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

[Clarkson U]

So Aruba. This was probably the most Americanized of the islands that we visited and the locals we spoke with also agreed.

We started with our first episode of power loss in our cabin today. It was while DW was taking a shower and she thought that we were all playing a joke on her by turning out the lights. We weren't and the power really went out in our cabin and about 6 other cabins on our side of the hallway. After we all got ready, we went to Cabanas breakfast as we had a morning DCL excursion. Seaworld Explorer (AR01). This took us on a small bus ride with a tour of Oranjestad and then we took a boat ride out to the Seaworld Explorer. It was during this exchange of ships that we saw @auntlynne getting off the Seaworld Explorer as we were getting on.

It's a small space down in the bottom of the boat so it is not for those that get sea sick or are claustrophobic but we had a good time. We got to see some fish and some coral. Not as many coral as I thought and not as colorful as I thought.

After our tour, we came back on the ship and had lunch at Cabanas. Then after lunch, we went back out to do some shopping along the pier and then found a starbucks to enjoy a cup of coffee. We also purchased some t-shirts along the way and it was in the t-shirt shop that we ran into a couple sailing concierge. They told us that their friends in a 1-bdrm concierge suite had flooding from the shower into the bedroom so they were moved into the 2 bedroom concierge suite only to have ceiling tile issues and water leakage in that room as well. On our way back to our cabin, we saw lots of DCL workers outside of the 2 bedroom suite with new pieces of drywall and ceiling tile pieces so I guess they were all over it.

Around 4 pm we came back to our cabin only to have our power go back out within 30 minutes of us coming back into our stateroom. I finally had enough and went down to talk to a manager in GS since talking to GS host was not getting me anywhere. We got power back and went down for dinner. We had a good dinner that evening even though the dining rooms were missing many guests due to the late port departure times in Aruba.

After dinner, we did the 7:30 pm trivia in O'Gills and then did the show. After the show we went out onto deck 4 and realized that it was past 10 pm and that we were still docked at port. We saw an ambulance and the gangway still connected to the dock. We then saw someone wheeled off on a stretcher into an ambulance around 11 pm. The next morning I learned that I knew the person who went off in the ambulance as we had met each other on the ship and spent a bunch of time together at various activities throughout the sailing up to this point. Coming in from deck 4, the automatic doors slammed on DW's hand and caused a big bruise. If that was a child that child would have needed emergency surgery as that door did a number on her hand. We got ice packs from GS and then went back up to our room. It was about 11:30 pm and of course we had no power in our stateroom. So I went back down to GS and they sent up a housekeeping manager to deal with it. Louis, the night housekeeping manager had the audacity to tell me that guests lose power on DCL ships all the time and "it is no big deal" that I lost power. Of course, all of the managers in GS and DCL executive guest communication team shoreside disagreed with Louis. Eventually, we got power back but the electrician admitted he had no idea why we lost power 3 times in one day. While they were up there, one of the one bedroom concierge staterooms had a problem so a few of us started helping them. It turns out the AC unit in their foyer was leaking a good bit and they couldn't get into their bedroom as the door only partially opened. A ceiling tile had fallen down and was hanging so as to block the door from fully opening. Maintenance came up and fixed the ceiling tile but not the leaky AC. We had power back and it was just after midnight so we finally went to bed for the evening. DW had ice pack for the night and elevated her hand as we went to bed. Took meds and hoped in the morning it would be better.

 

[auntlynne]

So Aruba. This was probably the most Americanized of the islands that we visited and the locals we spoke with also agreed.

…After we all got ready, we went to Cabanas breakfast as we had a morning DCL excursion. Seaworld Explorer (AR01). This took us on a small bus ride with a tour of Oranjestad and then we took a boat ride out to the Seaworld Explorer. It was during this exchange of ships that we saw @auntlynne getting off the Seaworld Explorer as we were getting on.

It's a small space down in the bottom of the boat so it is not for those that get sea sick or are claustrophobic but we had a good time. We got to see some fish and some coral. Not as many coral as I thought and not as colorful as I thought.
…

Americanized. If I, too, didn’t say that here, I have repeated it many times elsewhere. I say the same thing about Maui.

