Surial Bath scheduled for 9:45am. Billy said he was feeling good and wanted to go the the Oceaneer's club. They had some relay races scheduled for that morning and he loves to run.
The Surial Bath is something that every couple should experience at least once. Let's face it, where else can two (or three according to the spa literature??) rub mud all over each other and then sit in a steam room. You have total privacy behind a locked door and can have as much fun as you want. The spa attendent will knock on the door and warn you when you have 10 minutes left. When you rinse the mud off, the rocking of the ship causes the mud to go everywhere, at least that's my story and I'm sticking with it. The Surial Bath is $68 we had the first appointment of the day and left quite a mess for the attendent to clean up so I tipped her $20. She didn't seem to mind the mess too much.
After the Surial Bath, we picked up the children from their clubs and started to head to lunch. Billy said he was tired and wanted to return to the cabin. Autumn and I headed off to Lumiere's for lunch. Autumn had the hamburger and said it was great. I had the hummus dip (very good) and reuben sandwich (good). We both had the key lime pie for dessert (poor). While we were eating lunch, our server from our first cruise, Emmanuel Flores, recognized us and came running over. We had exchanged addresses and a few postcards and Christmas cards with him. I was surprised that he recognized us and he chastised me for not telling him that we were coming and requesting him as our server. I promised him that I would request him for our western cruise in May. Emmanuel is a great guy! He stood and chatted with us for about 20 minutes. He asked about Vicki and Billy. I was impressed that he remembered all of our names!
Vicki and Autumn headed off to bingo and Billy and I grabbed a nap.
Later that afternoon, Billy was running a fever and we decided to take him to the ship's health center (9:30am-11:00am and 4:30pm-7:00pm) located on deck 1 forward. There were 6-7 other families there with small children in the waiting room, all appeared to have similiar symptoms. The medical staff was very friendly and seemed to know what they were doing. The ship's doctor informed us that there were quite a few sick children on board, all with the same cold/virus. He gave us some antibiotics and said we should see some impovement within the next few hours. We were charged $75 for the visit and $18 for the medicines. I can file this thru my Blue Cross plan at home and should get reimbursed for the office visit. We ended up missing the returning cruisers/Castaway Club reception in Rockin' Bar D. We hope to catch it on our next cruise.
Dinner was in Animator's Palate. Billy was still sleeping, so Vicki decided to stay with him and Autumn and I set off for dinner. When we arrived at AP, our server Sacheet asked where the rest of the family was. I informed him that Vicki and Billy were staying in the cabin because Billy was sick. Sacheet then asked me what Vicki would like for dinner. He insisted on taking dinner (appetizers and dessert too!) to her in our cabin! What a great guy, I thought that this was a great example of Sacheet going out of his way to help us out. I had the pan-fried veal chop (very good) and lobster and shrimp wrapper (very good). The highlight of the meal was the strwberry shortcake for dessert....everyone at the table agreed that it was great and that I had to take some to Vicki.
We decided to skip "Morty the Magnificent'. Autumn went to the Oceaneer's club for a few hours after dinner. Later, she and I went to see "Tomb Raider" in the Buena Vista Theatre and ordered some late night room service (ham and cheese is pretty good, but the turkey is bad).
Off to bed, St Maarten and the Golden Eagle catamaran (hopefully!!) in the morning.
Our cast, DW Vicki (35), DD Autumn (11), DS Billy (5) and myself, Bill (40). This was our second cruise, both on the Disney Magic. Our first cruise was back in May 2001.
Sunday, January 20
We had pre-ordered our room service breakfast on Saturday night. Its a very simple procedure, you fill out a card with your requests and hang it outside your cabin on the door knob with the time that you want your breakfast delivered. Nothing fancy, juice, milk, coffe, danish, donuts, pastries and cereals are available. We received a phone call from room service at 7:25am informing us that our breakfast was on the way. It arrived in a few minutes and Vicki and I had breakfast out on the veranda as the children slept. Its very relaxing to just sit out there, read a book/magazine and have a light breakfast.
We had lunch that afternoon in Lumiere's. I always try to make lunch in Lumiere's, the food is always very good and I prefer to order off the menu vs going thru a buffet line. Mariana from Brazil was our server and she was great. I had her tell Autumn about her homeland and now Autumn knows a few facts about Brazil and Portuguese. She seems to enjoy learning things this way. I had the steak sandwich for lunch, well, actually I had two of them, they are so good! Vicki and Autumn had the penne pasta and both agreed that is was good. For dessert, I had the pecan pie, which was fabulous.
After lunch, Vicki and the children headed off to the pools while I tried to find a TV showing the NFL playoff games (GO RAMS!!).
Later in the afternoon, we prepared for the first formal of the week, Master Chef Series and the Captain's Welcome Aboard Cocktail Reception. You can enjoy a FREE cocktail as the formal evening begins in the Atrium decks 3 & 4. You also have the opportunity to meet the Captain, Hans Mateboer in Preludes. The cocktails are Manhattans and Mai-Tais. They also have Shirley Temples. Even if you don't want the alcoholic drinks, stop by and grab a Shirley Temple. Its a nice atmosphere and one of the few times that you get something for free during the trip. We also had some formal portraits taken in the Atrium lobby. There is no obligation to purchase the portraits, so take advantage of this opportunity. You may end up liking them and purchasing them in Shutters.
