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

Breakfast pie.

I love pie for breakfast, especially pecan pie, although apple is good also. Not so sure though about a citrus pie. I will certainly give it a try if we ever make it to Key West, which is on our wish list.

Be aware that they only accept cash for the entrance fee.

Good to know, this is the main reason I want to go to Key West, to see Hemingway's house.
 
Key West - Evening Activities

All aboard time was 3:30. There were no announcements for missing people and we saw no runners.

As we showered and changed, we ordered a couple cheese plates for our rooms while we drank some of the wine we brought on board.

It was optional dress up night. Of course that meant lots of character photos.

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Dinner was in Rapunzel's tonight. The thugs accosted DH and my dad on the way in. Very funny.

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Dinner was fun again. We do enjoy the show here though I personally prefer Tiana's on the Wonder.

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DD loves the dancing in both restaurants.

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Tonight was Pluto's PJ Party in the clubs, but we decided to watch a bit of March Madness bbasketball before taking DD.

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My parents were wiped out, so they went to bed. DH and I decided to try trivia. I had never played before so it was fun to finally test it out.

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It was Pixar trivia and very tough! We held our own but obviously didn't win. The host was aot of fun and this is something I'd definitely like to do again when we are on a longer cruise.

We picked up DD and said good night to all her friends at the club. Then it was off to bed.

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Sweet! So cute.

Dinner was in Rapunzel's tonight. The thugs accosted DH and my dad on the way in. Very funny.

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How funny that the thuds are harassing them. It looks like your husband is having fun. Maybe "this cruise" will convince him to continue to cruise with the family.
 
Amendment to Key West Day

We received a note in our fish on the morning we docked in Key West that there would be construction in our hallway. Something to do with the fire doors. When we reboarded from Key West, we needed to go around the art of the ship to access our room. People forward of the elevator lobby had to approach their rooms from the midship elevator lobby.

It was a slight inconvenience, but no big deal. At least, it wasn't a big deal until they started using the arc welder. The fumes were appalling. DH suffers from asthma and he could barely breathe even in our room. We had originally been told that construction would be finished by the time we left Key West, but they didn't finish, so the hallway was still closed.

I went down to guest services to ask about getting a fan to at least circulate air via the verandah. By the time we finished dinner, they had delivered an air purifier and a gift basket with wine and treats for our trouble. The treats were unnecessary, but the air purifier was great. The hallway still stank to high heaven but our room was perfect. We may actually get one for home because DH hasn't breathed so well in a while what with all the pollen and such.

And now, back to our show.

Nassau - Daytime

We all slept in until about 7:00. DH went up to Cabanas, are some breakfast, and brought back coffee. We ordered room service for DD.

She had seen that Vamparina was doing a meet and greet and she wanted to go. DD doesn't even watch that show, but it was a new character and therefore exciting.

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Then we saw the Frozen sisters.

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They discussed the importance of including chocolate in your diet.

Then it was Princess Meet and Greet.

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While all the princesses were great, Ariel was truly amazing. DD loves to talk and have long conversations. Well Ariel was more than happy to engage. It was very fun to watch.

After that, I headed to the gym. I had prepared well this time and printed out several circuits to choose from depending on how crowded the space was or what equipment I could access. I was also super excited to see they had foam rollers. I was a little tight after all the travel.

After working out, I got a chat massage from DH that he and DD were heading to lunch. I said I'd go with them to Cabanas. On our way to eat, look who we ran into!

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And a very sweaty selfie.

Afterwards, DH and DD went to the pools while I hung out in the room and relaxed. Construction was still going on so DH didn't want to sit on the verandah where there were a ton of fumes. (I have no idea what my parents were up to today. Just chilling I think.)

I had a glass of champagne with some fruit and ventured out on the verandah to take a picture.

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Before too long, everyone was starting to gather to get ready for Pirate Night.
 
Nassau - Pirate Night

We all got ready for Pirate Night and headed to see some characters. Now, we had been told the construction would be finished by 4:00 today too. Nope. Still working.

First stop was Jack Sparrow.

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Then Stitch.

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Then Minnie.

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DD had talked to our head server, Bradford, about India every day. Well, tonight he appeared with servings of butter chicken, rice, and bread. It was amazing and DD ate like a champ. She shared some with us and even got her new friend at the table to try it. So yummy!