Although we are not their only tourists, the infrastructure really creates a setting in which many of us can feel at home. Yet I believe that Europeans are a big contingent of their tourist crowd. (A quick check of numbers - Americans make up 70-80% of visitors to Aruba. Maybe it’s the B and C islands that draw the Europeans. More research to do.)

It is funny (though not uncommon on Disney cruises), to hear a “Hey, Aunt Lynne” from another guest. Just wasn’t expecting it at De Palm Pier after the submarine ride. That has been my name since 1988, not just my Disboard screen name. Friends‘ children, who are now in their 30s, still call me that. It’s fun having friendly cruise mates.

I also expected a clearer view, or at least more colorful fish. Saw some yellow ones and a few with blue accents. But this will be the closest I expect to get to a sunken ship. One and done. Don’t regret doing it - at this stage in my vacationing life. It was an easy excursion, very doable solo; there was no part where you needed someone with you.

Based on my sister’s report of snorkeling there - at the same time - this might have been the better experience. Maybe SCUBA divers, going deeper, had a better view. It definitely was not representative of snorkeling in Aruba, even the same day, based on her report of great snorkeling in a different area.

I was pleasantly surprised that I had no issues with seasickness on either the sub nor the water taxi. And found the space while underwater to be open enough to feel “normal.” They did have a rather efficient (but not too cold) A/C, which probably helped.

I did like that everyone had a seat right next to the window. And the stairs into the sub were not a straight ladder. Getting onto the water taxi had a safe ramp.

But I did learn a lesson: wear a dark, solid, plain shirt when photographing through glass. Mine was a striped shirt; lots of photos that look like I had weird glass.

 

[Calantha]

Day 9: Curaçao, A Strong Contender

While we didn't Curacao think was as good as Bonaire, I would rate it as my 2nd favorite stop on the tour. Although we didn’t have to meet our tour guide, Maartje from “Back2Nature Curacao,” until 10AM, we still ate at Cabanas. Sit-down breakfast at Lumiere’s hadn’t impressed me much this time, compared to other sailings.

A last-minute addition to the schedule was a Bruno/Maribel meet and greet at 9:30AM (thank goodness our tour had a late start). We got there early and then ran back to change into our bathing suits. It was great to see them and by the time we left, the line was super long. There was another one scheduled for later in the day though, so anyone who got off early would be able to see them.


We don't talk about Bruno!

Note on the Curaçao port – you have a loooong walk all the way to the exit to meet a guide who doesn’t have port access. We headed downstairs at about 9:50 and between getting off the ship and getting out of port, it was close to 15 minutes. A brief pause for photographs with our favorite photographer might have delayed us briefly too.

Maartje then took us across the island on an off-road “adventure” to the northeastern part of the island. We didn’t go all the way north and it turns out that Curacao is quite a bit bigger than Bonaire, so there wouldn’t have been time to go that far anyway. We visited what shows up on Google Maps as “Windmill Farm Curaçao.” You go down a dirt road and pay an old lady 5 guilders to access her family's private property. At this point, there is hardly any road and it is very bumpy. Looking at the cliffs that ran along our right side (ocean on the left), there were mountain goats climbing up and down.


Goats!

We visited a natural “trash” museum along one portion of the cliffs, where a local artist has repurposed things from around the island. Next stop was a bat cave (not the big one that everyone else goes to) and then we went up close to the windmills.


Giant windmill

From there, we went down to the shore. The amount of trash was very sad! I’m not sure why Curaçao was so much worse than Bonaire, but apparently once per year they do a huge beach cleanup project.


Unfortunate beach

We left the Windmill farm property and Maartje drove us to a local’s beach, where she provided a picnic lunch (another highlight of the whole trip). Fresh bread from a local bakery, fruits and veggies from her garden, homemade peanut butter, and fresh juice. It was all delicious! The only downside was the wind. It was very windy (as it had been the last two days on Aruba and Bonaire). DS and I decided to go swimming and we relaxed there for a bit.

Our last stop of the day was back at Kokomo Beach (not actually the one from the Beach Boy’s song though). There’s a restaurant, bathrooms, a spa, and seating to rent there. The snorkeling was not as good as Bonaire as the water was a little bit rougher, and there weren’t as many fish (I think because the beach was moderately crowded).


Down at the Kokomo

Overall, a really good day though.

Maartje drove us back to the port, I stopped for souvenirs, and we got back on the ship.

