Disney Magic – 8-Night from San Juan – 5-13 May 2023 - Complete

[Calantha]

Introduction & Day Guide

Welcome to my trip report of our amazing visit to Puerto Rico and 8-day cruise on the Magic (yes, there were issues, but we’ll get to those later).

Allow me to introduce you to our company: Me, my husband (DH), my son (DS; 8), and my FIL & MIL. This was my husband’s 4th cruise, 6th for me and DS, and 17th-ish for the in-laws. They love DCL and took us on a family cruise back in 2019. We've been addicted since then. Originally though, they took DH and siblings on the Magic back in 2003-ish.

We booked this cruise on opening day as a replacement for the fact that FIL/MIL weren’t able to join us in Alaska last year (they were concerned about travel due to the covid restrictions that were still in place and my MIL has some mobility issues). I thought the itinerary looked amazing and I had wanted to visit Bonaire for a long time, due to a colleague who scuba dived there for several years in the early 2010s. Also, since it was still school year time, the prices were really good!

Here is our agenda:

• Day 1: Departing D.C.
• Day 2: Exploring San Juan
• Day 3: Embarking on the Magic
• Day 4: St. Kitts (but really a Sea Day)
• Day 5: St. Lucia – All Day
• Day 6: An Actual Sea Day
• Day 7: Bonaire's the Best
• Day 8: Aruba – All Night
• Day 9: Curaçao, A Strong Contender
• Day 10: Another Sea Day
• Day 11: Returning Home

Please stay tuned for updates over the next week or so. I hope you enjoy reading about our trip. Special advance shout-out to @auntlynne and @Clarkson U, who will also share their experiences (3 for the price of 1).

 

[Calantha]

Day 1: Departing D.C.

We decided to go an extra day early in case of any airline issues. Our direct JetBlue flight to San Juan departed DCA first thing Wednesday morning. We ended up taking 2 vehicles to the airport. I drove the luggage in my car with my mom along (she came to cat-sit while we were away) and then everyone else piled into a taxi. Turns out we would all fit in an UberXL but I didn’t know that at the time. Every place I looked up online wanted to charge me $150 to go from our house to the airport. No thank you!

The whole airport experience was smooth with no issues. I was initially concerned about gate-checking bags (I usually do it to make things easier) and if they were strict on bag sizes (2 of them were slightly over-sized). When we go to Orlando, our airline is United, but they were too expensive and had inconvenient times for this trip.

Fortunately, the flight attendants were happy to gate-check and no one measured anything! I will also note that the line for TSA Pre-Check in DC is frequently longer than the non pre-check line, but at least I don’t have to take stuff out of our bags!

That being said, DS got randomly selected on this leg and the return for extra screening. I got a hand swab in lieu of him this time.

Once we got to SJU, I called for an UberXL, but had no idea where to meet him! After stumbling around outside the airport, we finally connected and it turns out, there was plenty of room for our bags. The drive to the Marriot Residence Inn Isla Verde was brief, as it is right near the airport.

The hotel was great and I would stay there again for sure (minus the resort fee). We ended up with an upgrade to a 1-bedroom suite (in-laws had a regular studio). Our first stop was lunch at the bar (where I enjoyed my first mojito of the cruise) and then we headed off to the pool. We entertained ourselves there for most of the afternoon.




** Note: Cool loungers in the pool!

Our waitress at lunch was kind enough to provide several recommendations to restaurants nearby, so we went to Hijole for dinner. It wasn’t spectacular, but it was decent. I will note that they had a spicy salsa that DH and the in-laws loved. I enjoyed the complimentary mini frozen margarita shots that no one else wanted to drink.

After getting back to the hotel, we turned in early to prepare for a long day of sightseeing in San Juan.

 

[buteraa]

Looking forward to reading your trip report.

 

[dcassetta]

We are sailing the Magic in a couple of months, so hopefully any issues will be worked out by then. She's our favorite ship.

Looking forward to reading the rest of your trip report. We love Bonaire also.

 

[o&smom]

Excited to read your trip report. We will be on the Magic in October on the PC cruise. Were last on her in July 2019. She was our first ship.

 

[Calantha]

Day 2: Exploring San Juan

I got up early (i.e., 5:30) and went down to the fitness center. It had a few treadmills, bikes, weights, and a combination machine of some sort. I worked through a brief weight routine and headed back up stairs to get ready for the day.