Dinner was in Lumiere's. I estimate that less than 5% of the men had on tuxes, about 60-70% with suits or sport jackets, and the rest in shirt and tie. I think you should wear whatever you want. Its your choice. I always wear a suit or jacket, but one day I'd like to get tuxes for my son and myself. I had the shrimp and lobster spring rolls appetizer (very good). Again, I ordered 2 entrees, grilled pork tenderloin(Sacheet's recommendation, excellent) and the mahi mahi (my choice, average). My son Billy doesn't enjoy dressing up (what 5 year old boy does?). He didn't eat anything for dinner and I thought that he was just brooding over having to dress up. We later discovered that this was the beginning of a 24 hour sickness/fever/cold.
After dinner, Autumn checked into the Oceaneer's lab. We tried to get Billy to go to the Oceaneer's club but he said he was tired. We had thought about going to see Hercules The Muse-ical but decided to stay in and let Billy get some rest. We had seen the show on our previous show and thought that it was cute. Nothing fancy, but entertaining for the kids.
After watching a movie, I went to pick up Autumn at the Oceaneer's lab and we headed over to the Midnight Dessert Buffet in Lumiere's (11:30pm-12:30am). If you decide to go, bring your camera. There are some beautiful ice sculptures and castles made from chocolate. You can dine in Lumiere's or fix a plate to take back to your cabin. Autumn and I opted for the latter. The desserts are ok, some better than others. I recommend the Black Forest cake.
Don't forget to turn your clocks forward tonight!
Monday, January 21
Breakfast was room service again on the veranda. I know that there are other options for breakfast, but I like to use the veranda as much as possible and besides, it is sooooooooo relaxing! We had a Surial Bath scheduled for 9:45am. Billy said he was feeling good and wanted to go the the Oceaneer's club. They had some relay races scheduled for that morning and he loves to run.
The Surial Bath is something that every couple should experience at least once. Let's face it, where else can two (or three according to the spa literature??) rub mud all over each other and then sit in a steam room. You have total privacy behind a locked door and can have as much fun as you want. The spa attendent will knock on the door and warn you when you have 10 minutes left. When you rinse the mud off, the rocking of the ship causes the mud to go everywhere, at least that's my story and I'm sticking with it. The Surial Bath is $68 we had the first appointment of the day and left quite a mess for the attendent to clean up so I tipped her $20. She didn't seem to mind the mess too much.
After the Surial Bath, we picked up the children from their clubs and started to head to lunch. Billy said he was tired and wanted to return to the cabin. Autumn and I headed off to Lumiere's for lunch. Autumn had the hamburger and said it was great. I had the hummus dip (very good) and reuben sandwich (good). We both had the key lime pie for dessert (poor). While we were eating lunch, our server from our first cruise, Emmanuel Flores, recognized us and came running over. We had exchanged addresses and a few postcards and Christmas cards with him. I was surprised that he recognized us and he chastised me for not telling him that we were coming and requesting him as our server. I promised him that I would request him for our western cruise in May. Emmanuel is a great guy! He stood and chatted with us for about 20 minutes. He asked about Vicki and Billy. I was impressed that he remembered all of our names!
Vicki and Autumn headed off to bingo and Billy and I grabbed a nap.
Later that afternoon, Billy was running a fever and we decided to take him to the ship's health center (9:30am-11:00am and 4:30pm-7:00pm) located on deck 1 forward. There were 6-7 other families there with small children in the waiting room, all appeared to have similiar symptoms. The medical staff was very friendly and seemed to know what they were doing. The ship's doctor informed us that there were quite a few sick children on board, all with the same cold/virus. He gave us some antibiotics and said we should see some impovement within the next few hours. We were charged $75 for the visit and $18 for the medicines. I can file this thru my Blue Cross plan at home and should get reimbursed for the office visit. We ended up missing the returning cruisers/Castaway Club reception in Rockin' Bar D. We hope to catch it on our next cruise.
Dinner was in Animator's Palate. Billy was still sleeping, so Vicki decided to stay with him and Autumn and I set off for dinner. When we arrived at AP, our server Sacheet asked where the rest of the family was. I informed him that Vicki and Billy were staying in the cabin because Billy was sick. Sacheet then asked me what Vicki would like for dinner. He insisted on taking dinner (appetizers and dessert too!) to her in our cabin! What a great guy, I thought that this was a great example of Sacheet going out of his way to help us out. I had the pan-fried veal chop (very good) and lobster and shrimp wrapper (very good). The highlight of the meal was the strwberry shortcake for dessert....everyone at the table agreed that it was great and that I had to take some to Vicki.
We decided to skip "Morty the Magnificent'. Autumn went to the Oceaneer's club for a few hours after dinner. Later, she and I went to see "Tomb Raider" in the Buena Vista Theatre and ordered some late night room service (ham and cheese is pretty good, but the turkey is bad).
Off to bed, St Maarten and the Golden Eagle catamaran (hopefully!!) in the morning.
