Magical Mystery Tour

[CustardTart]

Just caught up, Corinna - so pleased to see you on the Magic!!!

We also like to eat in Parrot Cay for that first lunch and always say we'll wait for a table despite being urged onwards and upwards to Topsiders!!!

Love, love, love your door magnets - they are awesome!!! The license plate names are fantastic and I also adore the one with Mickey's hand holding a snowglobe(?) of the Magic... Makes me think I must get started on mine tho' I doubt they'll be as creative...

Very interested to hear about the new menus - the sound delicious and I cannot wait to sample them...

Lots of lovely photos too - I hope to make more use of the onboard photo opportunities in August. Love Mickey in his Spanish attire...

 

[Feebs]

Great pictures you have there, I love the ones with Donald.
Just a couple of questions - did you enquire about upgrading at the port? Also you said the drinks at the formal reception seemed watered down - were other cocktails like this? I don`t mind that if they are free but if I pay for them - thats a different matter

 

[Ware Bears]

Corinna, I am soooooooooo enjoying reading this.

Your photos are lovely.

 

[dolphingirl47]

Just caught up, Corinna - so pleased to see you on the Magic!!!

We also like to eat in Parrot Cay for that first lunch and always say we'll wait for a table despite being urged onwards and upwards to Topsiders!!!

Love, love, love your door magnets - they are awesome!!! The license plate names are fantastic and I also adore the one with Mickey's hand holding a snowglobe(?) of the Magic... Makes me think I must get started on mine tho' I doubt they'll be as creative...

Very interested to hear about the new menus - the sound delicious and I cannot wait to sample them...

Lots of lovely photos too - I hope to make more use of the onboard photo opportunities in August. Love Mickey in his Spanish attire...

I am actually seriously thinking about the photo CD for the Transatlantic cruise. I think all in all, we had about 200 photos and I did not make use of all the photo opportunities.

I have not deserved the credit for the door magnets. Most of them are courtesy of the ladies and gentlemen on the Cruise Magnet thread and two of the graphics were made by somebody on the Med cruise. I had the graphics printed out as photos and then turned them into magnets with my Xyron.

Are you doing a 10 or 11 night cruise? The 10 night cruise does not get my favourite menu (Flavours of the Med)

Great pictures you have there, I love the ones with Donald.
Just a couple of questions - did you enquire about upgrading at the port? Also you said the drinks at the formal reception seemed watered down - were other cocktails like this? I don`t mind that if they are free but if I pay for them - thats a different matter

No, far from it. DCL had actually upgraded us free of charge and I had my travel agent fight tooth and nail on my behalf to get us back into a category 12 cabin. I cannot handle the split bathrooms. I loved our cabin and the location was perfect for us.

The normal cocktails were definitely not watered down. We had some fantastic Margaritas at the Cove Cafe that were anything but watered down.

Corinna

 

[TotallyAngelic]

Just want to say how much I am enjoying your cruise report .... reading it is making me sooooooo excited for September.
You look lovely in your pink dress and I love all the photos. The food sounds delicious .... can't wait to try those sampler desserts. That will make life so much easier than having to choose

 

[CustardTart]

I am actually seriously thinking about the photo CD for the Transatlantic cruise. I think all in all, we had about 200 photos and I did not make use of all the photo opportunities..

I always wish we'd gone for the CD when we renewed our vows - choosing from 100s of photos is so hard... However, on subsequent cruises we just haven't had many taken - maybe it's time to change all that!

I have not deserved the credit for the door magnets. Most of them are courtesy of the ladies and gentlemen on the Cruise Magnet thread and two of the graphics were made by somebody on the Med cruise. I had the graphics printed out as photos and then turned them into magnets with my Xyron.

Then I shall investigate further. I normally create my own graphics in Photoshop and print them onto magnetic paper...

Are you doing a 10 or 11 night cruise? The 10 night cruise does not get my favourite menu (Flavours of the Med)

11 night departing August 28th!!! Look forward to hearing about that menu...

 

[dolphingirl47]

I always wish we'd gone for the CD when we renewed our vows - choosing from 100s of photos is so hard... However, on subsequent cruises we just haven't had many taken - maybe it's time to change all that!