Breakfast opened at 6:30 during the week, but we didn't get down there until about 7. I also pre-ordered an UberXL to take us into town for the day. Turns out, the Residence Inn has the worst tea on the planet (seriously, the choices were mint and chamomile). I frantically searched for another coffee shop nearby and found a Starbucks across the street in the Fairmont’s mini-mall. I left everyone in the dining room and dashed over to get some real tea. I asked the barista for an extra tea bag to cover me for Friday. Upon returning for breakfast, I discovered the standard food (a mix of cereals, eggs, fruit, etc.). I hate that they rarely have non-pork options for breakfast meats, but at least we can indulge in the turkey sausages in the MDR on the ship.

The Uber took us to our first stop of the day – the Castillo San Felipe del Morro. It is a National Park, so if you have a membership card, don't leave it at home. Fortunately, my FIL had his retired military ID handy, and we were able to use that instead. It was already starting to be very hot, but we persevered. We parked my MIL in one of the overlooks, since she couldn't walk down all the stairs (the Castillo, not unsurprisingly, is not handicapped accessible). Here are some photographs from our exploration:


The Entry Path

Looking back a the Castillo
Overall, it was worth seeing, but maybe in January instead of May!

Next stop: Parque de Los Gatos

This was my son's favorite activity of the day. There is a cat rescue (https://www.saveagato.com/) operating out of a park just outside the Castillo. We brought a donation and a bag of cat treats. DS become the cat whisperer for about 15 minutes as they followed him around the park. It was very sweet and the kitties were very friendly. I wish we could have taken them all home!


The Cat Whisperer

Then, we went to see Los Paraguas de la Fortaleza, basically a road lined with umbrellas. We really struggled with my MIL's wheelchair through this section, due to the narrow and rock-paved roads.


Los Paraguas

As we started trying to find our way out of there and look for some lunch, we stumbled onto the Parque de las Palomas (Pigeon Park). It was a horror, although DS thought it was awesome. I kept waiting to be pooped on.

Anyway, after escaping, we tried to go into El Mesón Sandwiches, which was both fast food and totally packed. I think we were all ready to keel over, but we stepped into a pharmacy to drink some water and take in some A/C. While we stood there, I continued looking for an alternative lunch location. And, second time is a charm. We went up a few blocks to the St. Germain Bistro & Café.

I can’t rave enough about how good it was. Service was great, A/C was great, and the food particularly tasty. They don’t have a menu online, but I enjoyed an appetizer of tostones with chicken and avocado.


My Appetizer

DH had an amazing salad, where he almost licked the dressing from the plate. My notoriously chicken finger picky son ate every single one. MIL/FIL split a Mahi wrap, which they said was good, but too much for one person. We split some fresh homemade almond cookies too.

We were very tired at this point, so I called another Uber to take us back to the hotel for some relaxation before our big dinner plan – Cocina al Fondo, home of James Beard-nominated Chef Natalia Vallejo. DH napped and FIL entertained DS in the pool, while MIL and I lounged in the shade. I should also mention the very nice child’s splash area that was off to the side, with a mini-slide and lots of spray features. Great for toddlers and little ones as well as the elementary school crowd.


The Restaurant Entry

So, dinner was a treat from DH and me to MIL for Mother’s Day/her birthday. We picked a variety of small plates to share including corn arepas with roasted corn and amaranth, buñuelos with taro and zucchini, raw yellowfin tuna, sweet potatoes, and roasted eggplant.


Arepas and Buñuelos

I also had a very strange cocktail: a "Calma" - gin infused with palo santo ("holy wood"), sage, jasmine, honey, and lemon.


My Cocktail

DS wasn’t a fan of the food overall, but he ate rice and tried a few bits of different things. He also got to go back to meet the chef, probably the highlight of his evening.

Our ride back to the hotel was unfortunately the worst Uber of the trip, but I guess you can’t only have great drivers. I packed up the room and we began to prepare for Embarkation Day!

 

[auntlynne]

Haha - we stayed at the Residence Inn, too. Another jinx; we owe each other cokes. That pool IS spectacular. Warm enough, but not hot. We spent boarding day morning enjoying it.

We also were put in a one bedroom for our studio reservation.

Guess what part of OSJ was one of my favorites, too? Gatos.



And also yuck to the Plaza and its pigeons.

No time to enjoy San Juan this trip; arrival was after 10:30 pm; just a sleep away from boarding.

 

[Clarkson U]

We walked around Friday morning and Thursday night. Agree that the area by the umbrellas is not easily walkable and under construction as well.

We had pizza on Thursday night at Pirilo and the food was excellent. Ran into fellow cruisers there as well. We stayed at Sheraton Old SanJuan which was a fine hotel with great views and easy access to all of old San Juan.

We walked to both forts and the park and a few other areas in our short time there.

 

[Calantha]

Day 3: Embarking on the Magic


0 Days

We had the earliest possible boarding time, noon, so we had time for a leisurely breakfast and then loitered downstairs in the lobby since we had to be out of our rooms at 11AM. The Uber driver dropped us off at 11:45ish, and the port was already hopping.


At Port

Getting up to the front of the line wasn’t too much of an issue and we were through security and to boarding less than 15 minutes later. BUT, it turns out there was a problem (the first of many) with the gangway, and they paused the boarding for about 15 more minutes. Eventually, they started letting small groups cross onto the ship.


Boarding! (FIL missed the black shorts memo...heh)

I found out later (from @Clarkson U) that early arrivers had already boarded even before noon so I shouldn’t have been so worried about showing up early!

We went right to Rapunzel’s for a sit-down lunch. This is our standard procedure. I stopped in at dining changes on the way and got our Palo brunch moved from the second sea day to the first – an excellent decision as it turns out. Also, who can eat Palo brunch on the last day of the cruise? (But that was all that had been available in advance when FIL logged on to do it).

I placed my regular order of the empanadas, Chicken Caesar salad, and the cheesecake. DS always gets the penne pasta, no goat cheese. Everyone else seemed happy with their lunches.


My favorite cheesecake, next time I might get two.

Next stop was getting blank room cards for me and FIL. We didn’t officially change rooms because of Platinum benefits and the photo package, so we just carried 2 cards with us for the week. Only one time did I get stuck having to go through their room to get to ours. The room steward was also great to let me in a few times.

DS and DH went up to the Kid’s Clubs while we were at Guest Services. Turns out he liked this club the best of all of them over the course of the cruise.

It was almost 2PM at this point, so we went down to our room (Deck 2 Mid) to offload the carry-on bags and start un-packing. For the next 2 hours we explored, un-packed, and just enjoyed finally being on the ship. Also, we discovered that our TV had no remote, so we waited for the room steward to bring us a new one. Nor could we get the shared doors open so a steward had to help us with those, too (totally operator error).


One of the door "wreaths" I made.

We had most of the luggage by 4PM, and all of it by 5. The assembly drill was annoying as always, but I guess we weren’t outside for too long. I finished unpacking before dinner and was ready for the week! I ran upstairs for the Sail Away party and grabbed a festive beverage. It was standard.


Sail-away!

At some point in the afternoon, I also stopped by @auntlynne’s room to meet her and her sister (not sure if it was before or after the drill). We talked for a few minutes and introduced ourselves. Unfortunately, we didn’t see each other too much other than in passing.

Our dinner rotation was RLARLARL and everyone had the “Let the Magic Begin Menu” the first night. Pirates ended up being our second night at Lumiere’s. The waitstaff was good and bad. Our Head Waiter and Main Server were awesome. Assistant Server was new and kind of meh for the first half of the cruise. He improved throughout though. Also, for the first half of the cruise, dinner was pushing 2 hours, but we managed to get it down to closer to 1.5 by the second half.

Anyway, dinner for me was the Spiced Calamari, Penne Arrabbiata, and the Mango Cheesecake. Everything was pretty good. FIL/MIL tried the Chicken Bastilla, and it seemed overly doughy.


Calamari and Bastilla

I took DS to the club part way through dinner because we were there for so long. No interesting show tonight, so we just retired to the room to read/watch TV and go to bed early. In fact, we were there so long, DS even requested to leave the club, and we were just finishing up dessert. I don’t think we got the lights turned on, but it was close.

I did make a quick stop at Shutter’s to add DS to my room’s photo package, so we would get all pictures, unless they were DH or FIL alone (and really no chance of that!).

And when I say “watch TV” I mean, wait for IT services to come, because it was broken. BUT, in an odd twist of broken things, our TV was set, not to guest viewing, but crew viewing. What does this mean? It means we had three additional on-demand options: crew training, assorted PG-13 and R rated movies, and old DCL live shows (including ones that aren’t on the ships anymore). More about that later. The one downside was we couldn’t view our bill there, but we could just do it in the app, so not a big deal.


