Just When He Thought He Was Out, We Pulled Him Back In - 5 Night Magic 3/22/2019 (Complete 6/7)

[TestingH2O]

The he I'm referring to is DH. And he didn't really try to get out of Disney cruises, he just owns his own business and can't travel as often as we do.

But, this time he came along! So it was DD (6), DH, my parents, and me! We had connecting Navigators Verandah staterooms on deck 6 of the Magic.

I suspect this will be a relatively short TR because I didn't take nearly as many photos. It was just too much of a treat having DH with us too.

Chapters
Pre-Cruise
Travel Day
Embarkation
Sail Away and Animator's
Key West - Pie Tour Stop #1
Key West - Hemingway House
Key West - Pie Stop #2
Key West - Evening Activities
Nassau - Daytime
Nassau - Pirate Night
Castaway Cay - Morning
Castaway Cay - Island Time
Castaway Cay - Evening
Day at Sea - A Perfect Day
See Ya Real Soon Show
Debarkation
Overall Reflections

 

[TestingH2O]

Pre-Cruise

DH doesn't fly. This is one of the limitations when it comes to his travel. But, this year he was eager for a long vacation and then one of his best friends, who lives in Florida, decided to get married! It all worked out and the plan was set. DH left the Saturday before we were set to sail.

DD and I both have a two week spring break, so the few days he was gone before we cruised, we were free to do things like take the dog to the vet and get pedicures.





I also had a planning meeting for a workshop I'm helping run this summer. Finally, my parents had decided to fly to Florida with us rather from their home. It was nice to get a couple extra days to hang out even before the cruise.

Soon it was time to put the finishing touches on the bags and be on our way! I was not sad to see the forecast I'd be missing.



DH was already sending us beautiful photos from Florida so we were ready to go!

 

[bcwife76]

Woohoo!!! Following along

 

[jedijill]

Can't wait to read all about it!

Jill in CO

 

[Lesley Wake]

Following! Love your TRs!

 

[TestingH2O]

March 21 - Travel Day

So, it was Thursday of Spring Break. We'd had several days of rest and getting used to sleeping in. I wasn't super thrilled to set my alarm for 6:00 so we could load the car and get my parents. But, we did it! We said goodbye to the dogs and headed out.



In case you're wondering, she doesn't smile as brightly on the way to school in the morning.

We got my parents and parked the car. Then we headed in. We all had TSA Pre which was nice. While waiting to board, we saw one of DD's teachers who was also heading to Florida.



The last few minutes of waiting are always hard.

The flight was smooth though and FLL is easy to navigate.



Escalator selfies.

My dad called the hotel to tell.them we were ready to be picked up. Then we went outside and waited.

One legged pigeon chatted us up for a while.

And waited. And waited. The shuttle never came! (We'd been out there for an hour.)

The hotel said they'd pay for us to take a cab, but we had to walk the full length of the terminal.

Once we were at the hotel, we relaxed for a few minutes until DH arrived. The front desk recommended a Mediterranean restaurant in walking for dinner. The service was great, DD couldn't pick a drink so they brought both, and the food was delicious!



Then we started getting ready for bed. And DD was a little wound up. Around 8:30, we put her in bed.

And she didn't go to sleep.



And she didn't go to sleep.



And she finally went to sleep, but then DH was restless so I couldn't sleep!

But finally, we all went to sleep.

Next day was embarkation day!

 

[jedijill]

There is no sleeping before a cruise!

Jill in CO

 

[Magical_Suitcase]

How wonderful that your husband is finally cruising with you. Is this his first cruise?

Kate

 

[TestingH2O]

How wonderful that your husband is finally cruising with you. Is this his first cruise?

Kate

He also went on our very first cruise a few years ago. He was thrilled to be back and on a different ship!

 

[TestingH2O]

March 22 - Embarkation



Woohoo! The day was finally here.

The Hampton Inn has breakfast included and I always find the coffee cups amusing.



Soon it was time to load the car and head to port.



The drive from Ft Lauderdale was easy and only took about 30 minutes. Before we knew it, we could see the ship!



Our PAT was 11:00, and we arrived at about 10:45. DH dropped us off with our luggage and he and my dad parked the car. We all then went in together. Despite the fact that the port wasn't officially open yet, all the security lanes were open. The process was super smooth.