Then I shall investigate further. I normally create my own graphics in Photoshop and print them onto magnetic paper...


11 night departing August 28th!!! Look forward to hearing about that menu...

By the time you get off the Magic, it will nearly be time for me to get back on it.

Corinna

 

[mandymouse]

What a lovely relaxing day Corinna. I love your photos, especially this one

I look forward to your next installment

 

[dolphingirl47]

What a lovely relaxing day Corinna. I love your photos, especially this one

I look forward to your next installment

This is my second favourite photo I think. My favourite was taken on the La Spezia day and has the second biggest love of my life in it, Stitch.

Next installment coming right up.

Corinna

 

[mandymouse]

This is my second favourite photo I think. My favourite was taken on the La Spezia day and has the second biggest love of my life in it, Stitch.

Next installment coming right up.

Corinna

Ooh, I look forward to seeing your pic with Stitch

 

[eeyorefanuk]

No, while the Magic is in Europe, there are no 7 night Caribbean cruises. The Wonder carries on doing 3 and 4 night cruises to the Bahamas and then a few 5 night cruises. When the new ship gets delivered, the Wonder will go to Los Angeles and do 7 night Mexican Riviera cruises and some 7 night Alaskan cruises over the summer. The Magic will be back in Europe next summer and hopefully will be home ported in Europe as of 2012, but no announcement has been made about this as yet.

Corinna

Hello, just found your report - so excited as trying to talk myself into a disney cruise - just the fear of bad weather - but we are lookign to go in august next year. when you say hopefully "home ported" do you mean you start from UK and end in UK??

 

[dolphingirl47]

Hello, just found your report - so excited as trying to talk myself into a disney cruise - just the fear of bad weather - but we are lookign to go in august next year. when you say hopefully "home ported" do you mean you start from UK and end in UK??

Probably not in the UK, but in Barcelona and I would expect them to do cruises that both start and end there. I suppose there is always the possibility that the Magic would be based in the UK for some of the summer to do some Baltic itineraries like this summer. I am hoping that we will find out what itineraries will be on offer in 2012 in September or October this year.

Corinna

 

[gemmybear83]

Really enjoying your trip report Corrina you have me so excited for our first disney cruise!

 

[dolphingirl47]

Day 7

When we got up in the morning, we had already docked in Malta. Prior to the cruise, I had found it very hard to get exited about most of the ports. Part of that had to do that the information that was available online was very limited. For Malta there was some information available, but it seemed that the season there does not start until Mid May and a lot of the things that I would have enjoyed were not available when we were there. As I was not willing to pay the steep prices that Disney charges for their excursions, there seemed to be very little to tempt me off the ship. For me the Magic is the destination anyway so I was quite happy with the prospect of staying on the ship most days. This is not how it worked out though.

On our way to breakfast, I looked out of the portholes and what I saw was really pretty. The buildings in Malta are all built from Limestone, which I really liked. So we decided to get some breakfast in Lumieres and then head out to take a look.

I tried a smoothie made with mango, honey and yoghurt with some Granola sprinkled in to get me started. This became a firm favourite for the rest of the cruise. I also had Eggs Benedict. This set me up for the day. After breakfast, we got the stuff we needed for the day and headed out.

The port in Malta is just outside the capital Valetta and the information we had is that you can easily walk this in about 20 minutes. So we set off on our travels. As soon as we got off the ship, we were welcomed by a brass band and people dressed up as Roman soldiers for photo opportunities. This is something I noticed in most ports on that cruise: the ship was given a royal welcome and in most places there was something special put on to welcome us.

We walked along the waterfront for a bit, which is very pretty with little shops, museums and restaurants. The restaurants had outside seating and there were loads of flowers and trees around as well.

http://s133.photobucket.com/albums/...ruise Magic/?action=view&current=SDC10565.jpg

Once we left the immediate port area, there were loads of taxis offering private tours. We just bypassed them. Two bus companies also had representatives there. One offered a hop on hop off bus tour, but I read a lot of negative reviews about them so we steared clear of them. The other company was City Sightseeing. We have used them in a number of different places over the years and always have been pleased with the service received. Normally they operate hop on hop off buses as well, but in Malta they do a tour with certain stops were everybody gets off with the tour guide to visit certain sights and then everybody gets back on the bus. At EUR10 per person, this was a real bargain. So we decided to go for this.

