If you have sailed on the Disney Magic

[HallsofVA]

I've been lurking on the DIS boards for days. I need to chill. Should I request a server based on suggestions made there? The planner in me wants to know what movies will be playing but I'm going to let that slide and be surprised. I have decided to check for upgrades when we get there but set a really low limit. I talked with my TA about it and she told me to chill (not in those words) about the room.

We will bring snorkel stuff and I just found out they are doing Halloween on our cruise so that means I have to fenagle some costumes for DH and I on the cheap...I'm thinking pirates. Lame probably but the dds will get a kick out of seeing us dressed up. Someone told me to just take a cab to Megans beach in St Thomas VS going to St. John....I'll have to mull that over sine we love St. John.

I'm getting excited about making us some magnets with all the free files over at the DIS boards. So much to do!!!!

The DIS is a major time suck (second only to the BBB!). On the server request, it depends on whether you're more concerned about server/service or rotation. I was more interested in my dining rotation rather than a specific server, since I really like being in the most elegant restaurant on formal or semi-formal night, so I had my TA request the rotation I wanted (which I've been able to get my request 5 of 6 cruises thus far!) rather than server. We did have one of the least impressive serving teams we've ever had, but I don't know if it was the team or the number of tables they had to handle. I've also never quite bonded with the serving teams on the Bahamas cruises the way you can on the Caribbean cruises. I never did catch up with the server or head server we'd had on our last crusie just to say hi since they were on another rotation.

Getting the movie list is easy, and it seems someone in the meet thread always calls and gets it. That really only matters if you are thinking about going to the movies before the cruise, and don't want to spend money on a movie you can see on the ship. I actually watched more movies on the 5 nt cruise I just took than on any previous cruise, since I saw The Help, Cars 2 and Winnie the Pooh, but I also stayed on the ship for 4 of the 5 days. (DH also saw Fright Night.)

The Magnets and t-shirts can be another time chewer. It seems I'm always printing magnets at the last minute, since that's one of those things that I don't always get done early, or keep adding to as I find cooler graphics. Our first cruise, DH and I spent quality time the night before ironing t-shirt transfers onto shirts in the Hyatt bathroom while DS 2 slept. Nothing like waiting to the last minute!

[infomama]

Keep it comin....great info!
I called my TA and had her request to be at the most elegant place on formal night. We haven't booked Palos for dinner....we figure we will see how dds like the clubs. If we don't get in we are fine with that. I booked tea one day there so I' excited about that. I keep looking at all the trip reports with pics off the verandahs and I'm getting jealous. I suppose if it is meant to be...it will be.
I've decided we will head to St. John so I have to get that planned....don't want to get back to the ship late. The cabanas on CC look amazing but they are all booked and wow are they $$$. Are there hammocks for everyone else to use or just those who rented cabanas? I wonder about food that costs extra....is there is good list somewhere? I know alcohol is not included but then it seems to get tricky. Some coffee is included but some is not (regular=free, americano=cost...right?) Ice cream is included but milkshakes are not.....making my head spin.
How dressed up do people really get for pirate night? I've seen no dressing up to pirate themed t-shirts to costumes. Between pirate night, princess dresses and Halloween this is turning into costume heavy trip which is making me cringe. Maybe I'll just (or make) pirate themed t shirts for pirate night with some stuff from the DIS boards.

[HallsofVA]

Good job on getting the Palo tea - that's often one of the hardest things to get! I'd take Palo brunch over the dinner if I had to choose between one of them. We never were able to get a brunch reservation for our last cruise since there was only one day offered on the 5nt cruise and it booked up from all the Platinum and concierge cruisers!

We had verandahs on our first 3 cruises (since we upgraded at the port to suites) and we realized that we never used them enough to warrant the extra cost. So we started booking oceanview rooms unless we could get a verandah for cheaper. It was nice to have the verandah on the days we were pulling into port, but you can go to an outside deck (or to the secret deck on 7 aft) to watch just as well. Now that the kids aren't napping, we're barely in the room for any length of time.

There are hammocks available on all the beaches on Castaway Cay. I haven't had the best luck securing one, but they are there on a first come first serve basis, generally closer to the road versus close to the water.

There isn't a lot of food onboard that costs extra - just the packaged items (popcorn, canned soft drinks, bottled water etc.) that you order from room service or buy at the movie theatres or gift shops. Most room service items are free, as are all the snacks and food available in the restaurants, quick serve stations, or the Cove Cafe. Alcohol almost always costs extra, with the exception of the occasional complimentary drink at the captain's reception or Castaway Club reception. There are speciality coffee drinks and smoothies that also cost extra. When buying alcohol, especially at the sail away and other parties, be aware of the cost of the "keepsake" glass. It's often more than the drink costs! My favorite are the 2 for 1 drink specials on Castaway Cay. I've been known to be at the bar on Castaway Cay right at 1pm when the Konk Koolers go on 2 for 1 sale! It took me 5 cruises to realize you can order a Konk Kooler at any bar on the ship, so I highly recommend you try one!

You can make your own milk shake as long as you have a big mug or cup (like a disney park mug.) Get ice cream from the self serve ice cream counter, and milk from the drink station, and shake to mix together! (They may also have chocolate syrup by the ice cream station.)

Pirate night, and the regular dress up nights, run the range in terms of how dressed up people get. On our WBTA cruise, we had a real Captain Jack impersonator as part of our DIS group, so he and many others were dressed to the hilt, and we actually were more excited to pose with him than with the actual character that Disney provided! On our last cruise, DH and I had dinner at an adult restaurant on pirate night, so we were dressed up in dress and jacket and it was quite obvious we weren't going to pirate night that cruise. They give you bandanas, so everyone has that as a minimum amount of pirate gear if desired. I look for easy to pack pirate and princess outfits that fit easily into ziploc bags, and often it's just the kids dressed up in pirate outfits.

[infomama]

Thank you Cathleen!!