We headed up to get our cards. Again, there was no line. I peeked at the supervisor's desk, and the Captain Mickey sign wasn't out. I guess our sailing wasn't sold out. Soon we were all set with our first gold lanyards and off we went!



Let me just say that Port of Miami is COLD! I was shivering the entire time.

Luckily we didn't have to wait long.



DD went to see Minnie and show off her Disney Bounding outfit.



We also got our Navigator. These were not distributed at check in nor were people really walking around offering them. Luckily I saw a man with them and grabbed one.

By 11:45/12:00, the family of the day was called and soon it was our turn!



In Miami you enter the ship on deck 4 instead of the main atrium. A bit odd perhaps, but I didn't mind. I still felt like we got the fanfare when we came in.

We headed downstairs to Lumiere's for lunch.



The food was delicious and we had very good service. DD's lack of sleep finally caught up with her and she fell asleep at the table. Our server goes "I'm used to this at dinner, but not Embarkation lunch!"

She woke up at about 1:15, and we decided to head towards our rooms. As the elevator arrived, the lobby was full of people and I remarked that we were a few minutes early. In the time it took my mom to say "what," the room hosts took down the ropes! Talk about perfect timing. We hadn't even gotten off the elevator yet!

The day was starting out great. Next up, kids clubs, muster, sail away, etc.

 

[lorimay]

Love your daughters skirt!!!
Love when they have no front teeth too!

 

[TestingH2O]

Sail Away and Animator's

After DD's lunch time nap, we were ready to explore the ship. She wanted to see the kids clubs and DH wanted to start relaxing. I wanted to get the lock for her band taken care of.


This trip she was really into the tracing tables.


Goofy also stopped by to say hi during Open House.

We went back up to the room to see about luggage and were lucky that it was delivered before the muster drill. This meant that we were all unpacked and ready to relax by the time the Sail a Wave party started.

As I said, DD was Disney bounding as Daisy, and a CM asked if we wanted to go on stage.



She had a blast dancing down the runway, and my parents said they could see her really clearly on the screen.



As always, we feel the need to collect confetti. I know this show gets some bad reviews. We really enjoyed it. Maybe it's because DD is younger. We also got the great news that Trent was our cruise director! It was supposed to be Darren, but we were thrilled with the change.

We had time to see a couple characters before early dinner.





Daisy was very appreciative that she had a super fan on the trip.



Our dinner tonight was in Animator's Palate. We did early seating which was an adjustment from Alaska and Europe where we'd done late. We also had table mates for the first time. It was another multi generational family and the girls hit it off so well!

Tonight was the Mickey show and it was great as always. DH hadn't seen it before and he really enjoyed it.

DD wanted to go to the clubs with her new dinner friend, so DH and I went shopping. I bought my first set of ears ever.


Deck 4 was heavenly and the sunset was beautiful.

Before too long I picked up DD and we headed to bed since we knew we wanted to get off the ship at a reasonable time the next day.


I've never seen a mouse before. How cute!

The first night in our cozy bed was great. The ship was moving just fast enough to rock me right to sleep. It had been a great first day.

 

[bcwife76]

Oh I love that she got pulled on stage for the Sail A Wave party! We just saw it for the first time too on the Wonder, I thought it was really cute!!

Haha, never seen a mouse towel animal, so cute!

 

[Timon]

I’m here! Looking forward to reading this

First gold lanyards, woohoo!

Love the mouse towel animal! So cute!

 

[TestingH2O]

Key West - Pie Tour Stop #1

I woke up early today. We've been in inside cabins on most of our recent cruises, but we splurged on a verandah this time. So, while I considered getting dressed to go for a walk or to the gym, instead I just hung out on the verandah and read my book. I was practicing taking a proper vacation. Lol


The sun wasn't up yet, but we were getting close to Key West.

I do really like these navigator verandahs on the classic ships. They are so cozy.



I looked at the map, and it cuts off just before Key West.



We still used it to show DD where we were.

Before too much longer, DD and DH woke up and came to say hi. I got coffee and DH and DD had breakfast.

We had all agreed to disembark around 9:30, and we successfully met that goal. I loved how easy it was to disembark and just explore town. It reminded me of Alaska.



There were pelicans in the harbor!



We had an ambitious agenda for today: eat pie and pet cats. We had toyed with the idea of renting a golf cart, but my parents said they were comfortable walking.



It didn't take long before we saw our first roosters. My mom is terrified of birds and especially chickens since the ones on her farm growing up were so mean. I'd left the presence of roosters out of any pre trip planning.



