Stephanie The Travel Agent Next Door: February 2022

Monday, 28 February 2022

First Port Castaway Cay

So I wondered what direction to go in once I was done with dining and I figured I would go to the Ports and leave the Marvel Information until the end as it will likely cover more than one blog.

So our first port of call was Disney's Private Island Castaway Cay. Before I get any further I have a little debate for you. I pronounce Cay as Cay while Disney pronounces it Key. How do you pronounce it?

So we got off the ship rather easily. They did have a virtual queue to keep from having lines and it worked very easily and quickly. The island is broken up into three areas and I will be honest we only made it to the first. The second is where families can hand out and has a water park and shopping. Last but not least is serenity bay for Adults only. Here are the professional pictures we got done. As always you can see Daniel is not too pleased with us or having his picture taken.

The Castaway Cay Buoy!! As you can see it is located in the Bahamas

Our lovely ship in the background Disney Magic

Here is Mount Rustmore!!! Disney at its best lol

Beach Mickey with his Jeep!!!

So we had time before our excursion so we went and sat on the beach and had drinks. The kids had virgin Pina Coladas in a souvenir coconut cup. I had some sort of raspberry drink that was amazing!! When we were done we headed to Marge's Barge area where we boarded our glass-bottom boat for our excursion.

Here are our drink and beach photo's:

I will swear that Eeyore is of age and is allowed to be sipping this drink!!

The glass-bottom boat was so cool. We got on, there are benches all around and then you look down and see into the water. When you are leaving the cove they tell you that it is only 6 feet deep. Then all of a sudden there is a 40-foot straight drop right where our ship was parked. So we go out quite away in order to find a nice clear area. Then we stop and you can see a school of fish. They quite obviously recognize the boat. You are then given a cup of oatmeal to give to the fish and you watch them go wild. The boat then repositions and the other side gets the same opportunity. It is such an amazing site and these pictures do not it justice at all.

On Castaway Cay they have Cookies one and Cookie Two which is BBQ and where many people go for lunch it is included as if you were on the ship. We however decided to go back to the ship and hand out there and have a quiet lunch. It was indeed very quiet on the ship. The kids enjoyed the pool and hot tub to themselves while I watched Toy Story 2 on the Pool screen.

Here are some of those pictures!! Eeyore loves the pool also

Tomorrow we will look at port number two...

Where to find me

Facebook: www.facebook.com/stephaniethetravelagentnextdoor

Website: http://www.exclusivetoyoutravel.ca
Email: slough@exclusivetoyoutravel.com

TICO 50021282
55 York Street, Suite 1003
Toronto, On M5J 1R7
Office Phone 416-367-8264 ext 2625
Direct Phone 613-543-3006

Please keep in mind that while my head office is in Toronto. I am a home-based travel agent and I live in South Dundas I can service clients anywhere in Canada. But, I meet with clients in the SD&G area

Sunday, 27 February 2022

Quick Service and Buffet Options On Disney Magic

So today I am going to discuss the Quick service and buffet options availabkle on deck nine. First is Cabana's the buffet. The buffet is open for breakfast, lunch and supper and closes in between. The buffet is broken up into four sections and each one is idenetical in service. Allows for quicker service and less lines. You can no longer pick your own food out in the buffet. You tell them what you want and they do up your plate. As mentioned in previous blogs we only ate her for breakfast. They had great choices available.

Pictured eggs bendict, roasted tomato, bok choy, hasbrown, bacon and a mini churro mickey waffle. All I can say is churro mickey waffles rock. They are amazing. Other food you would find in the breakfast buffet was sausage, scrambled eggs, ham and cheese sandwiches on croissants, corned beef hash, pancakes, waffles, cereal, oatmeal, fresh fruit and more. I will admit I love the tomatoes this way and I eat them on every single cruise and every breakfast even all inclusives and yet I never make them myself at home.

The quick service are the following: Duck-In Diner, Pinocchio's Pizzeria, Daisy's Delights, Frozone Treats and Eye Scream Treats. I will be honest you have seen the Sundea photos my kids had Eye Screem Treats often. Soft serve ice cream cones. Normally this would be completely self serve but with covid in play they were serving for you.

We had lunch most days at Duck-In-Diner. So disappointed I had a really cool burger with a black bun on Marvel Day at Sea and I totally have no picture. Not sure how that happened at all. Below is a picture of my lamb and chicken schwarma. The kids had burgers, and chicken tenders when they ate here.

The kids also had many slices of pizza from Pinochhio's Pizzeria. I skipped only because I have had many gallbladder issues the last few years and pizzza can be one of of my triggers. Did not want to have an attack on the ship as I was alone with the kids.

Frozone treats was not open very much just the first day and sea day. I wanted to have a dole whip with the kids. This little place cost extra but sadly we did not get the opportunity. When we went the dole whip wasn't ready to be served and they were closed when we had time to get back.