After showers and relaxation, we dressed for semi-formal night, getting our last big round of pictures. DS wore the new shirt I bought him a few days ago. Dinner was at Rapunzel’s again, and we had the second show (with the “Lantern”). I had pasta again, but didn’t pick any appetizers with the expectation of more Indian food, and our dessert at Palo. We had individual servings of Indian at this restaurant (each of us got a small plate), which was interesting (the biryani was delicious). I couldn’t skip the Sweet Fry Bread for dessert, although it ultimately didn’t compare to the chocolate souffle at Palo.


Sweet Fry Bread

Anyway, Palo dessert was scheduled for 8PM. DH stayed with DS and said he was too full, so I went with MIL/FIL back up to Palo. They seated us at the bar and quickly presented us with the chocolate souffle. Our waiter from the other day served us but mostly we talked to the bartender (who gave me a complimentary shot of this lemon thing he was making). Very much appreciated them making things up to MIL after the way it ended the other morning. I had to make a dash for it at 8:30 to go see Guardians of the Galaxy with DH and DS, otherwise, I would have lingered to talk to the bartender some more (and watch what he was doing).


Souffle

Movie wasn’t overly packed since it was the second night of showings in the Buena Vista (vs in the main theater). I enjoyed it more than Vol. 2, but less than Vol 1.

Then it was straight to bed, since it was after 11PM. Definitely the latest night of the cruise.

@auntlynne and @Clarkson U, I lost track of you after this day I think, so not sure what you were all up to?

 

[auntlynne]

Curaçao. Final Port Day. Last of the ABC Islands.


Today’s itinerary was built around UNESCO and a sand-floor synagogue.

Curaçao has reportedly beautiful beaches that are not as easy to reach (transportation) as Aruba’s are and were left off our plans. Maybe another trip…

We decided to just focus on the downtown, waterfront area of Punda In the town of Willemstad.

Starting with the view out our porthole - we saw trees. No buildings, cars, vendors set up. Nice. This port area has a new infrastructure look. We were at the Megaship Pier, and it might actually be new, as there is another docking area deeper into the harbor. We seemed to be up the coast a little, in a developing area (walkable, though). Again, no other ships in port.

We opted for the Trolley Train excursion through the Punda (Point) neighborhood. Across the harbor is Otrabanda (The Other Side). These two areas face each other, with their brightly colored Amsterdam- style architecture.

(We did the ship excursion. We had a taxi from just off the ship to downtown, taking us over the tall Queen Juliana Bridge).



Lots of color on their buildings, old and new.






We stopped at a Catholic Church. I enjoyed this alcove.



This trip really emphasizes how much the Dutch explored / settled this side of the world. (My family name is Dutch; we saw it in a road sign to a Bay.)



Part 2 next…

 

[auntlynne]

Curaçao, continued

After a 90-minute tour of a small section of Punda, we began our next adventure: a visit to the Synagogue Mikve Israel-Emanuel.

“The very first sand floor synagogue was built in Amsterdam by the Sephardic community in 1675. Fine sand was scattered over a wooden floor for preservation of building materials, but this could also be used to help conceal Judaic practices by muffling sounds of worship and prayer. It’s documented as one the wealthiest and most expansive Jewish synagogues of its time and is a magnificent example of the Dutch Golden Age.

Traditions spread, and as Jews began to migrate aboard ships during the early 17th century, so spread the Sephardic, Dutch custom of the sand-bottom floor as Jewish families settled in island paradise.

Today, there are only five sand synagogues remaining in the world, three of them in the Caribbean, located on the islands of Curacao, Jamaica, St. Thomas, one in South America in Suriname, and the fifth in their birth place, the Netherlands.” (Source: momentmag.com)

We had previously visited the one in St Thomas while exploring the island. It was there I learned of this one and remembered that when planning our cruise activities.

(The Sephardic Jews of Spain had left their homes, many ending up in Holland, when they were told to convert to Catholicism or die, under the reign of Ferdinand and Isabella. My paraphrase of history). Ultimately a small group left Holland and settled in Curacao.

Our trolley tour through Punda was principally through the Jewish neighborhood, with its Land Houses. A typical tour where you see the best homes of an era. (Juxtaposed with ones that aren’t.)

The inside of the Synagogue.


There is a large collection of historical artifacts in the museum next door.