Good night!

 

[dcassetta]

My favorite cheesecake, next time I might get two.

As you should!

crew training

Did you watch any? Some of them might be really interesting.

 

[Calantha]

As you should!

Did you watch any? Some of them might be really interesting.

Yes, we did. I'll describe more in detail on a later day, but none of them were that interesting. It was very much standard Human Resources fare. I enjoyed access to the old shows far more!

 

[Clarkson U]

So as @Calantha mentioned, we arrived earlier and boarded earlier. We arrived via Uber at 11:30 and the outside terminal area was already super busy. We made our way to the back and dropped off our luggage and then were told based on a Noon PAT that we should go ahead and get in line. Lots of confusion and a number of folks in front of us in line had to get out of line or were stopped going in as they didn't have a Noon PAT. They started letting folks in well before Noon. Once in we basically walked through the line to a desk to do check-in. The whole process literally took us 10 minutes including walking and completing check-in. Then we were told to go and sit in chairs while we wait. We sat down for about 5 minutes and then were called to board (we had BG 2). If I recall correctly, they called for BG 1 and 2 at the same time.

We walked up a few ramps and voila were scanned in at the top of the last ramp which was deck 4. We walked in the doors on Deck 4 and we were on our cruise. It was a few minutes before Noon and we were on the ship.

I had no idea that there was any delay in getting in as I went upstairs to Cabanas to enjoy lunch. We stopped by the Aquadunk first but were told that it was down due to some mechanical problems they were trying to solve. I asked if we should wait and the cast member said it will be a few hours before it would be working again. He was right as I looked at various times and didn't see it working again until well after 5 pm.

Obviously, there was almost no one at Cabanas and I had some lunch and then went down to take some pictures of the Soul Cat Lounge and change my Palo dining as well. I also let the Palo manager know that we were 4 vegetarians and he made a note of it and asked what dishes on the menu we would like made vegetarian. He said just about anything can be made vegetarian with enough notice. It was at that time I ran into @Calantha and learned that there was a stoppage in boarding more passengers.

We were in our stateroom by 1:30 pm and we had all of our luggage by 3 pm. Our assembly station was in Animator's Palate so at least it was indoors.

After dinner, we did the show and then went to Fathom's for adult entertainment - and that is where we met Tisa for the first time who was a hoot! Fathom's was packed for adult entertainment. It's also where we learned that O'Gills has a food buffet out from 6:30 pm to 10:30 pm that consists of some veggies and dip, nachos with all the fixings, hot dogs and chicken wings. They change it out around 11 pm but I don't think we went back there that late any night. This first night I also learned that Fathoms had happy hour at 10 pm-11pm (30% off) and O'Gills was at 9 pm-10 pm (50% off).

 

[auntlynne]

We decided to extend hotel check-out til noon and were able to use our food credit at the Residence Inn for a light snack when the bar opened at 11 am (we were told on arrival at 11 pm that credit was only good on check-in day. But venue for use had closed at 10 pm.). A quick chat at GS in the morning allowed for morning swim and snack. Very pleasant front desk staff.

We did not reserve an Uber like several of our fellow guests did. After I selected a car to arrive in 8 minutes, the wait time jumped to 28 minutes. There went our arrival for a noon PAT. At the port, we encountered my first ever experience in waiting in line for luggage drop-off. Then we got the wave to go to the front section of the check-in line, as they were already calling for 12:45 PATs. Other than standing outside in humidity instead of in the cool, empty, large area set up to handle a lot of people - and check-in staff waiting to serve a-n-y one, this was easy. The Supervisor’s Desk displayed the No Available Rooms, so no attempt to upgrade (we suspected it was full, hence the no rush to the port).

We are sort of meat and potatoes cruisers by now. Just do the essentials and have a low-excitement week. Well, other than a bunch of new ports - and excursions at each one. The itinerary lived up to our expectations.

Lunch at Cabanas, keep an eye out for CC gifts and luggage. Hang my arty FE (not pockets) and magnets.





We lucked out and had an assembly station in the WD Theater. Our leader could pass for a Spanish Conquistador. (He was finishing a contract, I discovered, when he was on my plane back to ATL). I did hope that we never had to use the lifeboat, as one kid was yelling throughout the drill.

We got to dinner a little late, so I could see OSJ as we sailed away. this never fails to make me happy.



