It's Friday, our last day and we are in St. Kitts

Friday, September 26th - St. Kitts
Port time: 11-5
Evening Attire: Cruise Casual (Carioca's)
Evening Entertainment: Disney Dreams - an enchanted classic
Drink of the day: Stingray

Our last full day aboard the Magic and we traveled to St. Kitts.  There was much going on, starting with The Princess Gathering.  On embarkation day, I saw in the Navigators that we could pick up tickets for 2 things: Elsa and Anna meet N greet and Princesses.  They were only handing them out from 12-3 at the Port Adventure Desk.  The princesses were also on sea day like our Elsa and Anna tickets but we couldn't make the times work so she checked the morning of St. Kitts and got us a 9 am time.

DD9 doesn't like meet n greets but she agreed to go if I went through the line too.  So the 3 girls met Cinderella, Belle & Tiana.  The line was orderly and a short wait.  I don't like the scheduled ticket things but they do work well. . .

After the gathering, it was time to head to Palo's brunch.  Our reservation was for 10 am.  Thursday night, I got a message asking if I wanted to do 9:30 instead because we would be arriving in St. Kitts early.  I said of course.

H decided he didn't want to go.  So I went alone.  And really didn't mind.  I had Susana again from Portugal.  She was lovely as always.  Brunch is very different from dinner and if I had to choose one, I would do brunch every time.  There were all sorts of breads, sweets, seafood, antipasto and other things on the table for a buffet line.  There was also hot dishes of Chicken Parmasan, Pastas, Eggs benedict, pizzas and other things to order from the server.  I ordered several dishes to taste.  And then had a cup of english tea to end.  I watched out the window as we sailed into St. Kitts.  It was a perfect time.  They did not charge me for H not coming, which was nice of them.

I really wanted to take a cab ride to the lookout and see the seas meet the ocean but I didn't think about us arriving early, I might have been able to do it before our zipline excursion.  This was set for 12:15 pm.  We ended up getting back at 3:30 and we didn't want to risk our all-aboard time of 5 by taking a taxi to the lookout.  Oh well, next time!

We booked a zip line with Disney because there is only one on the island and it was contracted out thru them.  We couldn't get a private booking.

It was an ok time.  Only 4 lines and it paled in comparison to New Zealand (we were spoiled on that one!) but it is a great first time line for those who have never done it.  And it had a lovely view of the ocean. The girls sure liked it.

We were bussed back to the port and walking through the square, we encountered the monkeys.  It was a little sad to see these baby monkeys in diapers, clinging to each other.  One pair was trying to escape their handler.  I saw several men with pairs of baby monkeys on our way back to the ship.  I'm sure I read somewhere that if you are within arm's reach of these men, they throw the monkeys on you and then demand payment.  So we kept a safe distance from them.

They are super cute though, it would be hard to resist them.

Once back on the ship, the girls went swimming one last time for a short period.  The day had been sort of rainy off and on and the people I talked to were disappointed in their beach days and such so I guess zip lining was a good way to go.

It was time to get ready for our final dinner.  The menu was Till we Meet Again.  We chatted with our servers and told them how much we enjoyed our meals with them.  I would highly recommend Esther as your server.  Fabio was getting off this time, as his contract was up but she is a good one to have.  She told us that our section was usually with VIPs and concierge guests so we felt honored we were included in her rotation.  We did tip them extra, along with Ronald, our stateroom host.  Everything was outstanding.

Our final show was Disney Dreams.  It was, of course, great.  We packed our bags and set them out and then it was time for bed.

Breakfast the next morning was at 7 in Carioca's.  We were the only ones in our station to eat.  Esther told us stories about her experiences and we were reluctant to go but knew she had another crew coming at 8:15.

The ship was cleared at 7:45 and we walked right off and found our luggage.  We walked right through customs/immigrations.  Cabs were waiting and we were at the airport in 20 minutes.  It was a long flight home but I was happy to meet with a friend in Charlotte for our layover.  She looks lovely as always.  Our flight to MSP was delayed an hour and then we had the 3.5 hour ride home putting us in our beds at 3:30 a.m.

The week went by quickly but we loved every minute of it.  I would highly recommend a Southern Caribbean cruise.  Our island favorites were:
1) St. Lucia
2) Barbados
3) St. Kitts
4) Grenada
5) Antigua

Best excursion goes to Barbados Cat and Silver Moon.

And that puts us at the end, my friends.  Thank you for sharing our adventure!