We got on the bus and started our journey. Unfortunately the microphone did not work on the first bus. So they drove us at breakneck speed to their main tour starting point where we joined another tour. This caused a little bit of confusion later on as we were supposed to do a half day tour and the tour we joined was a full day tour, but this was handled very well.

Once we were on the right bus, we made one more stop to pick up more people. This stop was at the top of a hill and although we were not allowed to get off the bus, I managed to get some nice photos.

 

[dolphingirl47]

After the last pick up, we drove around the island for a bit and learned loads about the island and its history. We got life commentary in English and Italian. Once we had a bit of an overview of the island, we made our first stop at Mosta Church. This is a beautiful round church that is very light and airy. Our tour guide told us a bit about the history of the church and then we had a few minutes to look around and take photos. After that we went to the sacristy of the church, which is a small museum displaying ceremonial garments, historical photos and a model of the church. The church's claim to fame is that during the second World War, a German bomb at fallen into the church through the dome while mass with more than 300 people was in progress. The bomb did not detonate and nobody got hurt. Incidentally that dome is the third largest in Europe.

Although the museum was interesting, it was quite cramped and I was more than a little relieved when we moved on. On the way out, we had a look at a famous statue of the Virgin Mary and then we got back on the bus.

Once we left Mosta, we drove through some stunning countryside to Ta'Qali. Ta'Qali is a former military airfield that has been turned into a craft village. We made two stops there. The first stop was at a shop that sells the traditional Maltese filigree jewellery. I was a bit cynical at first about us being led to a tourist trap, but I was soon won over. The jewellery was absolute stunning and the prices were low as well. I bought a pair of Sterling silver filigree earrings with purple crystals and a Sterling silver pendant and both together cost me EUR25. I though that I got a bit of a bargain there and I really love my jewellery.

While I was jewellery shopping, DH was exploring the local flora and fauna. He managed to get tangled up with a Prickly Pear Cactus when checking if the fruits were ripe yet and lets just say he came off worse in this encounter. A couple of thorns needed removing afterwards.

Once everybody was back on the bus, we moved on to another area of the craft village. This time we visited a glass blowing workshop. The glass was absolutely gorgeous. They also had seconds on sale at extremely cheap prices. I would have loved to buy a dolphin ornament from this section as they were only EUR10 and I could not see anything wrong with them at all. Unfortunately they were rather large and heavy and as we were flying back with a budget airline with a fairly tight luggage allowance, this was simply not an option. DH continued is nature walk and came across this lizard.

 

[dolphingirl47]

We had been given 15 minutes to shop and explore before we had to be back on the bus to head for the final stop of the half day tour: M'dina, the old capital of Malta.

M'dina is a beautiful walled city. Malta had a very colourful history and amongst others the Romans, Greeks, Byzantines, Arabs and French all ruled the island. All of those cultures have left their mark on M'dina. This mix of architectural styles could look really awful, but because all the buildings were built using the local lime stone and therefore are the same colour, this works really well.

We walked through M'dina and stopped at a number of points of interest where our tour guide explained a bit about what we were looking at and the history of it. I have to admit, I remember nothing of this. I was just absolutely taken by the place and felt like a kid in a candy store. I just soaked up the atmosphere and took plenty of photos.

Once we had finished our walk around M'dina, our tour guide set those that were doing a full day tour loose to get some lunch and free-time. After she had arranged a meeting point and time with this part of the group, she walked the rest of us through some tiny and very charming alleyways to the Greek gate, where our bus was waiting to take us back to the port. The bus made one last stop in the centre of Valetta to allow people who wanted to go shopping and sightseeing there and then make their own way back to the port to get off. Only one person got off. The rest of us were dropped off near the entrance to the port.

The entrance to the port was not where we had exited the ship in the morning. We had to go through an area with various souvenir shops and then through the terminal. The exit to the ship was actually in the duty free shop. We tasted some Prickly Pear Liqueur there, which I quite liked, but DH hated. Instead we got a bottle of Maltese Rose wine and a corkscrew as screwtops on wine bottles do not seem to have made it to Malta so far.

