Beard Family Trips & Vacations

Disney Magic Cruise to Grand Cayman, Cayman Islands and Cozumel, Mexico

February 9-15, 2013

 

The trip was for Wanda and Matt to go on a Disney cruise out of Galveston on the Disney Magic for 6 nights.

 

Itinerary of the trip:

6-Night Western Caribbean Itinerary on Disney Magic

Day    Port                                                        Guest Ashore        Guest Onboard

1        Galveston, Texas                                     -                            3:30 PM

2        Day At Sea                                             -                            -  

3        Day At Sea                                             -                            -

4        Grand Cayman, Cayman Islands              7:30 AM               3:30 PM

5        Cozumel, Mexico                                    9:15 AM               3:45 PM

6        Day At Sea                                             -                            -

7        Galveston, Texas                                     8:30 AM

 

Personal Navigators for the Disney Magic Cruise

A personal navigator is a program of events for each day of the cruise.  The first was provided upon check-in at the cruise terminal and covered the remainder of the day.  The others were provided the night before either in the stateroom or on the paper holder in the hallway beside the stateroom door.  Due to some people being interested in these navigators, I am listing them all here at this time:

 

Pre-Cruise:

Wanda and I had discussed about going on a Disney Cruise when we saw the rate of $1,100 for the two of us for an guaranteed inside standard room on the Disney Magic leaving in February out of Galveston.  This would be our second cruise; the first being in January 2012 on the Carnival Triumph (yes, the one that just had the fire in the engine room in the Gulf of Mexico) to visit Cozumel, Mexico.

I got on the Disney Cruise Line website at http://disneycruise.disney.go.com/, researched the cruises, and we selected the 6-night cruise departing on Saturday, February 9th, and returning on Friday, February 15th.  I made the reservation using my Chase Disney Visa to get the Disney Reward points and to get an extra $50 of onboard credit (I thought).  It turned out that you had to call to request this credit after making your reservation online, but I didn't see this until after we got back from the cruise and I looked into why we didn't get the credit.  We did get a $25 onboard credit for going through the website.  This reservation meant that we had a guaranteed room, but it wouldn't be assigned until 2 weeks before the cruise.  Wanda had me checking for weeks just in case they assigned it early; but they didn't.

After a couple of weeks, we received a package from the Disney Cruise Line with various information in it along with luggage tags to put on our bags.

Disney Cruise Line Booklet

Disney Magic Luggage Tags   Disney Magic Luggage Tags

 

For the first time in many years, we ended up having to board our dogs.  This required visiting several kennels in the area and picking one out.  We also had to take the dogs to our vetinarian to make sure they had all the shots needed to stay in the kennel selected.  Mail delivery was scheduled online to be halted on February 9th and to be restarted on the 16th.  Credit card companies were informed of our plans to use the cards in Grand Cayman and Mexico as part of the cruise.  A parking location had to be selected for leaving the car near the port.  After looking at various reviews for Galveston parking, I ended up selecting Lighthouse Cruise Parking at http://www.lighthouseparking.org/ and prepaid it online.  This location offers covered parking with shuttle service to the cruise terminal.

I also printed a pre-arrival guide from the Disney Cruise Line site several times during our wait for the day to cruise.  The last one was on February 8th:

Pre-Arrival Guide from the Disney Cruise Line

 

 

Day 1 - Saturday, February 9, 2013 - Galveston, Texas

Wanda and I woke up early after having stayed up late the night before finalizing our packing.  We got ready and ate some breakfast since we figured it may be a long checkin process after our experiences with Carnavel on our first cruise.  Wanda wanted to wear matching Disney shirts for today and we just happen to have quite a few to choose from.

