Jaguars and Monkeys and Tapirs, oh my! LizzyPlague's Magical Adventure April 1 - 8

[lizzyplague]

The parrots really like the buttons on top of baseball hats as well as buttons, and they will most certainly pull them off. So, I don't recommend wearing a hat or shirt you really care about.

 

While you are visiting the birds, they allow you to take a photograph with one on your shoulder. After dad and I had taken our photo, I was standing off to the side, looking for some decent shots of the parrots. A man was standing nearby me, and pointed, telling me to look out. So, I turned around quick and this cute little guy had come over from Monkey Land.

 

He proved to be a little troublemaker, though. You are not allowed to bring food or water bottles in hand into the area where the monkeys are because they will pull the quickest grab n' run ever seen. Someone in the group behind us had a can of Pringles, and one second you see the monkey up in the tree, then the next moment you see him opening and eating that can of Pringles.

 

After a very short walk, you are lead into Monkey Land, where the monkeys roam freely and climb on you if they want to. Several trainers are there and coerce the monkeys to sit on your shoulder for a picture.. but, there is also a private viewing area for those who don't want to interact with them.

 

I'll stress again that if you see yourself in a picture and want it taken down, please let me know. This was the best way to photograph the monkeys.

 

 

 

 

 

[lizzyplague]

 

Yes, if you wear fake bunny ears into Monkey Land, a monkey will gladly take them off you... and you won't get them back in the same condition in which you lost them.

 

[lizzyplague]

When you leave Gumbalimba Park, they run shuttles back when there are 25 or so people ready to go. You won't return on the same bus you came in on. Just be sure to stand by the correct cruise ship.

We returned to the ship around 4:30, so we stayed in the room and got ready for dinner. I actually remembered to take some food pictures today.

Blue Moon Martini

Beef and Barley soup

Garden Salad

Beef Lasagna

Spare ribs with pea and cheese gratin (which is super delicious)

 

Chocolate Panna Cotta (with warm chocolate sauce). It was surprisingly very good, and I'm doubly surprised it's sugar-free. Sorry, I took a few bites before remembering to take a picture.

[lizzyplague]

Chocolate Panna Cotta (with warm chocolate sauce). It was surprisingly very good, and I'm doubly surprised it's sugar-free. Sorry, I took a few bites before remembering to take a picture.

And... Chocolate Melting Cake! With a bite missing of both cake and ice cream. Sorry, again!

Up next... Costa Maya and Sea Day #2

[HighCPU]

Well now that my gf has seen these pics and review of monkey land we may be skipping from Mexican riviera and going straight to an itinerary that includes mahogany bay for monkey land [emoji205]

 

 

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[sturderick]

 

Yes, if you wear fake bunny ears into Monkey Land, a monkey will gladly take them off you... and you won't get them back in the same condition in which you lost them.

 

We did this same excursion and loved it! I'm pretty sure Denise was our guide too! It's been a few years so I can't quite remember but I'm almost positive she was. I highly recommend it.

[h_blond2]

Thanks for the review! We are doing this same itinerary next year on the Dream!

[lizzyplague]

Well now that my gf has seen these pics and review of monkey land we may be skipping from Mexican riviera and going straight to an itinerary that includes mahogany bay for monkey land [emoji205]

 

 

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Totally recommend it. It's a nice place! The monkeys are certainly the highlight.

 

We did this same excursion and loved it! I'm pretty sure Denise was our guide too! It's been a few years so I can't quite remember but I'm almost positive she was. I highly recommend it.

Denise is an excellent guide. Had to laugh when she told us if we see her running from a snake to get out of her way. :') Of course she meant it as a joke.

 

 

Thanks for the review! We are doing this same itinerary next year on the Dream!

You'll love it. :) There's so much to do and see on the Western route.

[lizzyplague]

Costa Maya (April 6)

Towel animal day!

We woke up bright and early (again) and had an early breakfast, then grabbed the camera and hit the pool deck.

 

Norwegian Getaway was docked with us.

 

 

There's an imposter somewhere...

 

 

And our towel monkey from Edwin.

