Part 2: Our first Disney Cruise

Day 1- Port Canaveral
We boarded our Magical Express bus at the Contemporary Resort around 10am.  Disney Cruise Line had already gotten our large checked bags from outside our room earlier that morning, which was a huge help as we do not travel light.  Lala and I had put a lot of thought into our travel day outfits – we were incredibly excited! 

 The bus ride was short and after only an hour or so we could see the huge ship towering over the cruise terminal.  Inside the terminal, we were greeted by multiple cheerful cast members including some from Disney Vacation Club at a little kiosk. Check in went quickly, and within minutes we were being announced aboard Disney’s Magic.

It is a beautiful ship.  Gorgeous.  The elegance of classic maritime sprinkled with pixie dust.  Our rooms were bigger than I expected, and very neat and clean.  We dropped our carry on bags and headed to update our excursions for Castaway Cay.  The cast member at guest services was extremely helpful, and was even able to get us brunch reservations at Palo.  We had an early lunch at Cabanas and explored until the member party.

The member party was super fun.  This was our first trip ever as members, so to meet other members and hear their stories was very exciting!  We loved the DVC goodies and wore our hats the whole trip!

Dinner that night was at Lumiere’s and of course everything was delicious.  I went to bed early in preparation for our early morning. 

Day 2- Nassau, Bahamas
I dragged out of bed close to 7:30 the next morning and went in search of Lala, David, and Michael but mostly coffee.  I found coffee first, and on a hunch went to look for them at the gym.  There they were- being all active and fit.  Weird.  This was vacation for me and considering I don’t work out at home why start now?  We had a quick breakfast before meeting our group for our catamaran and snorkeling excursion. 

The hour-long catamaran was lovely – so good to be outside in the fresh air and in the sun.  Once we got to the little cove for snorkeling, the wind picked up and the water got rough.  I didn’t stay in the water too long since the current was so strong and I really just wanted to lay in the sun.

Dinner that night was at Animators Palate and was everything we had hoped for and more.  The dining room was intricate and interactive and the after dinner animation show was delightful. 

After dinner we put on our jammies and went to see Captain America: The Winter Soldier at the Buena Vista Theatre.


Day 3- Castaway Cay, Bahamas
Another early morning on day 3, this time for us to do the RunDisney Castaway Cay 5k.  I was in it for the medal and sightseeing.  Little did we know, that it was a long HOT walk to the start of the race.  Michael and David ran, Lala was kind enough to walk with me.  While getting to see the island was fun, it was very, very hot.  Only through t-shirt and adult beverage bribery did I agree to finish it with Lala, although she did let me off the hook from the jog down the airstrip.  After the “race” the guys went off to parasail, and we went in search of Serenity Bay.  After all that time in the sun, the trams were confusing for some reason.  We found it and it was paradise.  Pristine white sand, crystal clear blue water,  and sunshine. 

After a few hours there, clouds began to roll in so we headed back to the ship.  Our timing was perfect, as we had the slides to ourselves for over an hour.  I was not a fan of the AquaDunk – to say the least.  The whole floor dropping out from under you thing reminded me too much of gallows.  I also panicked a little and uncrossed my ankles so my feet were by my ears when I got to the bottom.  Not a fan.  Michael and David loved it though! 

I should mention that I love chicken fingers.  Love.  So I was at Pete’s Boiler Bites at least 2x a day to eat the world’s best chicken fingers.  Unfortunately that meant I was not hungry for dinner that night at Carioca’s, although it looked delicious.  It was Pirates in the Caribbean night so after dinner we waited up on deck for the fireworks.  Possibly due to the storm earlier, it seemed as though the fireworks were cut short.

Day 4 – At Sea
Sadly our morning to sleep in was interrupted by the bridge calling for “Red Party, red party!” around 6am.  There was apparently some smoke on deck 2 and they chose to evacuate decks 2 and 3.  We went ahead and got up to go up on deck to see what was up.  The sun was up, and coffee was available, so going back to bed was not really an option.  We laid around on deck until our 10am brunch reservation at Palo. 

Oh my word Palo.  Possibly my favorite meal – ever.  Incredible service, impeccable food, and immaculate views. 

A much needed nap immediately followed brunch, I’ve never eaten so much in my life.  The rest of the day was easy going, mostly pool and relaxing.  I also came across one of my favorite cast members ever who delivered some special magic – more on that later.

Our last dinner on board was at Lumiere’s and it was delightful.  We did not have a disappointing meal our entire trip.  The blow of “the last night” was softened knowing our trip wasn’t over when it was time to debark but packing was still not my favorite.

Day 5 – Port Canaveral
We were some of the first people off the ship in the morning as another adventure was waiting for us!  We were also lucky enough to beat the crowd through customs and security to the busses.  Since we were traveling without children, they put us in a shuttle van instead of on a bus, so only one stop before our hotel!  The rest of our trip to follow in part 3…

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