Greetings from the Disney Magic!
(All live reports, photos, and videos are linked at this page:
PassPorter.com: Disney Magic's Transcanal Voyage from California to Florida through the Panama Canal and along the Mexican Riviera )
The hurricane excitement of this morning has resolved into a pleasant day at sea on this, the third day of our 14-day Pamana Canal Cruise. The skies are partly cloudy and the sun is out (77 F and 98% humidity). The report from the bridge says we're sailing at 18.3 knots and we're about 186 nautical miles south of Cabo San Lucas, our skipped port. Seas are reported as being "very rough" (waves of 13-20 ft.) and the ship is rocking a fair amount, but the creaking noises have stopped. No seasickness to report here, thankfully!
[If you didn't see my hurricane report, here it is:
8:30 am: The captain mentioned a hurricane last night (Hurricane Hillary) and he thought it would just give us some bad weather. But it seems to have moved faster than anyone expected and we've been outracing it during the night. We were supposed to stop at Cabo San Lucas this morning at 7:30 am, but now we're south of it. I came downstairs to check mail and weather.com -- according to the hurricane map at
weather.com - Map Room - Satellite Map, Weather Map, Doppler Radar Storm Track, the hurricane was still south of us. I have to wonder where we are in relation to it -- it would seem like we'd be pretty close to it. Perhaps we're sailing close to the mainland or something. The ship is rocking a fair amount, but what's most unnerving is the creaking. I've never heard it before, but then again the Magic is 7 years old so I guess it isn't too surprising. It's pretty loud, though. It's a good thing I'm not frightened of things like this, because I think this would be a bit scary to some. Wow, that was a big wave -- rocked the ship very suddenly. Anyway, we're supposed to try to visit Manzanillo tomorrow since we can't do Cabo San Lucas today. I'll keep you updated. Please don't worry about us -- ships can outrun hurricanes. The weather may just be choppy for us. Honestly, the ship is rocking so much right now that I'm mostly worried about getting seasick.)
1:00 pm - We've successfully outrun the hurricane! The seas are a bit calmer and the sun is breaking through the clouds. All is well here and no one in our party is seasick. Alexander is doing well today, too -- we just finished lunch during which he ate all sorts of fruit, pepper marinated in balsamic vinegar, chicken salad, broccoli, califlower, carrots, French bread, chocolate pudding, apple pie, and milk (mostly he shared from our plates).]
Here's a recap of our cruise so far...
Boarding at the World Cruise Center was simple and efficient. We arrived at quarter to noon to drop off the luggage, Alexander, and me. Then Dave returned the rental car and we checked it around 1:00, boarding shortly thereafter. We met up with our traveling companions, Bruce and Marta, and discovered that Disney had changed our seating assignment. So Dave went off with Marta to correct that as well as make some changes to our Palo reservations, while I went to the stateroom to let sleepy Alexander nap in peace.
The fireboat gave us a send-off as we cruised out of the port
I arrived at our stateroom (#7063, category 11) and my heart sank. It was so small! Let me explain. We've been on nine Disney cruises, but this is the first time we booked an inside stateroom and didn't get upgraded (we generally book porthole rooms anyway). We figured an inside stateroom would be fine, and it was high time we actually experienced one. Well, we're certainly experiencing it... with more luggage than usual, a baby who requires a bulky crib and space to toddle around, and 14 days and nights without a window! Yikes! We were mad! That began my quick descent into a funk which I've only recently pulled out of (hence the lack of reports until today). Things improved once we put our stuff away (which required creativity -- we've got things stored everywhere, including behind the TV and under the bed) and found a place for the crib where we weren't tripping over it. Here's the before and after pictures:
Before
After
You'll notice we pushed the bed against one wall to give us room to keep the crib next to it -- this is a lifesaver! I'd never moved the furniture around in a stateroom like this, but I found it wasn't too hard -- the beds and nightstands are designed to move to create two twin beds anyway. I also tend to keep the table up against the door of the cooler to prevent Alexander from opening it and shutting his little fingers in the door (been there, done that). Alexander's car seat fits under the desk, and his umbrella stroller is folded up into the closet. The room baby-proofs pretty easily, too.
I'm becoming used to the room. I really miss the window and extra space of more expensive staterooms, but this room does have its advantages. It's easy to take a nap in as you can dim the room or turn the lights off completely. And having the bed in the back of the room makes for easier flow, plus closing the curtains makes for a private and cozy "sleeping chamber" of sorts. Generally we're trying to stay out of the room as much as we can, but Alexander needs some toddling-around time each day and it works best in here. I'll let you know how the room is wearing on us later in the cruise.
I missed lunch and dinner the first day due to a sleepy baby who needed to catch up on his zzzz's, so I had room service (excellent) and later on Dave brought back some roast beef and creme brulee from Animator's Palate. Meals have improved greatly for me since the first day -- brunch at Lumiere's yesterday morning (Eggs Benedict, yum!) and dinner at Parrot Cay (smoked salmon). Alexander's mood seems to being paralleling mine, and he's also eating better as the cruise goes on. This morning we ate in Parrot Cay and he happily munched on fruit, yogurt, cheese, bacon, and milk.
Alexander is doing reasonably well. He's sleeping more than usual, but seems happy and active otherwise. He's just entered a new phase of independence and can be fussier than he's been before. I'm still adjusting to this. The 4-hour plane ride (his 13th flight) was an adventure -- he cried a bit at the start and the older couple seated in front of us complained loudly for 20 minutes. Not very pleasant. I'm discovering that the better I handle his fussing, the less he does it. He had an interesting time in his baby lifejacket -- he was just fine until we got to the assembly station, at which point he screamed and wriggled until the cast member finally told us we could take him out of the jacket (to the great relief of everyone around us, I'm sure).
A happy Alexander in his lifejacket
This cruise seems to be full of Disney fans, many of whom are either on the Internet or have come across our cruise guide somewhere. We were asked for our autograph twice at the terminal, even though I was feeling shy and trying to lay low. And people keep thanking us for writing the book. It's really nice to be recognized and I'm very happy we've been able to help with their cruise vacations. I was unprepared for the recognition -- I've been working so hard up to this cruise that I really only had time to throw my stuff in the suitcase at the last minute. I have to fight the urge to hide out in my stateroom at times -- I love to meet people, but sometimes I wish for more anonymity (I'm just too shy). I tend to forget this when I'm using myself as a model for the photos in the book. Oh well! It's good for me, right?
The crew did a good job today of providing activities at the last minute. The live auction of art and collectibles was very popular, but some of prices were SO expensive -- I heard one thing starting at $16,000! Uh, sorry, not in the budget! Dave is at the movies (The Incredibles) with Alexander. I'm supposed to be at the spa, but I decided to save it for another day so I could work on this report.
Tonight is Palo. Alexander goes to Flounder's Reef Nursery at 8:00. We plan to feed him first at Topsider's as they won't feed him in the nursery. I'm looking forward to an adult's night out. So tune into the next installment in the continuing saga... Will Jennifer and Dave enjoy their evening at Palo? Will Alexander have fun at Flounder's Reef? And what will we do in Manzanillo, a port we haven't researched at all?
Click here for day 4's report