Next stop was McDonald’s for a drink and what would be the best McD’s hamburger I had tasted in decades, Hot, moist, and a soft bun.

We crossed a swinging bridge that allows ships to enter the harbor.



And headed back to the boat, walking through a converted fort. (Renaissance, as in Marriott hotel, I imagine. The Mall in Aruba was across from a Renaissance Resort and Casino; and there are several Marriott timeshares there, too.).

The exterior of the fort is original. The inside was lined with attractive, modern infrastructure for shops.

Strategically located as a walk-through to the Megaship Pier.




The Punda and Otrabanda areas of Willemstad are designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Again, back in the ship, squeezing in to Cabanas in its last 30 minutes of lunch. Since it’s a buffet, at least you start eating within 5 minutes of washing your hands.

I think this was Music of the 2000s for trivia. I recognized the intro to about 5 songs. But it was the most fun crowd. The younger guests really expressed their love of this music. It was an SRO crowd in O’Gill’s.

FunnelVision movie, pizza…I’m guessing.

 

[auntlynne]

@Calantha Palo Dessert-only: do you make reservations with the Maitre ‘D?

 

[Calantha]

@Calantha Palo Dessert-only: do you make reservations with the Maitre ‘D?

I’m not sure how you would do it normally, they arranged it for us because they dropped the ball at the end of our brunch and forgot MIL’s birthday (among other things).

 

[Clarkson U]

Curacao - a beautiful island and I think the largest of the ABC islands. It had the most Dutch type of architecture and color as @auntlynne has already shown us.

Our family got up and went for breakfast at Cabanas and then we took off on the morning tour, another DCL excursion - this one was the Discover Curacao Island Tour (CR01).

We started with a trip to the Curacao museum which had a nice history of the island and its development. It also had a musical instrument called the Carillon - which for the musically inclined (not me) is a keyboard type instrument with hung bells in a perfect pitch. My boys, both musically inclined, knew what it was and had seen it before.


We spent about 20 minutes or so there before we got back on our bus and headed to the Hato Caves. We had a cave guide who brought us up a lot of steps into the cave. Once inside it was a hot cave since it was up in the air, unlike most of the caves we see here in the US that are below ground. It was neat to see and we were told that the caves were over 300,000 years old on the island. From the top of the entrance to the caves we can get this picturesque view of the island and water



From there we drove by some other neighborhoods on our way to the Curacao liqueur factory. This factory is where Senior's Genuine Curacao Liqueur is made, bottled and even sold. It is a small distillery but neat to see and we got to sample different flavors - we sampled Tamarind, Chocolate and Orange flavors of the liquor.



After our excursion was over, we got dropped off at the fort/Renaissance hotel/shopping area. We walked through that, looked around a bit and then walked back onto the ship. It was late for lunch by the time we got on, so we ordered greek salad and fries for lunch from room service. It was of course, delicious.

We took showers, got dressed for dinner and then played some trivia and games before dinner time. The stateroom was finally ice cold like I expect on a DCL ship for multiple days in the row, the hallway outside of our stateroom was finally cool and it seemed like things were moving in the right direction. We also did not lose power at all on this day so that was a big plus for us. I saw the electrician guy later on this day and he said they tested everything earlier today but still could not find a source of the power loss. Here's hoping it doesn't happen to us or others again on this sailing.

I don't remember our dinner or dessert this night and I think we did not go to the WDT this evening either. We ended up doing trivia after dinner and then just chilling and playing games with some new friends we made on the ship. They had a "board game" of sorts and we hung out in O'Gills after trivia just playing games with them for a while. It was fun and then we parted ways.

We went to bed early this night - like before 10 pm as we were exhausted and looking forward to our sea day tomorrow - our last full day on the ship!

 

[Calantha]

Day 10: Another Sea Day

Our last full day on the ship! I didn’t get up this morning to look for a sunrise and we all slept in after the late night at the movies. I did have a full coffee card, so I went to get my free chai latte! Only the second or third time I've filled a card.

Breakfast was at Cabanas and I enjoyed the Mickey churros. The lowlight was tripping over FIL and wearing my breakfast – so I had to run back to the room to execute a quick change and come back to consume the rest of breakfast. I started some packing and told DS no pool today – thankfully that meant everything was dry except for my dress (and even that was pretty dry by 9PM).