 

 

[lizzyplague]

We got off the ship around 9:30, since I wanted to get back on for trivia at 11. In reality, we should have just stayed on the ship.

 

 

 

 

There wasn't a whole lot to see in the port area, just a lot of shops with VERY pushy shop owners. You can't even walk past them without one of the commenting that you should come into their store. It's even harder to look at something without them trying to coerce you into buying everything else. I know they're pushy for a reason, but I wished they would have backed off a little.

 

After about half an hour, we just went back onto the ship and relaxed.

 

We did see the little fish that eat the skin off your feet but no one was doing it at the time we were there.

 

At least it wasn't overly humid or warm today. Just grey and overcast.

[lizzyplague]

Back on the ship, we played some more trivia, had lunch, then got ready for the second elegant night. Not too many people were dressed up in gowns and tuxes, but everyone looked presentable.

 

I had the Cosmo.

 

Minestrone soup

 

Stuffed mushrooms

 

Four Seasons salad with blue cheese

 

Teriyaki salmon (SO GOOD!) The brown thing behind the salmon is a soft rice cake, which was very good as well. Almost like the rice in sushi.

 

Fuscilli pasta with mushroom sauce

 

Spare ribs, I think? Something like that, anyway.

 

We had the chocolate melting cake for dessert... again.

 

[lizzyplague]

Sea Day #2

The ship just felt busy today. I don't know if everyone was running around or what, but it felt more crowded than the other days. It might have been because the walking deck was closed due to the high winds.

 

We started packing up our things, and played some trivia in between. Then, Dr. E came on to announce that they had to perform a medevac of a passenger, and that we'd have to slow down the ship in order to take them off.

 

 

 

 

It was quite something to see. I'm just glad they were able to take the passenger off safely, and get them the help they needed.

 

In the afternoon was Harry Potter trivia, and I'll swear that every kind on the ship was there. People were sitting on the floor all over the place.

 

It came down to three, and Jackie (the trivia host) proposed the tiebreaker of having each of them sing a small part of a song, but it couldn't be the same as the previous song before it. One of the girls bowed out and refused to sing, but the other two kept on it. I would have given all three of them a ship and a medal, honestly, and not made them do something so silly.

 

Today they were also hosting the Groove for St. Jude, as well as the balloon drop and the Chocolate Extravaganza. (The chocolate wontons were awesome!) If you wanted to, you could write a message on a balloon and bring it up to Deck 10. That evening, they would drop the balloons in the atrium.

 

 

View from Deck 10.

 

[lizzyplague]

Time for dinner!

Free drink coupon granted me a free Cruiser (personal favorite).

BBQ Chicken Flatbread. It had mushrooms on it, but I don't recall it having mushrooms before. Either way, I love mushrooms, and flatbread is one of the most perfect foods. (Next to chocolate).

Mozzarella and tomato salad

Caesar salad. (..I actually ordered the Mozz and tomato salad for myself but I got this. No worries though, because mom gave me some of her's.)

Grilled Chicken

After dinner and dessert, we went to see the show America Rocks! It was my favorite of the shows during the week, mainly because that's my genre of choice.

After that, the last of the comedy shows and off to bed. We had an early morning ahead of us!

[lizzyplague]

Debarkation/Epcot (April 8)

 

The ship docked around 6 AM, and unfortunately it was still dark out.

 

Disney Fantasy is back! All lit up nice and pretty.

 

When we left last week there was an NCL ship in port with us, but it was on a Transatlantic so wouldn't be returning.

 

We were up and had breakfast and went back to the room to wait, until about 7:30 or so. We were supposed to be in zone 14 if we chose zone debarkation, but we chose to carry our bags off as we had to make the shuttle back to the airport, and the latest they were running them was 10 AM. (Through GoPortCanaveral. It was their recommendation based on port traffic.) Port Canaveral, like Ft. Lauderdale, uses corrals for their luggage so there is no waiting for a conveyor belt of luggage.

 

We weren't catching an early flight, though. We were using the airport as a meeting place as we were spending a few days with my sister, who lives in the Orlando area. So, we were off the ship and through customs by 8 AM, and on a shuttle by 8:15. There is a table set up outside the terminal that is marked, and they will diret you where to wait for your shuttle.

