Keys to the Magic Blog

Debarkation day

Up early for an 8AM breakfast in Parrot Cay. Final farewells to our server staff and other staff members before heading to the exit area…

One final swipe of our room key and it was all over…

Down to the baggage area to get our bags and we were off to the customs entry area. After a quick goodbye to Tom and Jean, we headed to the parking garage for the car.

It was a long ride home with lots of new memories until our next trip!

Day 7 Castaway Cay

Our final day…sad faces all around, but there was no time to waste. Breakfast was at Topsiders Buffet to have a peek at the island.

Off to the beach we go… Trams to Serenity Bay and then check-in for our cabana. Tom an Jean and Joann and I decided to split the cost to rent a cabana for the day. It was nice, and well worth it we thought. Water, soda, snacks, suntan lotion, sunblock, lounge chairs, hammock, floats (flat and tube shaped) shower, cold washcloths (in the fridge), safe, etc… Very relaxing!! It rained during the early hours so it gave us a place to get out of the rain.

The water was nice and we could walk out quite a long way into the ocean. The water is crystal clear and you can see down to the bottom while walking, even when it’s shoulder deep!

Lunch was BBQ as usual, and very good (as usual). Back to the cabana and another dip in the ocean before heading back to the ship at 4:15.

One last horn blast as we pull away from paradise…

Tonight’s show is the farewell show. Sad faces again.

Dinner is in Parrot Cay – yummy as usual.

Bags packed and out in the hall by 10PM.

Oh ya, were booked on the new Disney Fantasy ship for a 7-day Western Caribbean cruise 10/27/2012! Tom and Jean have also booked with us.

Day 6 Sea Day

Our last full day at sea. After breakfast, it was quite a lazy day… We relaxed in our rooms and joined up for our early afternoon martini tasting booking. The same bartender that did the first tasting (first sea day) was also heading up this one. Joann and Tom did the first one and remarked at how fun he was then so I looked forward to his funny and informative session. Five different kinds of martinis were available each one quite unique. From plain to sweet and chocolate in flavor, each one tasting better than the last.

After our tasting session, we headed into another room for 90 music trivia (name that tune and artist). We actually did pretty well and came in second.

Back to the room to relax a bit more (can’t get enough of that) and prepare for the 6:15 show. Tonight is Disney Dreams, the best show in my opinion. Everyone enjoyed it – we then headed out to the atrium for another photo session. They had a new scene that we liked – ship with a Mickey sunset.

Dinner was in Animators Pallet.

One last visit to Sessions for a cocktail and then off to bed to prepare for Castaway Cay in the morning.

Day 5 St. Thomas

Jean and Tom have two excursions planned for today so Joann and I decide to play it by ear and head downtown to do some shop walking and browsing. We stopped in a jewelry store to have a look around but didn’t buy anything. We walked a bit more and found a small sitting area to have a quick rest. We walked around a bit more before deciding to head back to the port area to look around the shops there.

A short taxi ride and we were back near the ship. The shops here are pretty much the same as what are found downtown with the exception of the Cruzan Rum tasting cart!! Last year we tasted several flavors but this year we only tried 3 or 4. We have a concierge cocktail party when we leave port so there is no need to drink too much at the cart.

We meet up with Jean and Tom after their excursions and show Tom the rum cart so he can try a few flavors. After this we head back to the boat to get ready for the concierge cocktail party. Drinks and snacks as well as the executive staff are here for the meet and greet. Danny, our concierge is here as well as Linda (the other concierge).

Back to our room for cards and to talk about the days activities.

After dinner we head back to our rooms for an early evening. The sun and heat from the day has drained us of energy.

Sea day tomorrow…

Day (4) St. Maarten

Breakfast was at Parrot Cay (buffet style), something new from our usual Topsiders Buffet trips.