It's Thursday and we are in Barbados

Thursday, September 25th - Barbados

Port time: 7-4:45
Evening attire: Semi Formal (Animator's Palate, show - Captain's Gala)
Evening Entertainment: The umBides
Drink of the Day: High Tide

This morning was not an early morning start at Barbados.  We were to meet Silver Moon Catamaran at 9:00 am at the Terminal gate 2.  DD9 was exhausted:

I had made a huge mistake on this port.  Over a year ago, I booked Sail Calabaza - a 12 person catamaran trip to swim with the turtles.  They get the highest rating in Trip Advisor and book way ahead.  A week before we sailed, I was double checking my reservations with everyone and discovered I had booked them for Wednesday, not Thursday.  Devastated, I emailed Gina and asked if there was anything I could do.  She emailed back that they were full but she would call around and ask for me.  She found Silver Moon had room.  So we booked with them.

Silver moon has a 12 and 24 person cat day lunch trips.  We were on the 12 person cat.  Technically, our family of 4 made it 13 people but I think Gina pulled some strings so they would accept us for our heart breaking mistake.  The Cat on the right is the one we were on.

It was heaven on earth.  The bus picked us up at Gate 2 a little late because the Disney groups were chartered by the bus first.  It was a 5 minute trip around the harbor to our Cat.  I had to pay a 50% deposit via credit card the week before to secure the booking and the balance in cash that morning when we arrived at the boat.

Stacy was our female captain for the day.  She took our shoes, relayed the rules and we were off!  It was a gorgeous trip, beautiful weather and calm sailing.  We enjoyed sitting on the tarps on the front of the cat and just relaxing.

Soon, the alcohol was served (of course) and we had ample soda, water, beer and wine available.

Our first stop was to the snorkel site for the turtles.  There was one turtle hanging around.  The 2 crew members on our cruise (plus the captain) got into the water with us and one guy fed the turtle and the other one helped anyone who needed assistance with snorkeling or swimming.  It was amazing to be up close and personal with the gigantic sea turtle.  We all got to touch him as he swam by.

After that stop, we went to another spot that had a shipwreck and again our crew members got in the water with us to snorkel around.  They fed the fish.  It was fantastic.

Soon, we headed off to our 3rd stop and here is where we had a fabulous lunch.  The crew set it up and we jumped off the cat and swam around.  The beach, I believe was privately owned but after lunch, we swam up to shore and saw the most amazing thing.  A baby sea turtle coming out of the sand and heading to the water!!!!!  I didn't get a photo but our sea mates did so they have promised to email it to me soon.  I can't wait to upload it HERE!!!  Truly a highlight of our experience.

All too soon, it was time to head back.  The skies were dark to the west of us and we chatted with a lovely couple with 2 kids the whole way back.  They were great and it turns out they were on the same dining rotation as us and same early seating.  We saw them several times after that and chatted.

All too soon, our day came to an end.  We didn't want to leave. This excursion was the highlight of all the ones we did.  It got 2 thumbs up by all 4 of us.

Tonight was semi-formal night so we sort of got dressed up again.  DD12 wanted a photo with pluto so we went down to see him too.

The dining rotation was in Animator's tonight and we had the drawing show to do.  Everyone got a special placemat to draw a picture on, usually a person.  We all got creative.  H got especially creative by making a man with a garage door with a power tool in his hand.  Esther came back to our table and says "Oh.My.God.  Is that a gun?????"  H said no, it was a power tool but she was concerned because 'mickey doesn't like guns or suggestions of guns'.  So she convinced him to change it, hilarious!

Our animations came to life on the screens later.  It was fun to see.

After the dinner, we all agreed we didn't want to see the theater show tonight, some sort of local gaucho act.  So we decided to brave the Aquadunk and pools, since no one was around up on deck and it was a perfect time/night.  It was a fun experience but not something I'd wait for.  You climb to the top of the smoke stack and get in the chute.  It's closed on you and the floor drops out from under you and you fall down and through a slide for 10 seconds.  I asked the attendant what the chances are of getting a wedgie and he said 99%.  On my second try, he told me that I wouldn't get one if I wore a t-shirt.  Thanks for telling me after the fact. . .  Even DD12 tried but she didn't like it.  H said it was ok.  DD9 chickened out.

A storm came up with lightning so we had to get out and call it a night.  And went to bed sad, knowing Friday was our last full day on board the Magic.

