10-21 wonder

[sumfun]

we started out for florida at 3:30 fri. from nj. stopped twice to rest and got to fla. 3:00 sat. we stayed at the raddison resort at the port and highly recommend it we had a 1 bedroom suite with a port view and were able to watch the magic leave port that evening but was not able to see the wonder the next morning because another ship was docked blocking her from view.
we took the first shuttle to the port arrived right around 10:30 walked right up and got checked in with no problems. the weather was not great but we went outside on the observation deck anyway. we got a very cute pic of 2 dds with pluto then got in line . we were the twelvth to board the ship , and they did announce us which was fun and sent us to parrot cay for lunch.we really enjoyed this buffet much better then the one on the magic in may. after lunch we went and got the kids signed up in the clubs and noone else was there we walked right in filled out the forms and left in 5-10 mins we went to our cabins and found 2 very nice gifts from dcl in both cabinswhich was a nice surprise.we had gotten cat 5 veranda rooms this time and i'm sure i stand alone here but i really didn't care for them and would choose cat 8 next time with just the window.
i was done unpacking by 3:00 and went to find a friend i had met on these boards . we found her and her son in their rooms and enjoyed their company for some of the trip. did the lifeboat drill and got ready for dinner.
our servers were really great marijo from croatia and helena from france.we did parrot cay tritons animators which i thought was a great rotation.this cruise we did early seating last time late really prefer early .saw hercules but didn't stay for it all it was chilly and very loud.
it was rainy and cloudy in nassau but i didn't mind because we had no excursions planned.we did some shopping but didn't really enjoy nassau.dcl flew in a comedian from las vegas this night and he was very funny i took my 11 yr old son to see him and it was a really great show.
freeport we got poured on as we ran around the little straw market.had dinner at animators and my kids love the show there.i tried to go to dueling pianos with my son but couldn't get a table but i did go later with friend to adult show .i reminded me of regis and kelly so if you like them you might enjoy this show it wasn't bad for what it was.then we went to the 70's show that was really fun but very crowded.
castaway was beautiful and we could not have asked for better weathercame back on board around 2:00 got some packing done early got my dd4 dressed for dinneras she would be going right from club to dinner with us . i got her settled in club and went to my very favorite show no not disney dreams though that is really super my fav. is discover the magic i think all the kids look so cute up there. right after the show i went to greet the captain at the returning cruisers party, rather boring , and straight to dinner this was the only dinner we didn't enjoy but marijo was happy to bring me chicken strips from the kids menu and a mickey bar witch i did enjoy . did some shopping finished packing let the kids stay out late to say their goodbyes.
got up at 5:45 to get to breakfast by 6:45 and were off the ship by 9:00.
we waited quite awhile for the shuttle to the raddson and then got a taxi. would recommend the hotel but not the shuttle service. we drove straight home and got here at 3:30 am. the weather may not have been great but the trip was

 

[jdm]

Thanks for posting, I enjoyed reading your report. But... you know I have to ask... why would you prefer a Cat 8 with no Verandah over a Cat 5 with?
Jenn

 

[sumfun]

other then the veranda the cabin is exactly the same . we hardly used the veranda and when we did try to take a video from it the camera fogged up very quickly and even though we would only leave the door open long enough to walk out the mirrors would fog up in that short time as well. i had visions of enjoying morning coffee on the veranda however it was to hot outside to enjoy that , and lastly , you are not allowed to smoke in your stateroom so everyone goes on their veranda to smoke hack hack.
ps our neighbors were not very pleasant either their kids kept looking past the rail to our veranda and the "dad" was encouraging his sons to spit into the water. yuck.

 

[DizMare]

Hi Sumfun!
Can you tell me what type beds you had in the Raddison 1 bdrm?
Thanks!

 

[sumfun]

hi dizmare, we had 2 king size beds in the bedroom and a pull out sofa in the living area . my family of 6 had plenty of room also a nice kitchenette and the pool was great .

 

[Chattyaholic]

I really enjoyed your trip report, sounds like you had a good time, but my bottom jaw almost dropped to the floor when I read that you really didn't care for your verandah! But then, after reading your follow-up post, I can sure see why. Bummer. Hubby and I cruised the 7-night Magic in January to celebrate our 25th anniversary and we had a category 6 verandah room and we absolutely LOVED it! Never had a problem with the video camera fogging up out there, nor did we have problems with our neighbors. We rarely heard/saw them on their verandah, and when they were there they were very polite and quiet. And I never once smelled cigarette smoke, which I was extremely worried about as I hate smelling cigarette smoke and knew that people could smoke on their verandahs so just figured we'd be bombarded with it, but it didn't happen and I was very, very thankful! We are going to book another 7-night Magic cruise (Western itinerary this time) for January 2003 and HAVE to have a verandah room again!
We also enjoyed being lulled to sleep by the ocean sounds as we left the door open every night, it was heavenly!!