We started looking around for characters and lined up for our Princess Meet & Greet reservations at 10AM. We saw Mulan, Belle, Cinderella, and Tiana. Then we went up to meet Rapunzel (for about the 5th time given how many times we saw her in the restaurant and elsewhere) and we also bumped into Pluto and Captain Minnie as we were wandering around.


We love Tiana (and her restaurant on the Wonder)


Ran into Captain Minnie

The Castaway Reception started at 10:30 (so glad we moved Palo, as this was our original reservation time). We talked to some of the crew and snagged drinks. Then they moved us into the theater, where we sat next to the @Clarkson U family. It took the event awhile to get started, but they talked about the new ships and Pearl, etc. Finally, we got to enjoy a “behind the scenes” of the last night show…Wishes? Dreams? We didn’t make it, so I can’t honestly say. @auntlynne did a review of the whole reception in one of the recent threads, so if you’re curious, I’ll point you there.

We went right up to Cabanas for lunch – where DS ate chicken fingers and pasta! So amazing after a week of pizza and salmon. And, I forgot to mention, Palo sent DH a souffle late last night since he stayed with DS, which he then didn’t eat because it was so late…so I did – after lunch. Cold souffle is not the same as warm, but it was still pretty tasty.

The highlight of the afternoon of course was the Encanto Celebration at 2PM. We lined up at about 1:45 and got good seats on the far side of D Lounge. I tried the Cocktail #3 (I can’t say I liked it much). We then enjoyed 2 crafts, singing, dancing, trivia, and seeing Bruno/Mirabel again. Also, the first time we successfully went to an event that was not a character meet and greet, a show, or a reception.


Encanto Experience

I did more packing and then we went to Lumiere’s for dinner. They had more Indian food for us, but I couldn’t pass up on the eggplant, lobster, or Captain’s Sundae.


Eggplant - I could eat 2

The last thing I did was go back to Keys and get a glass of the 10 Yr Tawny Port. We had it on the Fantasy last July in the Chocolate and Liquor tasting, and I hadn’t had a chance to drink it again. I enjoyed it in bed while we watched “Villians Tonight!” on the crew channel. I also finished packing and got everything out the door by 10PM.


I first had this Port at the Chocolate and Liquor tasting on the Fantasy last year

 

[Calantha]

Day 11: Returning Home
(Sorry, running the last 2 days together - I need to start focusing on the next cruise and getting ready for summer break.)

I always hate Departure Day, as I’m sure the rest of you do. We showered and finished packing up the room. Breakfast was 7AM in Lumiere’s (despite the app insisting that it was Rapunzel’s and then AP). My Southern Hash had even less chorizo than the first day if that’s even possible. They have neither turkey sausage nor strawberries on the last morning, so it was just cereal for DS. I believe DH had eggs.

Since we had nowhere to be and no plans until our 5PM flight (too hot to go out into town again), we settled ourselves in the Cool Cat lounge for the first time, along with 100 of our closest friends. I think they started calling express walk-off right about 7:45 and then tags around 8:20 or 8:30? There was definitely a sewage smell that wafted through, not sure the source of it, but we moved away from the main bar and it improved. (Yuck!) We stayed for almost an hour until they announced, “All Tags.”

Being near the end made it very easy to find our luggage inside, but when we went outside, there were still a ton of people trying to depart. I called an UberXL to take us to the airport (20 min to arrive) – we got the same person who picked us up at the airport, so that was pretty funny and we knew exactly how to load the luggage and wheelchair.

Once we arrived at the airport, we couldn’t check bags until 4 hours before (so about 1PM), so we camped out again, this time at the food court (which literally had about 15 tables occupied mostly by cruise people). At 1PM, we checked in at JetBlue. DS and I went to pre-check, FIL/MIL through the accessible line (nice that they had one), and DH through the regular line. DS was randomly selected for a second time, and this time we had to have all the iPads scanned for explosives, but not my camera (who knows?). We waited for everyone else, probably about 20 minutes and then I took DS to the general airport club.

The club was meh, although I expected it based on the reviews. @auntlynne was departing as we were arriving, so we waved farewell to her. Inside, I ate lunch and charged all the electronics, while DS did homework and had some snacks. Around 3:30, we rejoined the rest of the family because there were no bathrooms inside and DS wanted other food. Flight departed promptly at 5 PM and it was an uneventful flight back to DCA.