 

Florida has had some very dry weather the past few weeks. This was a few mile stretch of our ride back towards Orlando International.

 

 

Our poor driver was coughing her head off because she was allergic to the smoke. I feel for her. :(

 

Since the main part of my review is over, I'll give some final thoughts before moving onto our half day at Epcot.

 

I thought the cruise itself was very enjoyable. I had a lot of fun, and have no major or minor complaints.

There were a lot of kids on this cruise, more so than the others we've been on. We knew we were cruising on Spring Break, but towards the end of it.

 

Kids like to push the elevator buttons, which is very annoying, but that was probably the biggest thing I had issue with all week.

 

Entertainment and comedy were okay, nothing spectacular. I didn't hate them, but it was more to pass the time than anything else.

Most food items were very good. (Last night my melting cake wasn't quite as hot as it had been, but it's nothing worth complaining about)

 

MDR service was the fastest we've ever had. Most nights we were out of there in an hour or less. (Exception being the first night, it took 1 hour, 15 minutes)

 

I didn't particularly care for Dr. E but I do have to give him credit for his enthusiasm and visibility. I can see why he's so popular, but the Good Morning song gets annoying after a while.

 

So, back to the bonus review.

We wanted to go to Epcot since it's hosting its yearly Flower and Garden show.

I can't even imagine how long it takes to make these. They're so pretty!

Epcot front gate. Can't go without getting a picture of Spaceship Earth!

Epcot hosts Future World, as well as the World Showcase. Future World is where all the rides are, like Soarin', Spaceship Earth, Living with the Land and Test Track. World Showcase is where each country is 'showcased', with their building style, local wares, food, etc. The topiaries for the festival are spread throughout, in both parts of the park.

 

[lizzyplague]

They had a lot of flower beds. Why can't we grow these at home?

They have a butterfly garden as well.

We ate lunch at The Land, in the Seasons restaurant.

All of the fresh produce is grown right in the park, and used in the restaurant. (As showcased in Living with the Land)

Bambi and Thumper

Peter Pan and Tinkerbell, in England

[lizzyplague]

 

Lady and the Tramp, in France.

 

The Lion King, featuring Mufasa, Nala, Rafiki and Simba.

 

There were so many more but we only had a partial day. You could easily spend two or three days seeing everything.

 

That about concludes this review. Our next cruise is only about a month away (May 20th), so I'll be back with a review of the beautiful Carnival Vista, for our Southern Caribbean cruise.

 

Feel free to ask any questions and I'll do my best to answer. Thanks for viewing!

[GalCruzer]

Thank you so much for that report, Lizzy. I loved that excursion in Roatan between the beautiful birds and that suspension bridge. I want to walk one of those one day. I'm glad I got to see what is in Roatan because just barely having heard of it I would have never figured how nice it looks there.

 

Also thanks for those pics of EPCOT we haven't been back there for 6 years and that was my favorite park.

 

BTW what was the name of your Roatan excursion as well as the company. Sorry if I read over it. Thanks! :p

[watermelonqueen99]

Great review! The Magic holds a special place for us. She was our first, second, and third cruises when she was still in Galveston. We had a cove balcony on two of those cruises, and that's by far our favorite type of cabin. My heart literally fluttered when I read that your room steward's name was Erwin. Lol That was our steward's name on our very first cruise 3 years ago, and I'm curious if it's the same guy. We did a few days at Disney before our cruise on the Splendor last year, and to this day that remains one of our favorite vacations. Thanks for posting!

[bury me at sea]

Thanks for the detailed and interesting review. I was sad to see the Magic leave Galveston but am thoroughly enjoying the Breeze now that she's here.

[kdn hawaii]

Is there an age requirement for this excursion?

 

 

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[navybaby1113]

Great review! We're on this itinerary in November and were looking at the same excursion in Roatan. It looks awesome.

 

And thank you for including some Disney World pictures. It's like home to me. :-) We had to cancel our annual passes this year since I'm in school and I miss it dearly.

[mulan1123]

Loved the review! I'm booked for Magic in December. But doing the Cozumel Plus itinerary......