Live from the 12/7 Magic Cruise!

[jlawall]

Hey Michelle! Thanks for sharing your cruise with us! My favorite night was 80s night! Are Ellen, Sean, Jessica still on the cruise?

 

[imgoingtodisney]

what a difference a week makes

 

[goin2dzny]

Glad you are having a MAGICal time!

Thanks for taking time to post all the good info.

 

[WebmasterAlex]

The Fury Catamarran was great!
Robin is a hoot, the australian's must grow them that way.
There are a few entertainment crew members that seem to know our little crew well. Aside from Robin, D.J. L.A. (who's really Brent from canada!) always seems to be around, he was giving me personal dance lessons at the deck party last nite. That is a TOUGH assignent! Luigi from italy was practically begging Dagny to do Karaoke last nite....
As for being tired what nite haven't we closed down the bars?
That's what cruises are for!

 

[CathyCanada]

DJ L.A.?? Ask Michelle and Dag about him on our last cruise.......

I am pretty sure it was him, no wonder he is sucking up to you guys now!! LOL
CC

 

[Michelle]

Nah, I'm pretty sure he's NOT the same guy, TS, this one is AWESOME!

Okay, another wonderful day at sea today...and I am definitely having a GREAT cruise. Decided to play bingo this morning and won TWICE! One of them I split with one person and the other with five people but I still won a little over $200! I have NEVER played Bingo on the ship but decided to give it a try. Of course now they suckered me in to playing the big Jackpot Bingo this afternoon as they have to give the money away. I can't argue with luck, though, got to give it a shot.

The entertainment staff has been great, Robin, John, Luigi and April seem to be the crew we see the most.

One of the most unusual things this time is we have had NO pictures taken of us until last night, Tropical Night, and at the Deck Party. I definitely have saved money with the photos this trip. We did get some VERY nice pics from the Fury Catamaran yesterday, they do a good job with those.

Back to fun, I'll check in later and answer more!

 

[logan1_2000]

As of 1:35 pm, EST, on today, Thursday 12/12/02, I saw on the www.orlandosentinel.com site "The Disney Magic, which spent a week in port being disinfested before resuming its Caribbean cruise schedule last Saturday, is reporting that 25 passengers have come down with the all-too-familiar gastrointestinal illness that has struck several other cruise ships in recent weeks."

Is there any word fo this on-board the Magic? Has anyone seen other reports?

Consider me a hopeful but still nervous 1/11/03 Eastern cruiser who has been watching the net hourly the past few weeks...

 

[WebmasterAlex]

We have had a few rumors of people ill and I did see some families leaving with their luggage at Cozumel. They also started handing out anti-bacterial wipes at all the meals.
When you stop and think about it though we are in the 6th day of our cruise and 25 people ill is WELL within the normal limits you would expect to see on almost any cruise.
If the numbers stay down to that level it means that Disney was very succesful in their infection control measures. They can't be responsible for people that come on board sick, which is what that story indicates.

 

[mmouse37]

Hey Webmasters onboard....

Is DJ LA really back onboard...I heard he had left for good. In the recent Navigators I see the DJ listed as just D.J. and D.J.L.A. always had his listing in the Navigator as D.J.LA.

I do believe he was from Canada. He was always good for a laugh, expecially at Karaoke!!!!

Here is a pic of him (in the back by the podium). Is it the same guy onboard now??? You can click VIEW FULL SIZE to get a better look.

http://community.webshots.com/photo/47984596/48196223tmGVmg

Thanks.

MJ

 

[WebmasterAlex]

That sure looks like him!
He is definitely from Canada, his real name is Brent... he is a HOOT!

 

[CathyCanada]

It is flu season and I know that the Norwalk virus has been found in Toronto in the hospitals and nursing homes, so I am not surprised if it is being carried by others on to the ship.

Congrats on the Bingo win, TS2, the hair nazi will be proud of Auntie Michelle!!

Cathy

 

[Gillian]

Thanks for the reports! It sounds like you are having a fantastic trip. Wish I was there!

As for the illness, I'm here with my second stomach thing in 3 weeks. DS was up all night Tuesday getting sick. It definetly wouldn't be fun to have this on the cruise, but you can get just as sick staying at home! We constantly wash our hands & we haven't been out much, but we're still sick. Now I just need a week on the Magic to recover!

 

[Tulirose]

Sounds like a fun, healthy, successful cruise. Glad to hear you guys are having such a blast!