Thank you all for following along! I hope you enjoyed it! Let me know if you have any questions. Hope to see ya real soon!

145 days to HOTHS on the Fantasy (no trip report I suspect though)

 

[Clarkson U]

So our last full day on the ship - started at MIDNIGHT - yes MIDNIGHT. I had to check in for my next DCL cruise as my check-in date was at Midnight. Fortunately, GS told me to purchase a one day one device internet package and they would refund me that amount. So that is exactly what I did as without the paid internet one cannot log into the DCL website (even though you can visit website for free) and I was able to do my check in before 12:15. I got an early PAT for my next sailing (also on Magic) and BG 5. All in all not bad for using ship wifi at sea. Then back to bed I went. Now we woke up in the morning with coffee delivered to the room at 6:30 so we could enjoy it on the balcony.

After some coffee on the balcony, we got ready and went down to the MDR for a sit down breakfast. After breakfast, we packed a little bit in our room until it was time for the Gold/Platinum/Pearl reception. We did stand in line with @Calantha and enjoyed chatting with the family and having a drink or so along the way. They gave us a 10:30 am start time but didn't start the show inside until after 11 am. After the reception we went up to Deck 4 midship so we could watch Jack-Jack's Diaper Dash - one of our old time favorites on the ship. This was no different, and the genius parent who had the child's binky (pacifier) in her mouth so her child would motor (at a fast pace) from one side of the mat to the other to get the binky was truly amazing and a genius move by these parents. Of course, they easily won but it was still a lot of fun to watch.

After this, we went up to Cabanas for lunch. After lunch we did some more packing so that we were mostly done before dinner. We did some afternoon activities including the 2 pm showing of the new Encanto show. I won't repeat all of the stuff that @Calantha mentioned as we did the show at the same time. I agree with her that Cocktail #3 (literally this cocktail was so new it had no name just a number) was okay at best. Definitely not one I plan to re-order again. It was a cute hour and our 2 pm showing was standing room only and pretty full in the D lounge. Then we did some more trivia and looked at pictures we wanted to order. Before dinner we ordered our prints and we knew we could pick them up after 7:30 pm (end of our dinner)

Then off to dinner. We had pre-ordered Deep Fried Brie for appetizer - as it is one of our favs and our family wanted it. They had it ready for us when we arrived. Also, the indian vegetarian food was good. We enjoyed our last meal. We asked our service team if we could come to late breakfast the next morning and they said yes - they could find a spot for us.

Again, trivia and then the show. After the show, we picked up our pictures, finished putting stuff in our bags and put them out before 10 pm.

We also had the survey to fill out so we filled that out and then went to bed. We are not usually ones to stay up late the last night and this was no exception.

Next morning, we woke up early and went for a walk up on the top decks one last time. Then took our shower and showed up for late seating breakfast. As it turns out the family that sits at our table for the second seating did not come for breakfast so we were able to sit at our actual table for see ya real soon breakfast. We enjoyed this last hour with our service team as they were great throughout. We enjoyed our leisure breakfast and then got off the ship a little after 9:30 am.

We went down, got our luggage and went to customs. It was a fairly quick process and we were in our uber by 10 am. Our uber driver was really nice and lived in FL for 10 years before moving to PR and running his own businesses in PR> He took us on a little tour on our way to the airport. We made it in plenty of time for our 12:30 pm flight.

We checked our luggage and went in through security and were at the gates with more than an hour to spare. We had a quick bite to eat while waiting for our flight. Our flights arrived on time back to mainland US.

Overall, we had a great time despite many of the challenges we faced on this sailing. DW and I are apprehensive about getting back on the ship in 2 weeks from today but it does sound like things are improving. I also was able to speak with DCL Executive Guest Communications after getting home and able to give them details around our experiences on the ship.

Thanks to @Calantha for doing the heavy lifting but honestly it was great reading those posts and being able to add my own touches to our experience and then contrasting that with @auntlynne experience. It was nice to make new friends on the ship that I hope to stay in touch with long after the memories of this sailing have faded. Hope you all have enjoyed reading the reports.

 

[auntlynne]

Final Sea Day. This is where it fell apart for me. (I won’t remember the less-wonderful before long).

We have established a pattern. Cabanas for breakfast and lunch.