Tom and Jean had excursions for the day so Joann and I headed out on our own to explore the shopping district. Once we got off the boat and to the welcome area we decided to get a water taxi pass that would take us to other areas of the harbor. We walked for a while passing bars, shops and hotels that seemed to repeat over and over again. We were only browsing and bought nothing so we headed back to the port area to have a guavaberry colada or two! We met up with Jean and Tom here and then headed back to the boat.

We got a quick bite for lunch and then went to the promenade lounge for a drink. We played pirate trivia and won some keychains.

Tonight is pirate night so we donned our pirate t-shirts and headed to Pirate Cay for dinner. After dinner we went up to the top deck for the pirate celebration and fireworks.

We called it an early night tonight so we could get an early start tomorrow. Joann and I are pretty sunburnt from walking around the shopping area today so I’m off to put some burn cream on!

St. Thomas tomorrow…

Day (3)

This is the second day at sea. Brunch was at Palo… For those who have dined at Palo for brunch, you understand the sheer volume of food that is presented to you. For those who haven’t dined in Palo while on board, it’s a bit of food overload. Wonderful flavors and choices…

In the afternoon, Tom, Joann and I decided to participate in a beer tasting event to learn about how beer is made and to try a few different types. After the beer tasting we met back up with Jean to relax in the room and play cards for a while.

Jean and Tom have never seen the “Villains Tonight” show so they headed down to see it before dinner. We watched it live on the TV in our room.

Dinner was at Animators Pallet which was also the show night. While on board you eat in each restaurant twice and in Animators Pallet they only do the lighting show once, “show night”.

Back to the room for an early night since we would be in St. Maarten tomorrow.

Day 2 (sea day)

Breakfast was at Topsiders Buffet. With the seas being so rough last night as well as during the early hours on Sunday, some people were still feeling under the weather. The breakfast room was full but you could see that the boat rocking was affecting people both young and old. Thankfully, none of us were affected…

After breakfast, we took a tour of the ship to show our friends the different decks. We tried to go outside and walk on the outer deck but it had started to rain again.

Later, Tom decided to go the wine and martini tasting sessions. Joann joined him for the martini session and really enjoyed all the different flavors.

Lunch was room service. Joann and I decided on the BLT sandwiches which were very good.

Tonight is formal night so we out on our dressy clothes and headed out to the show. The show tonight was Twice Charmed, a twist on the original Disney classic. After that it was time to get our pictures taken. This time we opted to have it taken in front of the Mickey statue near Lumiere’s. Our dinner tonight was just inside Lumiere’s so we didn’t have to go far.

Joann and I started with the scallops and mushrooms in white sauce. Jean had a salad and Tom had some type of soufflé and also tried the scallops. For the main course, Joann and Jean both had the vegetable lasagna, I had the Beef Wellington, and Tom had chicken. Desert was easy…Joann and I had the desert trio (sampler) of tiramisu, chilled chocolate mousse and lemon cheesecake. Jean decided to pass on dessert which promoted our server to bring out a bread pudding anyway, and Tom had just the tiramisu.

We went back to the rooms to change into something more comfortable and then made our way down to Rockin’ Bar D to see the comedy ventriloquism of Michael Harrison. She show was good and he had the audience rolling. Plenty of jokes were made in reference the rough seas the night before.

After that we headed over to Sessions for just a short time to sit and listen to the pianist Tim but we came in right at the end of his session so we decided to call it a night and head back to the rooms.

We had a lizard towel animal on out bed when we got back to the room.

As day one draws to an end, we’ve been treated to 15 foot seas…luckily we are laughing way to much at our clumsiness around the boat to really mind.

No photos today, it’s been raining since we arrived at the port and haven’t had time to take any photos around the ship.

Sea day tomorrow…

So here we are again…waiting for our next cruise. I’m not sure if we’re addicted or just enjoy it enough to keep on doing it year after year. We’re 75 days away from our next Disney cruise and can hardly wait.

There is just nothing quite like sitting on the veranda watching the sunset. We’re setting sail on October 8th 2011 for the Eastern Caribbean again.

Look for our trip report along the way.