It's Wednesday and we are in Grenada

It’s Wednesday and we are in Grenada (September 24)

Docking time: 7:00-4:45 pm
Evening Attire: Cruise Casual (Lumiere’s) – Prince and Princess
Evening Entertainment: Villains Tonight!
Drink of the day: Princess Delight

Island of Spice!  This day, we had organized a group for an island tour with Stan of J n J Tours.  The 4 of us plus another couple with a child and 3 adults joined together from our cruise facebook group to tour the island.  It turns out, Stan had another 2 vans also with people booked.

We woke the kids early, DD9 was very, very tired.  H and DD12 went up to the buffet and I grabbed a plate quick for DD9 to eat in the room.  We left the ship around 7:15 am and met up with Stan just inside the cruise port building.

Stan ended up waiting for some other people, I’m not sure if they showed or not but he ended up driving the van we were in, none of the other people in our cruise group ended up in our van.  I was disappointed, I wanted to get to know them but we all got split up in the vans.  Stan narrated about the island during the drive around.

Our first stop was the Annandale Waterfalls.  Once we arrived, there were vendors around trying to sell us things.  We walked down to the falls and several men were there who jumped 50 feet from the cliffs above for tips.  It started to rain while we were there but it felt good because it was so hot.

Stan then took us to Grand Etang National park and Volcano Lake.  The rain had stopped by this time but the place was muddy.  There were also vendors here but they weren’t pushy like the previous ones.  The Disney busses were also here so it was busy but our family of 4 went on the trail up to the lookout and were the only ones to do so.  It was quiet and peaceful at the lookout and we saw a beautiful view all the way to the ocean from there.  Even though my shoes got ruined in the clay mud, I felt it was worth it.

When we returned to the vans, Stan had beer, soda and water for everyone ready.  We saw a brief glimpse of some wild monkeys in the trees and the locals tried to call them out but they were shy.

Our next stop was a spice shop.  Stan and the lady who owned it gave us demonstrations on the various spices grown: Nutmeg, Cinnamon, Cocoa beans and a few others.  We ended up buying some spices, they smelled so good!

The final stop before the beach was Fort Frederick (have to look it up)  We spent about 30 minutes here exploring it on our own.  The site is not ADA approved, lol.  None of the sites were and I believe this tour requires exertion due to the steps and walking we did.

I believe the other 2 vans went back to the ship but Stan brought us to a beach next, Grand Anse.  This beach was only 10 minutes from the ship and was absolutely gorgeous.

However, the vendors and beggers were horrible.  We paid $20 for an umbrella and 2 chairs.  Then we had to change and the lady charged us $1 to use the restroom.  Then we ordered something to eat and they only had a few things on the menu that were available and the 2 cheeseburgers and fries were $22 total.

People kept coming up to us and wanting to braid our hair or give massages or sell us something and then a blind/disabled man came down the beach.  He would periodically fall in front of people and sit there and beg for money.  Of course he fell right in front of us and stayed there for 10 minutes and finally got up on his sticks and hobbled about 25 feet further and fell again.  He made his way down the line of chairs the entire time we were there.

So while the beach was beautiful, I didn’t care for the set up.  Since we were already paying for a tour, it wasn’t the best way to do a beach.

After about an hour, Stan took our group back to the ship.  We went on board, had the kids do the laundry (lol) and H and I returned to the terminal for wi-fi.  It was $3 for wi-fi in one of the shops but the speed was S-L-O-W.  H wandered the shops in the terminal and all was good until he came back to me and asked if we could go.  He looked distressed but I wasn’t ready to leave so he said he would meet me back at the ship.  Later, I found out that H was propositioned by a local to go see some ‘black booty’.  Gross!  No one offered me the alternative, I wasn’t bothered at all in the shops.

We ordered more mickey bars that afternoon and then headed to Lumieres for Prince and Princess menu night.  It was another great night of service by Esther and Fabio.  Esther had arranged the night before to have the cooks make my daughters anything they wanted.  They both chose pasta, one was Spaghetti and one was Chicken Alfredo.  It was a nice touch for them.

After dinner, DD12 and I went to “Who Wants to be a Mouseketeer?” in the D lounge.  DD didn’t get chosen but it was fun to watch the show and guess the answers.

Our evening ended with only DD12 and I attending the show, Villains Tonight!  We both enjoyed it.

Again, everyone turned in early.  DD9 was sleeping when we got back and H didn’t want to wake her for the show so they both missed it.