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Our table mates were a multi-generational family and the grandfather suffered from dimentia. When they'd made the reservation, he had been diagnosed but was doing well. Unfortunately, in the days immediately before departure, his condition had worsened, and on this night he wasn't doing well and the boy was feeling sea sick. We offered to take the little girl to the fireworks with us. The mom agreed and was grateful that she would get to participate.

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The deck was packed but the show was very fun. I prefer this show on the classics.

We then took our little friend back to her room. Then DH, my dad, and I caught theate showing of Captain Marvel while my mom put DD to bed.

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We enjoyed the show but were glad we didn't take DD. It would have been too intense for her.

After the show, we headed for bed and agreed that we would shoot for a late morning debarkation at Castaway Cay.
 


Going to CC on the Magic/Wonder is so much better than on the Dream/Fantasy. When I read you all were going later, I thought "Oh no, they'll never get chairs" and then I remembered you were on the Magic. We got off late one time on the Wonder and still got front row chairs. Got off on the Fantasy right when they let us and were 4 rows back! You were so sweet to take your tablemate's dd with you to the fireworks. Love the pics of your dd, so cute when they lose their front teeth!
 
Castaway Cay - Morning

So I've never had a verandah cabin that allowed me to see us pull in to CC before. I had seen some of the docking procedures from Deck 4, but not the whole thing.

I woke up early and headed outside. We had already turned and were beginning to back in.

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I read while we were pulling in. I LOVED the benches on the navigator verandahs. They were super comfy.

As we got closer, you could see all the island employees getting ready to help tie the lines.

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There go the first ones. They look so tiny from above, but you can really see how big they are when you get off the ship.

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Also working on the front of the ship. There's the gangway ready to go.

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DD woke up and watched for a little bit too.

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At about 9:00, we went for breakfast. It was delicious and there was a naughty seagull keeping everyone on their toes. One family set their plates on their table then stepped away to get drinks or something. They came back just in time to see a bird flying away with their bacon! Hahahaha! (A CM was nice enough to get them more.)

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Crowds waiting to see Daisy.

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Sheesh. I'm not a beach person but just looking at this makes me ready to go back in a heartbeat.

We were getting ready to head to the island but DD really wanted a photo with Hook & Smee. So she and I hopped off to get that done while everyone else finished getting ready.

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Castaway Cay - Island Time

By around 10:45, we were headed off the ship. The computers were down, so they were signing everyone off by hand. It was definitely slow and I felt bad for the security officers.

Soon though, we were on the island.

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Gotta get the ship photo.

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We took the tram to the first stop on the family beach. Tons of chairs were available (yay Classic ships!) and we set up shop.

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DD tested out the hammocks.

We ordered some drinks including konk koolers.

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And we relaxed.

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Mom and I laid around, sunned, drank, etc. Dad, DH, and DD played in the water.

After a while, we decided to do lunch.

The swimmers went first while mom and I continued to chill. She and I went soon after.

After lunch, we packed up our spot and headed back towards the tram stop.

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We stopped in the shop.

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I love that view.

Then we dropped DD off at the club. They were just getting out popsicles, so she was clearly happy to stay. We adults headed to the Heads Up Bar for our mojito tasting!

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This was my first time having a tasting on the island. It was great! I will do that again for sure. Alejandro was also an amazing instructor.

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I also saw some drinks I hadn't noticed before. Something to think about for next time.

As I'm sure you can tell from the photos, the weather was a bit touchy in the afternoon. When I checked my phone, we had a note that DD got some sand in her eye. They said she was fine, but be decided we should get DD and try to beat the weather getting back to the boat. We reboarded at about 3:30 just as the rain drops started to fall.
 
Castaway Cay - Evening

We arrived back at the ship and enjoyed cool towels and flavored water. Once we were back in our rooms, we ordered a couple All Hands On Deck platters with extra crackers.

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As we took turns showering and changing, we watched boarding. Good thing Stitch made the ship!

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Once everyone was on board, we watched the island crew send us off.

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Tonight was takeover night in the pub and we enjoyed a rousing game of Thug-O before heading to the show.