 

[dolphingirl47]

By the time we got back on the ship, it was around 15:00. They had stopped serving lunch at the restaurants, but the food outlets near the pools were open. We headed up to Goofy's Galley where I had a Bacon and Brie Panini and DH had Roast Beef on sourdough bread. For dessert, we headed to Cove Cafe, where DH had some mini strawberry tarts and a cappuccino and I had a chocolate brownie and an iced mocha. Little did we know at the time that this would be one of our last ever cups of coffee.

Once we were fed and watered, we headed back to the cabin to drop off our stuff and change into our gym stuff. They had a spinning class that afternoon and I really wanted to try this. DH worked out in the gym, but had now intention to join the class as he had done one on our last cruise and did not really enjoy it. In the end only one other person showed up and DH decided to join in after all.

The class was supposed to last 30 minutes. I thought that I should be able to manage this. In the end it lasted 45 minutes. I coped alright, but those bikes are not comfortable and the parts of me that had been in direct contact with the bike were very sore. It was worth our while though. Not only did I get a good workout and I felt good about myself, but we also got a voucher for a complimentary Body Composition Analysis. We had planned to do this on the cruise and it would normally have cost $58. So getting it for free was a bonus. The only stipulation was that we had to do it on a port day. So we booked it for the following afternoon.

DH headed for the pool, but I went to the atrium to get a photo with Lilo and Stitch. Stitch has been a firm favourite of mine ever since our first cruise. I had hoped to get changed before getting a photo with Stitch, but this was not meant to be. Fortunately I had taken my camera to the gym as I would have missed Stitch if I had to go back to the cabin.

I did manage to catch Lilo and Stitch. Once they left, Chip and Dale came out and Donald was on the other side of the atrium. So I had my photos taken with them as well.

After all those character interactions, I went back to the cabin to get my swimsuit and a change of clothes and then I headed for the Rainforest Room to relax.

After I had taken care of the serious business of relaxation, I got shower and changed at the spa. I just dropped off my stuff in the cabin and grabbed my camera and headed out to get some more photos with characters. I managed to get a photo with Goofy and then went up to deck 4 to get in line for a photo with Mickey and Minnie in their Arabic costumes.

I was still in line for this photo, we set sail from Malta and I took some nice photos through the portholes on deck 4.

Once I had my photo with Mickey and Minnie, I met up with DH and we went for dinner.

Dinner that night was at Parrot Cay. After two nights of special menus, this was the first night of the rotational menus. I had Jerk chicken tenderloins with a blue cheese dip, a Caribbean Romaine Salad (which was essentially a Caesar salad with a Caribbean twist), Jerk-spiced pork chop with polenta cakes and a curried peach relish and the Sweet Temptations, which consisted of Lemon Meringue Pie, Creme Brulee Cheesecake and Vanilla S'Mores Cake.

Dinner was very nice and our table mates were great company. They were discussing what to do after dinner, but we were just tired and went to bed. When we got back to the cabin, we found a towel elephant. I had a quick look at the Navigator for the next day and then switched the lights out.

 

[mandymouse]

What a great day Corinna, and stunning photos of Malta too, it sounds like you really enjoyed it

I must say that your pic with Chip and Dale is so cute, I love the characters dressed up in their European outfits

I hope we don't have to wait too long for your next update

Thanks for sharing

 

[dolphingirl47]

What a great day Corinna, and stunning photos of Malta too, it sounds like you really enjoyed it

I must say that your pic with Chip and Dale is so cute, I love the characters dressed up in their European outfits

I hope we don't have to wait too long for your next update

Thanks for sharing

I will post the next installment (Tunis) before I go to work tomorrow. I like to have a couple of days in hand. I am currently working on Naples and Rome. Rome is nearly done, Naples is a bit further off. Hopefully I will get them both finished today. Then I can start on La Spezia and the second sea day tomorrow.

Corinna

 

[mandymouse]

I will post the next installment (Tunis) before I go to work tomorrow. I like to have a couple of days in hand. I am currently working on Naples and Rome. Rome is nearly done, Naples is a bit further off. Hopefully I will get them both finished today. Then I can start on La Spezia and the second sea day tomorrow.

Corinna

I look forward to it Corinna, as you can tell I'm not doing much this weekend Thoroughly enjoying though