(I wrote this and ranted about the Castaway Club party. Now it’s down to just being what will stick out as my unfavorite part and then just become, “what was my problem?” I just felt they disrespected their most loyal customers by their lack of communication. Eventually, it will be a forgotten hour of my life.)

The afternoon and evening would be dedicated to newer / newest movie releases in the Buena Vista Theater. Ant Man Quantumania had a Saturday morning quality, continuing with its style of storytelling.

Then I watched Guardians of the Galaxy 3. I should have left with the opening scene of baby raccoons in a cage. For me, it only got worse. I was horrified by the violence, language, story - everything. I cried through so much of the movie. I left the theater disgusted that this was the direction Disney corporation was headed. I seriously wondered what role Disney would have in my future. It affected me that much.

As I thought that, I knew I had an upcoming cruise in September (PIF date was the day we boarded this cruise). I am chalking up some of my reaction as being tired from a long, port-intensive cruise. Lots of it to a movie franchise that has some questionable movies (specifically Guardians), and a small amount to logistical issues that should never have happened on a ship / company celebrating 25 years. And the wait in the Castaway party was still fresh on my mind.

Nearly a month later later, I am really looking forward to our September Fantasy cruise, but am still considering my future in Disney cruising.

But I had a great vacation!

And met some really neat people. I hope others get such enjoyment out of cruise / forum friends.

My takeaway and highlights:

I still love cruising - moreso with new ports and adventures. Especially at Disney prices. My sister proclaimed she doesn’t need Disney for a port- intensive itinerary. That could change our future.

A unique Southern Caribbean cruise is one I would highly recommend. It seems to have a different set of ports when it sails, which looks like May and November. Our May cruise was at the end of the season. I think November is at the beginning.

This isn’t your typical “Caribbean” set of ports, as in loud music and vendors in your face (it may also reflect the season end).

St Lucia and St Kitts show you volcanic-formed landscapes, lush and green. ABC Islands are arid, windy, with beautiful water.

Some of my excursions I might recommend -many of @Calantha’s I think would be better. I would do the golf cart, but stop where she did.

I really liked the golf cart (Bonaire). Seeing the Pitons (St Lucia). St Kitts was nicer than I expected. Curaçao - I needed more time. Aruba - I would just fly there and have a nice beach holiday.

The cruise itself was not that different than what I expected or previously experienced. IF DCL has gone downhill, it has been insidious over years.

Off the ship, looking for the Uber pick-up area, I was offered a shuttle. It was $10 pp, no luggage charge. They filled up the hotel-style shuttle and we headed away, with a loud pop before we got to the road. Blown tire, but no problems. Glad we didn’t have to stand in the heat on the side of the road, waiting for roadside service!

San Juan has a nice airport; it seems refreshed - with more to come. I walked all over the place, trying to decide on something to eat. And we had plenty of time before an afternoon flight.

There is no Delta Sky Lounge, so we ended up using Priority Pass for lounge access. The few times I have visited loyalty lounges has spoiled me for comfort, space, and refreshments. But this was free and got something in me. We’d been eating all week; hunger was not really an issue. And had a great time talking to a Disney employee from Seattle.

It was still surprising to run into @Calantha and @Clarkson U; I think I expected to be anonymous this cruise.


I would recommend:

this cruise and any of its ports,

our hotel, Residence Inn (San Juan airport),

San Juan (in general- based on previous stays; we arrived too late to do anything but sleep and swim in the pool)

Probably any excursion that sounds fun for you - Disney or outside vendor

McDonald’s in Curacao

Trivia

(Happy Hour in O’Gill’s 9-10 pm any night)

Movies on FunnelVision at night

Movies in the Buena Vista Theater (Don’t sit on the back row - the knee room is shallow. I learned this years ago)

My room location - Deck 2 Forward (we were 2022). Handy, quiet, oceanview

Churro Mickey Waffles!

• and -

Finding new friends, even if it’s just for cruising.

Bon Voyage, y’all

 

[Calantha]

And complete!

 

[ksromack]

Really enjoyed the collaboration of your trip reports. Made for very informative reading. Dh and I are considering the April 2024 southern sailing on the Magic but leaning toward the one that includes Aruba and Curaçao because the other itinerary is pretty booked up. We just got off the Wonder a couple days ago and you know the best way to get over vacation blues is to book another