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After Tangled, I had a bit of time before I was going to meet DH for a date. Ooooh! Parents of young kids will understand. We were so excited.

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I spent about 15 Minutes enjoying deck 4.

Then we headed to Keys. Alejandro from the tasting had recommended the performer, Bongi Maestro, and we were not disappointed.

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He was very talented and quite entertaining. The older people who were also enjoying the show were worth watching. At one point, one of the ladies kind of rushed the stage, tripped over her own feet, and fell flat on her face. It was quite the spectacle. She popped right back up again though and continued dancing as if nothing had happened.

We swung into the shops one more time and saw this strange Captain Marvel toy with replaceable heads. Creepy.

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Then we headed back to the room. It was late (11:00 hahahaha!) and we were tired.

The hallways were still blocked but our air purifier kept our room quite comfortable.

Our next day was our last, but luckily it was a day at sea.
 
Day at Sea - A Perfect Day

These are my favorite part of cruising. Nowhere to be, nothing to do, just relaxing and enjoying the experience.

Today I woke up around 7:00. Everyone else was still sleeping, but I knew I wanted to get a workout in so I got dressed and headed out. I'd talked to DH about it the night before so he knew if I was gone, that's where I'd be.

Because it was such a gorgeous morning, I opted to do my circuit on Deck 4. Burpees are way better with this view.

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After I was sufficiently worn out, I headed back to the cabin. Everyone was still asleep so I went out on the verandah to read.

DD finally woke up at about 8:30!!!!

I showered and then went upstairs to get DD breakfast from Cabanas. We weren't eating because we had Palo reservations.

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She loves breakfast in bed. After we were dressed, we took DD to the club and headed to Palo. Our server was Andrew, and he was excellent.

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For entrees, we had the gorgonzola pizza, chicken parmesan, lasagna, and eggs Benedict. Clearly we shared these. We also tried the new lava cake. It was ok, but I would have been fine with the buffet desserts.

After brunch we picked up DD from the clubs, did our online check-in for our flights the next day, and headed for the pool. DD got about an hour and a half of swimming time before they were closed so they could be cleaned and drained. Grrrr.

Since we knew we wouldn't have a ton more time once they reopened, we took DD back to shower and get ready for dinner and to take some time to enjoy the ship. We visited Daisy.

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We went ear shopping for DD's first pair of ears. She chose rainbow. We also played our first game of shuffleboard. That is something we will definitely do again.

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Then I headed to the room to pack while DH took DD to see some more characters.

Dinner tonight was in Animator's again.

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After dinner, DD wanted to hang in the clubs with her friends, so we said ok. I finished packing and we went to get her for the show.
She decided to stay in the clubs, so we all decided to get a drink in Keys.

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By far the best drink I had on the trip. From the Disney Parks Blog:

Trendy ingredients are mixed tableside, like the Coco Royale with 1800 Coconut Tequila, Moët Ice Champagne and coconut flakes – a divine concoction that we all agreed was our favorite.

After drinks, we got DD from the clubs and turned in her magic band. She really wanted to see the closing show, so we got her in her PJs then headed to the atrium.

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We didn't play shuffleboard until our 5th cruise, I agree, it was a lot of fun and something we want to do on our next cruise. I'm sad your TR is coming to an end, but I just saw you have a 8 night coming up, so happy you'll have another TR. Our next cruise isn't until Jan. 2020, so I enjoy reading about other's as I wait for our's. Have fun on your next cruise, where is it going to? I know the Fantasy has a 11 night southern at the end of July. I'd really like to do a southern some time. I've decided our 2021 is going to be on the Magic, so a southern will have to wait until 2022, of course the one new ship should be sailing by then, so it should be exciting to see if we can manage a cruise on it, wherever it goes.
 
We didn't play shuffleboard until our 5th cruise, I agree, it was a lot of fun and something we want to do on our next cruise. I'm sad your TR is coming to an end, but I just saw you have a 8 night coming up, so happy you'll have another TR. Our next cruise isn't until Jan. 2020, so I enjoy reading about other's as I wait for our's. Have fun on your next cruise, where is it going to? I know the Fantasy has a 11 night southern at the end of July. I'd really like to do a southern some time. I've decided our 2021 is going to be on the Magic, so a southern will have to wait until 2022, of course the one new ship should be sailing by then, so it should be exciting to see if we can manage a cruise on it, wherever it goes.
Thanks so much! Yes, I'm excited about the 8 night. We originally booked the 11, because I would love to do a southern, but school starts so early here that I didn't think we'd make it back in time.
 