 

[pjacobi]

CNN reports:

"An outbreak is declared when 3 percent of passengers or crew are sickened with three or more episodes of loose stools in 24 hours or vomiting and at least one other symptom, such as headache, fever, cramps, nausea or muscle soreness."

http://www.cnn.com/2002/TRAVEL/12/12/cruise.ship.sickness/index.html

With a ship the size of Magic (3000-4000?) people, the 3% level would require about a 100 cases. The 25 cases reported in the Orlando Sentinel amount to less than 1%.


-Paul

 

[jlawall]

Hey MJ that picture brings back memories! The sun, the deck, etc..... That "DJLA" is the one we had on our ship as well. He was actually very quiet when we saw him on the ship. But I don't think I did the things that he ran very much......

Michelle and other travelers.....BRING BACK MORE PICTURES!!!

 

[mmouse37]

Hey Jo....he would host the Karaoke and run the singles get together for the 18-25 year olds....he was at all the theme nights and he was the score keeper for the Match your Mate game when John hosted. He has a very dry sense of humor!!!

I agree with you...we want to see more pictures of the fun everyone is having onboard!!!

MJ

 

[Michelle]

Did I mention how much FUN we were having on this cruise?

It was an absolutely BEAUTIFUL day in Castaway Cay today, the NICEST weather I have ever had in December. It was very windy, but WARM and sunny. Awesome day.

Yes, as Alex said, they are handing out anti-bacterial wipes everywhere and along with the usual cautions with them serving you at buffets and people constantly cleaning and sanitizing the ship, I think DCL is doing everything possible to keep folks onboard healthy. I know I'm washing my hands a lot and I feel GREAT! A little tired, but that's the natural course of events after a cruise like this.

Last night was another blast, I didn't win jackpot bingo but I was selected as Gloria Gaynor #1. The entertainment staff has been OUTSTANDING, Robin is a hoot and it's been fun talking to him. They are short four people on entertainment staff this week (due to family emergencies and one staff member hurt her back) so the five that are here have been working HARD at keeping everyone happy.

I also can't say enough about the counselors in the Oceaneer Lab. This is the first time my DD (9) has NOT wanted to stay in the Lab every single moment, mostly because this is her 5th DCL cruise and she has done many of the activities before. She prefers the free time. The time that she paged us just as we were going to Palo for dinner, one of the counselors (bless you Cameron!) took her under his wing and convinced her to stay so we could enjoy dinner. They've all been awesome and given some of the kids I've seen on this cruise I think they are saints.

I will try and post some more general thoughts during the next four days when we're at WDW. I'm NOT looking forward to getting of this beautiful ship and wonderful weather for the cooler weather in Orlando, but I guess it's time. Now it's time to PACK (UGH!) and go enjoy the last night of the cruise. They've taken SEVERAL pictures of the family now over the last couple of days, have to go check those out too.

For you 12/14 cruisers, hope your cruise is as MAGICAL as ours has been!

 

[gometros]

Michelle - I always think you guys who post during vacation are all crazy for spending time on line when you could be having fun, but I'm sure glad you stopped by to update us.

 

[jlawall]

Thanks again Michelle.....you have made a bleak, cold, snowy, icy, wet, muddy December bearable! Please share your pictures when you get back!!!

Hey MJ, I wish I got to know DJLA better. I think it was his last cruise for awhile and he was on the quiet side. However, I do remember him from the "International Belly Flop Contest" of which I was a participant. He chose my husband for the Pool Scavenger Hunt (which I set him up for while he wasn't looking!). I didn't go to any karoke events due to exhaustion.

Hey Tulirose....how come you're not watching Survivor?.....it's still my favorite show.......because we lost Ted?.......I'm upset too but it's still fun to watch the devious, behind the scenes subterfuge.....?

 

[WebmasterAlex]

Ok guys.. I hate to burst any bubbles but I have seen two incidents today that make me think Disney is trying to keep things quiet.
The first incident occured as I was getting off the ship at Castaway Cay. One of the ship's officers was talking into his radio at the gangplank to shore. He clearly stated that some of the passengers that were quarantined were trying to get off of the boat. He said they had been trying to get a hold of the medical officer and could not. The answer came back that he should contact guest services. He replied that they had tried and got no answers!
The second incident occured in the passage right outside our room. The Ship's doctor was in the hallway talking to a passenger who was obviously getting upset. He was quarantined and wanted to know why and for how long and the doctor was trying to feed him platitudes and hustle him back in the cabin.
Between the sudden addiction to wipes that only started half way through the cruise and hearing some of these incidents I am really getting the feeling there is more going on then they are saying.