So we’re all packed up and headed down to the lobby to wait for our driver to take us to the port. The last time we went to the port for the Panama Canal cruise before we got to the port at 8:30 am and we were fifth in line. This time we planned to get there earlier. We hired a town car to take us to the port. He arrived at our resort at 7 am and we arrived at the port by 7:40 am. We thought for certain we would be the first there, but no! We were second this time. Someone that we cruised with before was there before us so when we got out of the town car, someone said “Hi Tracy, hi Bill.” It was great to see Mike again and especially to have someone to spend time with until they let us in. We didn’t expect to get inside until 10 am, but lucked out. We got in at 8:30 and they started to check us in at 9:40.
While we sat and waited for Disney to let us on the Magic, we saw many, many familiar faces from previous sailings. It was so nice to see everyone! We chatted and laughed to pass the time and before we knew it, they started to board concierge. StephT5’s family was the first to get onboard. In no time they were calling our number and we were on the Magic!
The first thing I did though was trip onto the ship! I think that the curse a friend once put on me has not been lifted! It seems every time I’m on the Magic now, I trip! Ron, please stop.
If you don’t want to ruin the surprise about a Disney Cruise skip now to the next paragraph. When you walk in, many members of the Cruise Staff are standing waiting for you. They ask you your family name and then after you pass by, announce over the loud speaker “Now welcoming the Whipple Family” and everyone cheers! Usually you can see a character or two waving hello as well. One member of the Cruise Staff will take you and ask if you’ve cruised before or how many times you’ve cruised with Disney. They tell you about the buffet and direct you there. We headed directly to Rockin’ Bar D to make a change to our dinner in Palo and confirm brunch for a client (since I would be dining with her at brunch). This went like a charm and we were off to Topsiders in no time!
When you first get onboard, your rooms are not ready until about 1:30 or so. Because of this, you should bring things you’ll need right away (swimsuits if you want to go for a dip), medications, anything that you don’t want to get delivered later with the luggage, but be careful not to take too much because you do have to haul it around with you until your room is ready.
We got into our rooms around 1:45 this time and when we entered, we had two bottles of sparkling wine (thank you Jeanneg and Cocoswife), a picture frame (thank you padisneyfan) and a plate of petit fours (no note, so no clue who to thank!). This started off the cruise in an extra special way!
Unpacking for me starts the moment we get in the room with the carry ons and the goal is always to be unpacked by dinner. We did it once again! I like to have everything in its place and the best way to do that is to get rid of the suitcases and unpack! Of course along with unpacking comes the constant questions about why did I pack this much! Live and learn, or probably not because I do this every time!
One of the first things I like to do after unpacking is to review the overview of the cruise. Here are some highlights for what we have to look forward to over the next two weeks. Ron Pearson, John Charles, Ron Lucas, Los Caporales Festival Folklorico, Ricky Kalmon, Darren Romeo, the usual productions of Twice Charmed, Golden Mickeys, Disney Dreams, The Art of the Story plus a couple special performances. We will have Disney on Broadway with Sarah Litzsinger and David DeVries (Belle & Lumiere on Broadway’s Beauty & the Beast) plus a special performance by Aly and A.J. Rumors were pointing toward Aly and A.J. being onboard so it was nice to see this.
We will start out with a day at sea tomorrow and then hopefully reach Cabo San Lucas on Tuesday this time. On the Eastbound Panama Canal cruise in 2005, we missed Cabo due to Hurricane Hillary. Hopefully it will be smooth sailing!
Leave a Reply