We loaded the luggage in the back of the SUV and then put the dogs in the middle row to drop off at the kennels on the way to Galveston.  I had told them we would be dropping off between 9:30 AM and 10 AM.  We both grab the leashes for the dogs and of course the smaller one gets loose from the leash somehow.  I suddenly had thoughts of us spending the next 30 minutes chasing him down the road.  Luckily, he ran around the yard once and then came to me as I called him.  Leash is back in place and we take them inside the office area.  We had arrived at the kennels right at 10 AM and it took about 10 minutes to finalize the paperwork and say goodbye to the dogs.  As we were doing this, another person came in to pick up his dogs.  He had been on the Crown Princess cruise ship until this morning.

We took our 30 minute trip to the Galveston port area without any further incidents and found the Lighthouse parking.  One of the workers stopped us at the gate, checked our reservation, then told us to pull into an empty slot right at the front.  As we got out of the SUV, one of their shuttle buses pulled up behind us and the driver and another worker loaded our luggage very quickly.  We were the only people on the shuttle as we headed to the terminal.  There are two cruise terminal buildings at the port and the Crown Princess was located at the first one as we entered into the port area.  The driver stopped and picked up a couple waiting at the stop for that building and then he continued to the other stop where the Disney Magic waited and offloaded us with our luggage.  I left him a nice tip.

Lighthouse Cruise Parking

We gave a porter the two bags that we planned for them to take on board for us plus a couple of dollars for a tip.  We carried a couple of backpacks with our electronics, cameras, medicine and various other things.  As we approached the entrace to the terminal building, I stopped to ask one of the Disney greeters if we could checkin early.  It was only 11 AM and we weren't scheduled until 11:30.  She said to go ahead and checkin since there wasn't a crowd.  After our passports and paperwork was checked, I was surprised that we could walk almost immediately to the security lines.  With Carnival the previous year, we ended up waiting almost 45 minutes in line before reaching the security personnel.

We went through the security checkpoint without anyone asking any questions or having to look at anything.  On the otherside, we noticed a location where a Disney representative was taking pictures for families with Mickey Mouse, so we went to have ours done.  We only had to wait for a mother and daughter to finish before it was our turn.

Captain Mickey at the Galveston Port Cruise Terminal 

Wanda and Matt with Captain Mickey Mouse at the Port Terminal in Galveston, Texas before checking in for the cruise.

 

After the picture, we got in the general checkin line since this was our first time on a Disney cruise.  After the first time, you become a Castaway Member and there are other lines you can go through where they give you extra gifts.  Maybe next time.  The line moved very quickly and we were being checked in within 10 minutes.  We had to file out a health statement, get out picture taken for security purposes, and then they gave us the following:

 

Key To The World Card  Key To The World card

Disney Magic Boarding Paper      Boarding number

 

Key To The World Card - this card is basically you ID card and charge card to your room throughout your cruise.  You have to use it to go on and off the ship and the guards at the various ports are supposed to check it, with a photo ID, before letting you back in the port area.  It also provides a lot of other information:

Boarding Card - contains the number of the group that you will board with ("8"), your stateroom number ("5005"), and the time that the staterooms will be ready for you ("1:30 PM")

We only had to show the boarding card to one of the Disney personnel in the terminal after our group number was called and we got in line to board. 

They started boarding the "family of the day" at around noon and group #1 soon followed.  We ended up being called about 12:20 PM.  We showed the boarding card and followed the line to a set of people who scanned our cards to show we boarded and then went up an escalator to walk across the gangway into the ship.

Disney Magic   Disney Magic

Disney Magic   Disney Magic

Disney Magic

And now we actually boarded the ship:

Disney Magic Entrance 

They asked our family name as we entered and then announced us in the atrium on deck 3.  Cast members were present to clap, see if we needed assistance, and make sure we knew that we couldn't go to the room yet, but had several options for eating lunch or waiting on deck. 

Lumiere's Entrance on deck 3

 

We decided to eat at the buffet that they were serving in Parrot Cay, so walked toward the aft on deck 3.  We were greeted at the door and shown to a table for four, but seated by ourselves.

Parrot Cay   Parrot Cay

Parrot Cay   Parrot Cay

 

After lunch, we still had about 30 minutes before being allowed to the staterooms, so we went up the aft elevators to deck 9 and walked around it getting familiar with the features of the ship.   Shown is Pinocchio's Pizzeria where you can get pizza throughout the day.

