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Our stateroom (6630 on deck 6 - category 6) was excellent! We really enjoyed
walking out on the veranda and watching the ocean, the ports, the stars....The
double bathroom was especially nice. Plenty of closet space and storage space,
and very comfortable king-size bed. The location of our stateroom was perfect,
close enough to the lifts, but still very quiet and convenient.
We took two shore excursions - the first in Grand Cayman - the Shipwreck and
Reef Snorkel. WOW!! The best snorkeling we ever encountered!! We were surprised
at how close to the ship we were, but how clear the water and the multitudes of
fish, corals, and other ocean life.The reef was totally alive! One of the
highlights was the large school of 5-6 foot Tarpon.The two guides were also
excellent - CJ and Esteban on the Cayman Star. We would highly recommend this
excursion to anyone, from beginner to advanced snorkeler.
Our other excursion - the Snorkeling at Chankanaab National Park at Cozumel -
was a disappointment. It could be that we were just spoiled from our experience
at Grand Cayman, but not much variety of fish and virtually no coral. Water was
murky and we were expected to stay right with the guide. Probably okay for
beginner snorkelers because of the shore entry. We weren't really impressed with
the rest of the park.
We didn't take any excursions at Key West, but did walk around. We happened upon
the aquarium around feeding time - $8.00 admission pp. Very enjoyable! We
learned alot about the habitats and feeding habits of nurse sharks, rays, among
other ocean inhabitants. We walked around Mallory Square and Duval Street. Did a
little shopping and sat on the pier relaxing with a drink and watched the boats
and jet skis go by. Fun!
Castaway Cay - no excursions but the adult beach was PARADISE! Even though 2700
people on the Magic, only about 50 people on the adult beach! We went snorkeling
on our own and the ocean life was wonderful! Huge starfish, sand dollars, and
even some very friendly rays and barracudas! Too friendly at times! Castaway Cay
was the perfect way to end our cruise!
The Romantic Escape At Sea package was well worth it! We thoroughly enjoyed the
couples massage, and the turn-down service with the rose petals and towel
animals were great! We shared the champagne with our table at dinner on the
final night, and the chocolates did not last until the end of the cruise. It was
wonderful having our Palo reservations made before arriving.
The Quicksilver transfers made our trip much more hassle-free. Demilson was our
driver for all three legs of our trip. He was always there early and was very
pleasant to talk with, as well as eager to help in any way he could. We will use
Quicksilver again.
There really is nothing we can think of that we wished we had known or would do
differently next time. All the suggestions our travel agent, Tim Larison, made
were right on the money! Having second seating at dinner, and going to the shows
first, was perfect. We missed out on a lot of the smaller children that way.
The Disney Magic was much more than we had thought it would be! It was very easy
to be "by ourselves" if we wanted to be, and there were so many entertainment
and activity opportunities available onboard. One of the most pleasant surprises
was our dinner seating arrangements. We went thinking we wanted to spend our
dinners quietly with just the two of us, but found we were seated at the largest
table in the dining rooms! We sat at a table for fourteen - seven couples of
some kind - two newly-wed couples, three mother-daughter couples, a
grandmother-granddaughter couple, and us. We enjoyed ourselves so much (all of
us at the table) that we started spending a lot of time with each other. We
played Bingo together, went to shows together, etc. We even exchanged addresses
and emails at the end of our cruise!
All in all, we had the best vacation we have had, and a lot of the credit goes
to Tim for all the arrangements and great tips!
Bob and Cindy
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