We were granted our private dining table . We also had a good server and Head Server - with an assistant who seemed overwhelmed. (One night we told the Head Server that the menu on the app did not match our planned restaurant for the following night. Because we know what they serve in each one. . By the time we got to the room, the app was correct! He was on it.)

I’m fairly sure Adult Trivia was on the schedule that day - with me attempting to get some questions right. Thankfully, the dreaded Disney Company sessions only happened a few times.

 

[auntlynne]

Did we say this was a 3-person Anthology of Trip Reports?

We are three different configurations. One a multi-generation family with a young school-age kid. Then a family with college-aged members, and my cabin of two late middle-age/ early elderly? Sisters. All of us are veteran cruisers. The OP is gold CC and the other two contributors are Platinum. And all of us booked for future cruises before we got on this ship.

Meeting these two sets of people made me long for the old days of Disboard Meet-ups. The new pattern of FB makes it hard to follow a conversation.

 

[auntlynne]

Food - For those who enjoy the shrimp, crab claws, and mussels(? some shellfish I’ve seen on DCL before), they were served everyday at lunch in Cabanas. No longer just the boarding day lunch. Daisy’s DeLites usually had the soup served in both Cabanas and sit-down lunch + 2-3 other soups or broth bases or chili. Teriyaki chicken with rice, red beans and rice. Usually rice or quinoa. And the old standards of salad, fruit, pre-made wraps and small sandwiches, plus cookies. If you missed lunch during scheduled hours, this was a nice alternative to burgers and Schwarma.

 

[Calantha]

so I could see OSJ as we sailed away. this never fails to make me happy.

That's a nice view. We were early for dinner that night. Overall, we were usually early so I also didn't catch many sunsets. One night in Lumiere's I realized there was a setting sun and we had a break, so I ran upstairs to get some pictures.

 

[Clarkson U]

Did we say this was a 3-person Anthology of Trip Reports?

We are three different configurations. One a multi-generation family with a young school-age kid. Then a family with college-aged members, and my cabin of two late middle-age/ early elderly? Sisters. All of us are veteran cruisers. The OP is gold CC and the other two contributors are Platinum. And all of us booked for future cruises before we got on this ship.

Meeting these two sets of people made me long for the old days of Disboard Meet-ups. The new pattern of FB makes it hard to follow a conversation.

I am glad you said that @auntlynne - I was going to AFFECTIONATELY say this is the 3-stooges version of the trip report - even though we didn't plan it that way - many thanks to @Calantha for taking the lead and being the OP and for allowing us to just chime in with our experiences around the edges. She is doing a great job with the trip report.

 

[Clarkson U]

Food - For those who enjoy the shrimp, crab claws, and mussels(? some shellfish I’ve seen on DCL before), they were served everyday at lunch in Cabanas. No longer just the boarding day lunch. Daisy’s DeLites usually had the soup served in both Cabanas and sit-down lunch + 2-3 other soups or broth bases or chili. Teriyaki chicken with rice, red beans and rice. Usually rice or quinoa. And the old standards of salad, fruit, pre-made wraps and small sandwiches, plus cookies. If you missed lunch during scheduled hours, this was a nice alternative to burgers and Schwarma.

Yes - when we missed lunch and wanted something a little lighter we ended up opting for Room Service - and ordering a Greek Salad or Fruit Bowl - both of which were very fresh and actually quick when ordering from Room Service. We ordered from them about a half dozen times or so during this sailing and each time they would quote us a wait time and always they were earlier than the wait time (great job of under promising and over delivering by Room Service). Even when we opted for Coffee delivery in the morning - we would normally pick the 6:30 -7:00 am time slot - and I think each time we did that Room Service was there at 6:30 am on the dot to deliver us our coffee to enjoy on our balcony which by then was sans paint chips but in need of a re-staining.

 

[Calantha]

Day 4: St. Kitts (but really a Sea Day for us)

We did St. Kitt’s as a family back in 2019 (11 of us on a private tour of the island), so we decided to treat this as an extra sea day with everything going on later in the week.

I got up early to walk on Deck 4 for about 30 min and then I took some great shots of the sunrise.


Sunrise!

The rest of the morning didn’t go as well though (at least initially).