Disney Magic on Day 1 

 

Got to the Quiet Cove Adult Pool and Signals Bar area toward the forward of Deck 9:

 Disney Magic on Day 1   Disney Magic on Day 1

Disney Magic on Day 1

 

We then went up to deck 10 in the forward section where the spa and salon is locatd.  Before going in, I took a couple of pictures of the port area.  The Crown Princess is docked ahead of us.

Disney Magic on Day 1   Disney Magic on Day 1  

Crown Princess

 

We stopped by the spa desk and they offered to give us a tour.  Since we really weren't interested, we didn't take the tour.  However, I needed a haircut, not having a chance to get one before leaving, so I made an appointment to come back at 4:30 PM.  They did provide us a double-sided paper with the services they offered - Vista Spa.

It was finally 1:30 PM and we were allowed to the rooms.

 Disney Magic Stateroom 5005   Disney Magic Stateroom 5005

Disney Magic Stateroom 5005   Disney Magic Stateroom 5005

Disney Magic Stateroom 5005   Disney Magic Stateroom 5005

Disney Magic Stateroom 5005   Disney Magic Stateroom 5005   Disney Magic Stateroom 5005

Disney Magic Stateroom 5005   Disney Magic Stateroom 5005

Disney Magic Stateroom 5005   Disney Magic Stateroom 5005

Disney Magic Stateroom 5005  Disney Magic Stateroom 5005

Disney Magic Stateroom 5005   Disney Magic Stateroom 5005  

Disney Magic Stateroom 5005  

Disney Magic Stateroom 5005   Disney Magic Stateroom 5005  

Disney Magic Stateroom 5005    Disney Magic Stateroom 5005

Disney Magic Stateroom 5005   Disney Magic Stateroom 5005  

Disney Magic Stateroom 5005   Disney Magic Stateroom 5005

Disney Magic Stateroom 5005   Disney Magic Stateroom 5005

 

When we got to the room, we had heard the television from out in the corridot.  Not sure why they left it on so loud.  On top of the desk, we found the following items:

Disney Magic Stateroom 5005   A Complete Guide To Your Disney Cruise

 

  Disney Cruise Line's Port Adventures Envelope

Port Adventures Ticket - Cozumel   Disney Cruise Line's Port Adventure Ticket to Cozumel tour

 

Disney Magic Dining Tickets    Dining tickets

Dining Tickets - this contains similar information as the Key To The World Card concerning the dining room assignments and the seating.  It spells it out a little better and lists what Character Breakfast you are assigned to:

We only showed the dining tickets the first night at the door to the dining room to get help in finding the tabel we were assigned to.  For the next two nights, we just told them what table number it was and they showed us.  The last three nights, we were able to walk to our table without assistance. 

Inside the desk drawer, we fould these items:

After taking the pictures of the room, and finding the items in it, we heard a knock on the door and I went to open it.  No one was there, but our first piece of luggage was.  The second piece showed up about 15 minutes later.  We unpacked the bags, hung up clothes, and sat to watch television for a while. 

At 2:15 PM, we were up on deck 10 again outside the spa entrance listening to Kelly from Finland as she gave a "Walking Ship Tour".  She basically walked us by the major locations of the Disney Magic getting us familiar with the layout of the ship.  This lasted about an hour then we headed back to the stateroom.

About 3:45 PM, the emergency drill was held so we left the room to go to the "H" assembly area on deck 4 which was one deck down.  We were directed toward the forward part of the corridor, through a door marked for crew members only, down some stairs, and out another door onto the outside deck area on deck 4.  Our asembly area was just a short distance down the  deck, so we went there and got in line as they directed us to.  They were lining people in a row for each cabin, but since we were only two, they put a family of three in the same line with us.