A nice photo by mile marker 0.

Based on my research, I decided I wanted to try two different pies in Key West. Our first stop was Blue Heaven.

Pro tip: there's a long wait for a table even at 10 am. However, if you just want pie, you can order that at the bar and sit in the waiting area.



DD enjoyed checking out the carousel horse and playing ping pong. That's her in the rainbow hoodie playing with another kid she'd met in the clubs.

It didn't take long for the main event.



Look at that beauty! I think you need to see it in reference to DD's head to appreciate the height of that meringue.



The pie was really good. The crust especially was outstanding. The meringue was a bit overwhelming, but it hit the spot for breakfast pie by being not too overly tart. Haha. Breakfast pie.

Once we'd enjoyed the pie, it was time to head for the cats.

 

[lklgoodman]

Following along, I've read your Med and Alaskan TR. I can't wait to hear about the cats, hope you got some cute pics. If your dd is like mine, she'd have begged to smuggle a kitty or 2 onto the ship, lol!! Dh and I did our honeymoon on the Magic in 2001, haven't been back on her since then, have been on the Fantasy and Wonder several time each. I'm thinking about this cruise for 2021, we already have a Fantasy cruise booked for 2020. Can't wait to hear more.

 

[TestingH2O]

Key West - Hemingway House

After our pie and ping pong stop, we headed for Hemingway House.



It was a short walk, maybe 10 minutes. Be aware that they only accept cash for the entrance fee. This includes access to the grounds and the tour.

DH and my dad decided to take the tour. My mom, DD, and I decided to roam the grounds and see how many cats we could meet.

We started quickly.



We spied another one in the bushes.



DD quickly began to make friends.



We also met another family who was sailing on the Magic. It was fun for the kids to talk and plan to meet up in the clubs.



There were also cats doing typical silly cat things.



More cats taking a break from visitors.



The grounds were beautiful and I snapped a social media pic too. Who can say no to a beautiful flower?



The tour takes 45 minutes to an hour. We had pretty much seen all we wanted to see by the time the guys finished the tour. They took DD in to show her the cats sleeping on the bed, and then we actually split up.

DH wanted to look at the writing studio more closely, but DD was done. So we all agreed that we would meet up soon at Pie Stop #2.

 

[lorimay]

Love Blue Heaven!!
Sitting back there is so nice, my grandkids had a blast with the ping pong table.

 

[TestingH2O]

Key West - Pie Stop #2

So we decided to head to our second pie location. Our choice for this round was Kermit's. There are two locations for Kermit's: one right by the ship on Front street and one just a few blocks away on Elizabeth Street. We decided to go to Elizabeth Street because it's the original.

On the walk there, we ran into another DCL family and the kids made more plans for the clubs. DD was quite the social butterfly on this trip!

When we arrived at Kermit's, we ordered two regular slices and one chocolate covered slice. Let me tell you, there is a reason Kermit's is famous. This pie was sooooo good.





The crust at Blue Heaven was still better, but this pie was better overall. I could have easily eaten more.

DH arrived while we were eating, and he also loved it. Then we decided to split up again. DH needed to run to CVS to pick up something, my dad wanted to buy another bottle of red wine, and mom wanted to check out Sloppy Joe's bar. DD wanted to look at a shirt she had noticed and then head back to the ship, so I took her.

We had fun looking around the shopping area, getting DD her shirt, and taking selfies.









Once back on board, DD changed into her swimsuit and coverup. Then we had lunch in Cabanas. (Note, she wears shorts and a hoodie as a coverup and always has shoes. Please don't try to go there in just a swimsuit or without shoes. There aren't many rules, but these do exist and are enforced.)

After lunch, we headed for the pool. They were just finishing a 10 minute break and DD was excited to get in. I ordered a bon voyage and watched Rapunzel while she swam.



Before long everyone was back on board. My mom and I had read a book and had some time to do book club while my dad hung out at the pool. DH took a nap.

Before we knew it, it was time to get ready for dinner.

 

[lklgoodman]

Cats and pie=my idea of the perfect excursion!! We usually just go to a beach, but if we ever go to Key West, I want to do what you all did. Love the cat pics. I have a black and white cat that I love dearly, but I have always wanted a tabby striped one like the ones in your pics, so cute!! Did you noticed any with an extra toe/claw?