THE HAPPIEST CRUISE ON EARTH!!!

Have fun!

Just went on my first cruise to Progresso & Cozumel in October and I have one word - AWESOME!!! We did not go on Disney, but it was sailing beside us all the way back to Galveston from Cozumel. Very cool to look out your port at night & see the lights of another ship so close in all that ocean!

Anyway...where to start? The food. First of all I highly recommend doing the reserved seating in your dining room. This allows you to visit with the same people each night and compare stories & will also give you ideas on what to do for entertainment. There is a buffet set up that we used for breakfast & a few lunches (the other lunches we ate in the dining room). The buffet, well all I can say is YUM! The only thing I truly missed was no mexican food whatsoever was served. The food was all above average on quality, but I guess as a Texan & traveling to Mexico, I sort of expected more mexican food. But it's ok, cuz you can eat your share when you get there! I found plenty of things that were in my new lifestyle choices, but also some goodies to be "bad" with.

The entertainment. There's never a lack for something to do! They give you an intinerary every day; use it! The night life was a blast....drinks (if you can afford them), dancing, karaoke, comedy, shows, magic acts, gambling....it never ends! During the day I loved just laying in the pool area; its like party city all the time. Loud music & dancing & games....just fun all the time! On shore we did the kayaking in Progresso and swam with the dolphins in Cozumel. The only complaint I had was if you did a shore excursion, you didn't have time for more than a little shopping right there where you docked. But I loved the dolphins! Once in a lifetime event for us! Pics were expensive (they won't let you take your own; gotta buy their's), but how often do you swim with a dolphin!?!?

One last thing I would HIGHLY recommend if they offer it (we were on a different ship so check with Carnival if Magic offers it), is the behind the fun tour of the ship. It cost us almost $200, but SO worth it! The tour lasted over 3 hours, you got to see ALL the areas no one else sees, we met & had our pic taken with the captain (pics were included in price; unlike other pics on the ship), it was extremely interesting to learn all the behind the scenes stuff about how the ship operates. They threw in a few surprises at the end, but I'll let you find that out if you do the tour! VERY cool!! (hit the excursion desk as soon as you board the ship if you want to do this b/c they only take like 12-14 people & only do one tour the whole cruise.)

Above everything else, takes TONS of pics & have fun!! Let us know how it went! :drinker:

Been on 3 Disney Cruises (the Magic, Wonder, and Fantasy in July). Have done any "Western" ones yet though, although Alaska looks appealing.
I'm a parent so I took more enjoyment watching my daughter have fun, however like Disney there are lots of themes to do on the ship. You want to eat good and are at least 18, then I suggest booking at one of the adult restaurants (it's like $25 extra) and get full service with a fantastic dinner. And be aware of any excursions you book. You may find them cheaper at port compared to paying up front.
Most of all, enjoy the cruise. Disney does a wonderful job of service.


A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
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Been in fitness for 28+ years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

Grand Cayman:

if you like the ocean and animals, one of the "you can only do this in cayman" things is going out to the sandbar at stingray city and petting/feeding the stingrays. It's truely amazing!

Also at Cayman that is great is the turtle farm! They have a couple rum factories you can tour as well..


Cozumel is a dilemma of sorts, because there are so many great options!

We've been there a few times now, and this past cruise (2 weeks ago) we got in the ocean for the first time.. took a catamaran out to their marine sanctuary and snorkeled with fish and sea turtles! Then we to a beach called Playa Mia to get lunch drinks and all activities included.

There are some great ruins excursions too from Cozumel.. just make sure to check the drive times to get there!
Some of it is 45 min-1 hour from the ship, and may cut ito your shopping/dining/bar time.. or whatever else you may want to do outside of the excursion. I've always had a great time in Cozumel!

You will have an awesome time at both ports! Bon Voyage!

P.S: I ate what I wanted, just tried to keep the portions in control....but I di dhave dessert wtih every lunch and dinner. :laugh:
I did between 500-700 calorie burn at the gym 4 of my 7 days, and even though I stepped of the ship 4lbs heavier than when I stepped on, within 48 hours those 4lbs were gone again... I think it was just fluid hanging around from all the extra sodium I undoubtably ate...

You should try Cruisecritic.com

They have reviews for every ship. There are also Forums and a meet & greet section where you can talk to outhers on the same sailing as you.

Have a fantastic time.

I really want to do that for my kids. I just haven't had the chance. Do you think a teenager is too old for a Disney cruise?

Absolutely not! Disney is fun for ALL ages!

Any suggestions on the best place to buy tickets?

I really want to do that for my kids. I just haven't had the chance. Do you think a teenager is too old for a Disney cruise?

Personally, I don't think so. I was 15 when my parents *finally* took us to Disneyworld. I still wore my Minnie Mouse shirt and the mouse ears hat and had a blast!

ETA: And it just occurred to me that I'm wearing a Minnie Mouse shirt in my profile pic. You are never too old for Minnie Mouse, IMO! :laugh:

We just came back from a cruise that stopped in both of those ports. I agree with Stingray City in Grand Cayman...very cool. The excursion we were on offered to stop and let people off at Seven Mile beach on the way back to Georgetown. It's easy to taxi back to the pier. Just remember to leave time for the tender. If you enjoy the water, go snorkeling in Cozumel. We went on the Fury catamaran and after snorkeling to their beach which was clean and had things to do. Most of all...have fun!

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Totally jealous!



I am going on a cruise summer of 2012. Can't wait! Have a great time and report back!

I really want to do that for my kids. I just haven't had the chance. Do you think a teenager is too old for a Disney cruise?

Absolutely not! Disney is fun for ALL ages!

Any suggestions on the best place to buy tickets?

Disney Cruise Lines website! You can usually get as good as or better deal than the travel websites.

JM

I've got no input on the ports, but I will say that Disney cruises are AMAZING! We sailed on the Dream to the Bahamas in September. The ship was beautiful, the food was excellent, and all of the staff was wonderful. My husband and I had a great time and our son didn't hardly ever want to leave the Oceaneer's Club.

We decided to skip dinner one night and stay in our room. We ordered one of everything that looked good off the room service menu. The steak sandwich was the best and the cookies are gigantic! I helped myself to way too much free soft serve ice cream too.

i have been to grand caymen on a carnival cruise, not sure if they are the same ports?
have a good time!!

Grand Cayman - if its warm enough go to Stingray City. DO IT! (Unless you don't swim) We had a great time there. My kids were about 17 and 13 and they were catching stingrays and trying to get the scardy cats to pet them. Be Brave!


( And for all ya'll that don't swim - for pete's sake - and your own - stay out of the water until you learn to swim. We just lost another non swimmer down here, in a canoe tip over. It breaks my heart.)

I went to grand caymen in january! we went swimming with stingrays and snorkeling. VERY fun! but i was petrified of the string rays..hahah