After everyone had checked in, a lot more efficiently and quicker than had happened on the Carnival Triumph the previous year, instead of having each group try to give the briefing as had happened on the Triumph, they had one person over the loud speakers and the crew members with each group demonstrated how to do things.  The whole drill was over in about 20 minutes and we were released to go.

Wanda and I explored the ship some more, and around 4:25 PM, I headed to the salon for my haircut.  When I checked in, the receptionist said to take a seat and someone would be with me.  Before I could sit down, I saw the door to the salon open and a young lady, Roleani, greeted me and invited me inside.  The haircut was relaxing and was a lot more than I normally spend on one ($32).  I enjoyed it though and would do it again.  She was from South Africa and had been working on the ship for about two years.  During our conversation, I asked her when the ship would leave the dock, since I was looking out the window at the terminal from where I was sitting.  She said it was scheduled to leave around 5 PM.  She provided a shampoo with conditioner (which I needed since we had been running around a lot that day), a scalp massage, and a good haircut.  I left her with a good tip when she checked me back out at the receptionist area.  She provided me with a paper for a special called Shave Of All Shaves for $75, that was normally offered at $95, that would normally include the haircut for free while provided a facial, a double close shave, and a head and hand massage.  It was suppossed to only be for embarkation and port days, but she said I could come back anytime to get it.

I returned to the stateroom and met back up with Wanda.  I believe we first met our stateroom host at this time; his name was Tabah Santoso.  Tabah always called us by name each time he saw us and would make sure to say hello to us.  Throughout the whole cruise, he made sure that his work on our stateroom was completed while we were gone.  Not sure if he went and did it as soon as we left or not, but he was good.

About 6 PM, we headed for the Walt Disney Theater, which was right below us on deck 4, to see the show All Aboard: Let The Magic Begin, which started at 6:15 PM.  It was an interesting show welcoming us onboard and giving us a glimpse of the entertainment to come on the cruise.  Following the show, we wandered around some more, stopped by guest services to get a map of the ship and another copy of the personal navigator, and then headed back to the room to get ready for our 8:15 seating at Parrot Cay.  We made it to Parrot Cay on deck 3 at the aft end of the ship and was shown to our table where we met two other couples around our age that we would share the dinner meals with for the rest of the cruise.  One couple was a doctor and his wife from Arlington, Texas and the other was a guy, who worked in IT for a contractor with the Border Patrol in Ohio, and his wife.  It was interesting getting to know them and sharing stories with them over the next week.  The server personnel for our table was:

One of the things I should point out now was that as you entered each eating area, a crew member was there handing out sanitizing towels to clean you hands before going into the restaurants. 

After supper, we went up the aft elevators to deck 5 and headed forward toward our stateroom.  This meant that we passed the Buena Vista Theater where they show movies.  They happened to have Frankenweenie starting up, and since we had not seen it before, we stopped and found our seats.  We did not realize that it was in 3D until the movie started, so had to go and grab a couple of pairs of the glasses to watch it.  After the movie, we were both getting tired, so headed back to the room where we found our bed turned down with the next day's Personal Navigator, our first towal animal (cobra), and a couple of chocolates waiting for us.

Cobra   Chocolates

 

Click here for Day 1 - Saturday, February 9, 2013 - Galveston, Texas

Click here for Day 2 - Sunday, February 10, 2013 - Day At Sea

Click here for Day 3 - Monday, February 11, 2013 - Day At Sea

Click here for Day 4 - Tuesday, February 12, 2013 - Grand Cayman, Cayman Islands

Click here for Day 5 - Wednesday, February 13, 2013 - Cozumel, Mexico

Click here for Day 6 - Thursday, February 14, 2013 - Day At Sea (Valentines Day)

Click here for Day 7 - Friday, February 14, 2013 - Galveston, Texas 

 

Contact Information

 
Matthew Beard

10318 Sagegate Dr., Houston, TX 77089

http://www.matthewbeard.com

Email addresses (select one):

Copyright notice: Information contain on this site is the property of the owner and must not be used without written permission.  Please utilize the above contact information for information.

This site was last updated 11/16/13