See Ya Real Soon Show

This is always a special thing for us. DD loves getting one last chance to see the characters. This time, we brought her in her PJs because we knew we'd be up early the next day.

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Ariel was so amazing on this trip. DD could have talked with her for hours.

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Even DH got in on the fun!

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Recreating our picture from Alaska. It was fun to see how she'd grown. I hope Trent is on another sailing with us some day.

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One last big smile then it was time to head to bed.
 
We really enjoyed Trent on the EBTA; we even overheard him say that it was one of his favourite cruises ever (though i suppose it's possible he says that every cruise lol).
 
Debarkation

Well, the day was here. It was time to give up our spot to another family.

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I woke up around 6:30 and got ready. DH and DD were up soon after. We headed to Cabanas for breakfast. We've only tried the dining room once on the last morning, and we really prefer the laid back atmosphere at Cabanas. Also, if you head up early to eat, you still have time to go back to your room for last minute teeth brushing and one more bathroom break.

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Our debarkation was very easy and, since we hadn't rushed to be one of the first ones off the ship, there was no waiting to find our bags or go through customs.

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Bye Disney Magic. Thanks for a great trip!

DH and my dad went to get the car and then we drove to Ft Lauderdale airport. There was tons of construction around the port so it took a bit to get on the highway, but once we were on, it was an easy drive.

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Sadly, we then had to hang out in the airport for 3 hours waiting for our flight. FLL isn't exactly exciting as airports go. But DD was a good sport about it. We ate a very mediocre Cuban sandwich and had some soft pretzels. The plane change in Atlanta was a breeze.

At home, there was a shuttle to our lot pulling up right as we got our luggage, so that was great. Then we grabbed the car and headed home. Drive through dinner was a let down after all the delicious food on the trip. The dogs were happy to see us and I managed to get almost of the laundry done that night.

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Thank goodness our next trip was going to be so soon! (And now it's only a couple weeks away!!!!)
 
Overall Reflections

This was a great trip! I am so happy that the Magic redeemed itself after our meh experience last summer.

DH was worried about cruising for 5 days and thought it might be too long. However, he thought it was great! While obviously I prefer a longer trip, it is very hard for him to get away for that long. His previous experience was a 4-night and that just is not long enough. Once you get settled, it's time to go. The extra night really makes a difference.

We really missed the paper navigator. DD in particular was frustrated that she couldn't easily look at what was happening. Yes, we could go get a paper copy, but having it in our room was so much easier.

Speaking of DD, traveling with her is really easy. She just loves the excitement and she's so curious about everything. No, she's not perfect, and yes, we butt heads, but overall these trips are just so precious to me. She is not getting tired of DCL, so we continue on. I continue to check in with her to see if this is what she wants to do, but so far the answer has been a firm YES!

After having sailed in inside cabins for the past few trips, it was very nice to have a verandah. I particularly loved the bench on the 7A. This was definitely a splurge since DH came along though, and I am not at all sad or worried about having an inside on the Fantasy in a couple weeks. Plus, Magic Porthole! DD is still unconvinced that the porthole is not better than the "deck."

One thing I noticed was that the computers were down frequently. They were checking people on and off the ship by hand several times. And club sign-in and out was done by hand. It was odd and I hope they get the issue corrected as everything took much longer that way.

If possible, I would definitely book a trip that included Key West again. This was a great port, and there was definitely more I'd like to do.

We enjoyed our table mates. I know it is all luck of the draw, but we really had fun with them, and DD loved having a friend.

Well, I think that's about it. We leave for Florida in twelve days, and sail on the Fantasy for 8 nights in two weeks! We are staying at Cabana Bay for a few days to just for fun before we cruise, having lunch at Homecomin', and I am eager to see how the Dream class ships feel now that DD is older. I think she might really enjoy some of the things like Midship Detective Agency and Goofy Golf.

Thanks for following along. If you have question, even if you find this report later, don't hesitate to ask. Happy cruising!
 

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