DH, FIL, and I wanted to do morning stretching (which I have never done before on any cruise). The Navigator’s App said Wide World of Sports was the location to meet. Well, DH and I, along with about 7-8 other people, waited there for about 15 min. FIL had gone to the gym early to “pre-stretch.” Anyway, I finally go down to try to find out what is going on, only to discover they decided to conduct the class down in the gym and didn’t tell anyone. The instructor basically ignored me and continued with the class. I went back upstairs and let everyone else know what happened and we dispersed. I went down and complained to guest services (they were “sorry” for the miscommunication) and I wrote the fitness center off for the rest of the cruise.

Anyway, getting the day back on track, the five of us went to Lumiere’s for sit-down breakfast. I had my 2 favorites: the Pineapple Yogurt Parfait and the Southern Hash. Parfait was good. Hash hardly had any chorizo in it (like 2 pieces). DS had his usual turkey sausages and bowl of strawberries.

We went and got ready for the pool at this point, where we stayed for the rest of the day. The adults rotated through Cabanas for lunch while DS just had pizza on deck. Hot tubs weren’t very hot but were a nice break from the pool. Nothing was crowded at all. I took some pictures off the boat at the island.


St. Kitts

After lunch, DH and DS did the Aqua Dunk a few times and then I joined them on the Twist ‘N Spout. I never made it on the Dunk, but I wasn’t sure how I felt about it, so I didn’t make it a priority.


Aqua Dunk!

By mid-afternoon, we were ready for some shade and maybe a nap. We ordered a cheese plate, showered, and everyone played cards for a bit.

At 4PM, DH and I had Mixology at Keys. Mixology is not DH’s speed, but he agreed to go for me. We had five drinks. The staff brought them around to our spots, and then the bartender demonstrated them.


The drinks!

The drinks weren’t the standard ones I had seen on the Fantasy. At least three were very different (even if 2 of them weren’t great). I appreciated that they were different. My favorite turned out to be a shot of Baileys and Chambord (“birthday cake”). I snagged a second shot for answering a question right. The bartender throughout tossed out questions and the person who answered correctly was able to get another drink. Also, for the people who didn’t like coconut (like my DH) they made a different version of drink number three (which was better than ours).


Coconut Mojito and the Birthday Cake

I was definitely feeling it on the way out!

For dinner, we were in Lumiere’s with the standard first rotational menu. I had the brie, the conchiglie pasta (which they recommend against, but I love), and the souffle + crème brulee. Unfortunately, the crème brulee was too runny, so I mostly ate the souffle.


My dinner

Tonight, was the first main show, Twice Charmed. We ended up sitting behind @Clarkson U (one of the first of many times we would hang out on the trip). I admit to falling asleep for about 3/4 of the show, so I can’t say if it was any good or not.

I can say though that standing outside the Walt Disney Theater after the show to talk caused me to be dripped on by the A/C. But, at least it wasn't an actual leak.

PS. Out of town for the weekend, so next update early next week.

 

[Clarkson U]

So we had never been to St. Kitts so we did a DCL excursion - Scenes of St. Kitts - Adults Only Departure (SK23). We boarded a nice AC coach and had a driver and a tour guide. True to the description of the port adventure it did take us to the places listed and we had enough time at each location for sure.

We went to Fairview House and then to Romney Manor where we saw how they make these beautiful pieces of fabric and clothes from the fabric.



From there we saw the Eastern Carib Central Bank and then went to Frigate Bay and then Timothy Hill where you had a great view of the Marriott Resort on the Bay down below, as well as Caribbean Sea on one side and Atlantic Ocean on the other side. We also tasted a Carib beer, which DW said tasted like a Michelob Light to her.

We were back within the 3 to 3.5 hours that they say the tour will take. We did not spend much time in our room in the afternoon, since maintenance/crew was on our balcony scraping off paint chips (for over 2 hours) and it was weird to be in the room when they are working on the balcony.

The Show was good that night and one that we hadn't seen so it was good.. We did not have any technical glitches during our show. We also did some Trivia in O'Gills after dinner (since our server was fast enough to get us out before 7:15 pm each night - when we arrived at 5:45 for dinner.

After the show, went to Fathoms for evening entertainment. We had fun and called it a night after 11 pm. When back to our stateroom, it was cool but not that cold. We couldn't figure out why since our thermostat was on the lowest setting and no one was there for hours. It wasn't until the next morning that we figured out that our verandah door had a faulty gasket/seal that was letting in hot air.

The hallways outside of the AFT elevators on deck 8 were still very hot as was the hallway outside of our stateroom.