Daisy Delights we also did not get a chance to try out. They have lighter fare to enjoy. I was hoping to try a salad or a bowl of healthy goodness.

Deck nine is also where you will find the self serve soda stations, including water.

Well the food is all covered accept for Palo's. This is the one speciality restaurant on board that you must pay extra to eat at. It also requires reservations and is adult only. I had orginally made one when we were supposed to travel with my mother but I did cancel. They do serve Italian food and I did look forward to review but I guess that just means I will have to sail Disney again.

So hmm where do I go next I have discussed the cabin, The restaurants what next. Well tune in tomorrow to find out!!

Where you can find me:

Facebook: www.facebook.com/stephaniethetravelagentnextdoor
Website: http://www.exclusivetoyoutravel.ca
Email: slough@exclusivetoyoutravel.com

TICO 50021282
55 York Street, Suite 1003
Toronto, On M5J 1R7
Office Phone 416-367-8264 ext 2625
Direct Phone 613-543-3006

Please keep in mind that while my head office is in Toronto. I am a home-based travel agent and I live in South Dundas I can service clients anywhere in Canada. But, I meet with clients in the SD&G area

Saturday, 26 February 2022

Animator's Palate

So here is the last main dining room. As this was a short cruise we only had one dinner here and sit down for breakfast our last morning. This is Animator's Palate and it is a great restaurant. To start with there is like a wallpaper for lack of a better description on the wall with drawings of Disney characters. Then there are frames on the walls. They rotate pictures and movie clips while you dine which can be distracting. I watched a little guy at the table across from us maybe 3 years old. He did not eat a bite of dinner he was so busy watching. I almost wanted to take a picture or video of him taking it all in.

Here are pictures of the walls.

The decor of the room once again was also spot on, here a few pictures of that. The lights on the ceiling in the paint palettes actually change colours.

So here is a picture. On your place setting is a paper place mat when you enter. You draw a picture in it and sign it and it will come into play later in the evening. Katherine and I both did ours sadly Daniel did not. Here is mine below.

Once again the food was amazing. Disney definietly does know how to do food. I did not eat anything I did not like on this cruise. Here are the food pictures.

My soup and I am awful it was good but I can not remember the type and I did not right it down

My pork chop. Kids did the mac and cheese again

This is Daniel's dessert. Yes he was brought two Sundeas and yes he ate them both

This was my yummy chocolate dessert

This was the etra dessert for the ladies. Again I did not finish either. I really am not a huge dessert person lol

This is Katherine's Cheesecake

So during the meal they played an amazing video and of course the video screen changed pictures. Also they had a video towards the end of dinner with everyone's artwork animated. I will have that on my facebook business page for your viewing.

Here are our pictures from the photographer that night and of course Daniel once again declined.

Breakfast the next morning was equally as amazing and here is a picture of the kids with our amazing wait staff.

Tomorrow I will share the details about the buffet and quick service dining!!

Where to find me

Facebook: www.facebook.com/stephaniethetravelagentnextdoor

Friday, 25 February 2022

Lumiere's Dining Room

So I am still talking about the main dining rooms on the Disney Magic. Our second in our rotation is Lumiere's. As you can imagine it is decorated with Beauty and the Beast in mind. We had two nights of entertainment in this venue.

On the first night, we had pirate's visit. It was pirate night on the ship. Many people dress up for the pirate night and there is normally a party on the open deck with fireworks. There were no fireworks or party on deck as this was a marvel day at sea cruise and I will explain more about that later. There were still pirate-themed events that night.

Above is our picture from the restaurant. We all got free pirate banadans. i had already bought us some so we put the extra one on Eeyore so he would not fill left out at all!!

The two pictures above feature some of the decor. The chandeliers have roses in them with petals falling off. They were quite cool.

The above photo shows the Pirate Sally. Katherine joining in and Eeyore having a blast!! He is still recovering from our trip away.

Here are the pictures of that night's food options. I had a crab cake once again. Daniel had a caesar salad. His favourite. The two kids ordered off the kid's menu and head mac and cheese. I had a nice steak with a Yorkshire pudding. My dessert is pictured and my kids skipped the sundae because it was walnut crunch

The second night at the restaurant the show was Mickey and his Pals. They came in sang and got the energy up. There was never a dull moment on this cruise.

Above was that night's photo. I was nice and did not torture Daniel and force him to take one. It was also formal night which is very optional. I did not realize it was that and so we did not dress up.

Above are Mickey and his friends during their show. Love Donald Duck. Below are supper pictures. I had pasta with Lobster and Scallops. Somehow I managed to miss my appetizers of escargots and french onion soup. My kids were disgusted by the escargots. I don't think I helped my case any when I told them I was eating Gary (SpongeBob fans will get this). They once again had mac and cheese. The night's Sundae is featured and my server felt I once again needed two desserts. I did not finish them both but they were indeed yummy!!

So we are finished with the review on dining room number two stay tuned for number three!!

Where you can find me: