LIVE Reports from the Disney Magic Repositioning Cruise

Sorry for skipping two days in our reports, but we've been recuperating from our Panama Canal passage and I've gotten a little chest cold.

Monday was another day at sea. We had brunch at Palo with our friends Bruce and Marta, while Alexander enjoyed his time in Flounder's Reef Nursery. That afternoon I worked on the videos of the Panama Canal and Alexander walking while Dave took in a matinee showing of the new stage show, Twice Charmed. (I also tried to see it, but Alexander wasn't in the mood to watch it.) This evening was our second formal night, so we got all gussied up again. And now with Alexander walking, he looked even cuter in his tux. Later that evening we went to see Twice Charmed again, with the understanding that if Alexander fussed Dave would take him out. But wouldn't you know it, Alexander watched the entire show with hardly a sound. I guess he really likes his princesses. Twice Charmed was, indeed, charming — it still doesn't beat the Disney Dreams show, but it's definitely a winner! And it's fun to see a new twist on a beloved story. Dinner was at Animator's Palate and the menu was "Prince and Princess" and featured inventively named dishes.

Tuesday was our visit to Curacao. We got up early and ate breakfast in Topsider's with Bruce and Marta, then ventured off the ship into town. Curacao is very colorful, clean, and pleasant — easy to walk around and plenty to see. We stopped in the Jewish museum, walked by the postal museum, had some Cokes at a little outdoor cafe, and saw the fort. There were many shops, most selling jewelry and textiles. The only thing to mar our outing was the heat, which was oppressive. Thankfully there were some cool breezes off the ocean from time to time. Back onboard Dave went up to take a nap on deck 4 while Alexander and I napped in the cool, dark stateroom. I love being able to take naps on vacation — to me it means I'm truly on vacation! Tonight was the new "Pirates IN the Caribbean" theme night, so we donned our best pirate gear. Alas, this is one thing I had a problem getting before we left home. The best I could manage was a "Pirate Bear" bib for Alexander and some Mickey/Goofy pirate ears from Walt Disney World (and it turned out DCL was selling these same ears in Mickey's Mates anyway). Dave also improvised by wearing his tuxedo shirt with the sleeves rolled up and only halfway buttoned up, which I thought looked REALLY good. All I had was some tropical wear, but that was fine.

Anyway, tonight's show was Susan Egan, the original Belle from "Beauty and the Beast" on Broadway. She was also the voice of Meg in Hercules, and has been in several other Broadway performances. Susan was spectacular! I particularly liked it when a scene from Hercules was displayed on the screen behind her and she sang her part from it — it was like seeing the scene come to life! Alexander decided he'd had enough after this number, so we went out to the elevator lobby where he practised more walking, as well as stair climbing. He actually managed to climb up the staircase with his feet by hanging onto the balustrade the whole way. I was impressed.

Dinner was the Pirates in the Carribean menu, which again featured inventively named dishes and interesting preparations. The servers (also in pirate garb) brought out a limbo stick and encouraged guests to dance under it. I'd say at least half of the guests I saw were in some sort of pirate dress, and some got very elaborate. The deck party began at 9:45 and BOY was it crowded. It turned out the best views were on deck 10, midship, port side. We could see most of the show, the fireworks on Curacao as we were sailing out, and the magnificent fireworks from the ship at the climax of the deck party. Plenty of Disney characters put in an appearance, including a Pirate Stitch. It was really well done. The only problem were the crowds, so be prepared if you see it. After the fireworks we strolled around deck 10, admiring the stars (Alexander had fallen asleep in the middle of the deck party). It was really a lovely night,

Wednesday we were back at sea again, heading towards "home." We slept in until noon (ahhhh) and grabbed lunch up at Topsider's. Dave took in the Captain's Q&A session where he learned that the Magic did NOT scrape the side of the locks as it went through, contrary to public belief. Dave also had an opportunity to chat with one of the imagineers who was onboard for a Navigator Series seminar — Gary Landrum. The show this evening was comedian Mark Curry with a special appearance by Kermit and various Muppet friends. Mark was fine, but the Muppets were fantastic! The crew really put a lot of effort into making the Muppets come off and it was delightful! We later asked cruise director Rachel if the Muppets would become a regular thing, but she said it was special just for this cruise. Oh well! What made the show so fun, besides hearing Kermit sing the Rainbow Song, was the behind-the-scenes glimpses as the muppets "ran" through the ship creating havoc and hilarity (this was displayed on the video screens). Lots of fun! Alexander watched the entire show and seemed to enjoy it, so when we strolled through the shop later on and I spied a Kermit doll, I gave it to Alexander to see if it interested him. Sure enough, he held onto it tightly and seemed to like it. I purchased it and he's been playing with it every since. Very cute. After the show I convinced Dave to have his picture taken with Sorceror Mickey in the lobby atrium (Sorceror Mickey is his favorite character), and I think the photos turned out nicely. After dinner I took a sleepy Alexander back to the stateroom while Dave, Bruce, and Marta took in the adults-only Crew Talent Show. The word is that the show was fantastic, and pretty adult by Disney's standards. Too bad I missed it!

We have just two days left — today (Thursday) and tomorrow (Friday, Castaway Cay day). Then we'll be hanging out with Allie in Florida until Sunday night, so I probably won't have time to do more updates before I get home. So here's a preview of what's coming our way. Tonight I booked Alexander into Flounder's Reef so Dave and I could have an adults night out and use the hot tub and maybe go to the 70s party. Tomorrow morning we're going to special sneak peek of the new Castaway Ray's Stingray Adventure on Castaway Cay, so we'll certainly report back on that. And then comes the adventure of packing after two weeks on a cruise ship — what fun that will be!

As an aside, we'd heard bits and pieces about Hurricane Katrina, but no details. Last night I turned on the TV to CNN and learned about the horrible tragedy in New Orleans. Our thoughts go out to all who have been hit by Katrina.

Thank you to all who've followed us along our once-in-a-lifetime adventure! I promise to write more when I'm home.

Jennifer, Dave, and Alexander

Curaco was amazing. Bright sunny and hot hot hot. We went to the aquarium and did an animal encounter where we put on scuba gear and fed sea turtles and sharks (though a screen) and Rays and tropicals out in the pool. The rumor is Tom McAlpin was meeting with folk on the island. I hope so, it was a very nice day. They sent us off with fireworks (very nice touch) and we responded with the fireworks from the pirate's party. Lots of pirates in costume which made for a great night.

The present on our bed last night was a picture of Capt. Minnie Mickey and Tom McAlpin.

Today is sunny and hot again as we cruise. Don "Ducky" Williams did his final talk and then spent hours signing things including the lovely litho we were given as on of our gifts.

We did it! We transited through the Panama Canal!

(Photos and two videos are at http://www.passporter.com/panamacanalcruise )

Report from Dave: Part of the romance of cruising is the connection with its glamorous past. Along with an extended sea voyage, dressing for dinner, and a transatlantic crossing, there's little that compares with "transiting" the Panama Canal. For many cruisers, crossing the Panama Canal was the single biggest reason to book this itinerary. Roy Disney boarded the Magic in Acapulco in part because he and his wife are the "godparents" of the Disney Magic, but mostly because they had never sailed through the canal. Disney Cruise Line's president Tom McAlpin, a 20-year veteran of the cruise industry, also had never been through the canal until this year.

After all the reading and research I had done in order to write the Panama Canal section for the third edition PassPorter Disney Cruise Line guidebook, I was really primed for this part of the journey. To compound the anticipation (and feed my growing passion for the canal and its history) I also brought along a copy of the definitive Panama Canal history, "The Path Between the Seas" by David McCullough. I managed to finish my journey through the book in the wee hours of Saturday night, just before our actual journey through the canal began. It's a great telling of a monumental, true story.

With passage through the Miraflores locks set for around 8:20 am, we arranged for a 6:30 am wake-up call, which came just in time to enjoy a colorful sunrise on the "View from the Bridge" on our stateroom TV. In honor of the occasion, Topsider's had started serving a full breakfast at 5:30 am, and judging by all the people camped out on deck 10 forward, we were late risers! Even the crew was excited. The crew member handing out trays and cutlery in Topsider's had a small camera in her shirt pocket. A small crowd of off-duty crew could be seen from the "View From the Bridge" channel when we awoke, congregating on the crew's recreation deck and peering over the side.

Back up on deck 10, chaise lounges were arrayed side by side along the ship's rail, from stem to stern, all facing outward, all filled with waiting passengers. The narrow viewing area at the front of deck 10 between the railing and the huge glass windshield that protects the Wide World of Sports deck was packed. The camera-wielding throng could put professional paparazzi to shame as they (we) jockeyed for a clean shot of all that would transpire. My height brings certain advantages — I could usually manage to find a gap between heads and shoulders. When Jennifer tried to shot video of me from that location, she had to hold the camera overhead on tippy-toes with the digital viewfinder rotated so she could see what she was doing.

Report from Jennifer: I certainly couldn't see much of our passage through the first set of locks — I had Alexander and it was very hard to maneuver through the crowds with him. I let Dave stand at the bow and crane his head for photos while I moved back to the port side for a slightly better view. Within a few minutes, raindrops began to fall from the cloud-heavy skies. Alexander had no blanket or raincover, so I tried to get Dave's attention to indicate I was leaving for a few minutes but the crowds were much too heavy and he was behind a wall of glass. So I dashed back to the stateroom only to spend 10 minutes searching for Alexander's raincover, and another 15 getting him some milk and comforting him (it was getting to be naptime). By the time I got back up to deck 10, I'd missed a bunch of the lock passage and Dave was nowhere to be found. I spent the next three hours looking for him, roving around decks 10, 9, and 4. I was able to spy some of our passage along the way, of course, and I spoke with many PassPorter readers who noticed my search. When Dave and I finally found one another, I discovered he's been searching for me, too. It was just a very crowded, confusing morning.

Interesting aside: At one point the Captain had to make an announcement for the folks on the starboard side of the ship to stop throwing things overboard as we were in risk of being fined $150,000 by the lock authorities. Apparently some guests (I hope mostly kids who didn't know better) were throwing their turndown chocolates, stuffed Mickeys, and "gifts" overboard to the canal workers.

After being reunited, we went up to deck 9 to enjoy the barbecue lunch and watch Gatun Lake go by. The sun had come out by this time and the views of the placid waters and lush greenery were beautiful. Once we were all rested and fed, we roamed the decks, taking lots of photos and videos. We moved down to deck 4 and had a fine view of Gatun Lake, passing ships, and our entry into the Gatun Locks. Mickey, Captain Hook, and Mr. Smee also came along to shake hands and pose for photos. Once we were in the Gatun Lock, we went down to deck 3 to watch the walls of the lock rise above the windows.

All in all, we were fortunate enough to be able to view the transit from five decks, including some time in our friends Bruce and Marta's deck 6 stateroom with a navigator's verandah. We had a marvelous time (aside from our morning mix-ups) and feel very fortunate to have had this once-in-a-lifetime experience.

That evening we attempted to watch a movie premiere of "Valiant," but Alexander wasn't in the mood so we took turns hanging out with him in the hall. During my shift, Alexander made a decision — he was ready to walk on his own. So while waiting for a photo op with Beauty and the Beast, Alexander stood and walked about six steps before falling. Then he did it again, and again, with more and more successful steps. I think at one point he was up to 20-25 steps before falling! I had no idea he'd just take off like that! I was practically in tears and people were applauding Alexander and videotaping him. A crew member came over and shared my joy, helping Alexander take even more steps. By the time the movie ended and Dave came out, I was just bursting with pride and joy, eager to show him Alexander's new skill. And, sure enough, Alexander did it again and again. We even managed to get it on video! It was AMAZING!

The panama canal crossing turned into an all day experience. Up on deck @ 7am and not back to the room till 7PM except to change camera batteries. Mickey, Minnie and Goofy were on the Captains deck to entertain the kids at the various locks. Roy Disney and his wife joined them at the locks.

We had a cloudy day here but the sun was out in the afternoon. Spent the day at the imagineer talk about Expidetion Eversest. Lots of talk about theming. Then the murder mystery which is turning out to be one of the funnier things going on the ship. The afternoon was tea which was nice and some pool time. Twice Charmed was the show tonight, very cute and looks to be technically challenging. It is amazing how fast a day at sea can slip away. Tomorrow Curaco, the bad news, because the pontoon bridge is out we have to dock somewhere else. The good news is we are not leaving port until 10:00PM. The orignal belle from beauty and beast on Broadway is tomorrow's entertainment. Tomorrow is pirates night. The pictures should be great. Roy and Tom are expected to be getting off tomorrow. Soryy I didn't get to meet Roy but that's the way the cookie crumbles.

I've been on a lot of Disney cruises, and one thing you see a lot of is cute little girls in adorable Disney princess dresses. Well, I don't have a little girl I can dress up. So I do the next best thing and dress Alexander up in Disney BOY costumes. This is a challenge, of course, as you can't usually find costumes in his sizes in the Disney shops — you need to get lucky or special order them. I ordered a Simba costume for him from Hong Kong (that was his first Halloween costume), purchased a Mickey Mouse costume at Disneyland Paris, ordered a Stitch costume from eBay, and got lucky with a Donald Duck costume in Disneyland (California). And when Alexander dresses up, he gets lots of special attention from folks, which he just loves.

So Friday night was a casual night here onboard, so I decided to try out his Stitch costume. It fit perfectly, so down we went to dinner. Oh, the smiles he brought to people's faces! Just adorable! Then I noticed that both Lilo and Stitch were out for photos — how perfect! So I got two very cute photos of my baby Stitch with the "real" Lilo and Stitch.

And then, just for the heck of it, I had a portrait taken of Alexander in his Stitch costume. The photographer really managed to bring out some wonderful expressions and I knew those photos were going to turn out great. Sure enough, when I stopped by Shutters (the photo place) to look for his portraits, a cast member had Alexander's portraits in his hand and was showing everyone who walked by the "cute baby." And, oh, these photos are so delicious! We bought two of the poses — the originals look best, but we took digital photos of our prints so you can see them, too.

The crew member who rung up our portrait purchase said she planned to display Alexander's Stitch photo in the frames that sit on the shelf behind the cash register. She was probably just being nice, but it still delighted these proud parents!

Saturday (day 7) was a relatively quiet sea day. In the morning Dave went to a "state of DCL" talk by DCL president Tom McAlpin. Among the old news, Dave learned that DCL will be getting new lifejackets which are much more comfortable than the current ones. Also, the spa expansion will include a glass-bottom hot tub — wow! Still no news on new ships, but he did give us all hope by mentioning that new CEO Bob Iger had been onboard recently and was a new convert to the wonders of Disney cruising. Let's hope Bob can make something happen soon.

While Dave was at the DCL talk, I signed up for a Murder Mystery called "Dark Waters." There are eight characters, one of whom apparently "died," and the goal is to try to solve it over the next few days. I'm wearing a little button that identifies me as a player, and crew members will offer clues to the mystery as I go about my day. I've overhead other guests sharing their clues, too, so it's acting as a group activity of sorts. I don't have any idea who killed whom, but I'm interested in finding out! I'll keep you posted.

Beyond these activities, we watched the Robots movie (very good!), picked up the special trading pins we ordered earlier in the cruise (long lines, but manageable), and checked e-mail. Dinner this evening was in Parrot Cay, during which we received little maracas as souvenirs and were entertained by Chip and Dale doing a little latin dancing. Alexander practiced his walking by holding onto one of our hands and toddling about — I think he did three laps of the restaurant! He got everyone into the act — Marta and our server helped him walk around, too.

After dinner and back in our stateroom, Alexander took a few toddling steps without a helping hand or handy wall. These are his official "first steps" — he took those at 11 months old. But since then he's restricted himself to the occasional step and still prefers cruising and crawling. We keep thinking he'll start walking any day now, but so far no significant progress. It was good to see him trying out those independent steps again tonight, though.

The excitement about the Panama Canal crossing was palpable this evening. Stay tuned for a full report on our amazing experience!

Jennifer, Dave, and Alexander

Today's comedy show was the polar opposite of last nights which we walked out of. The president of Disney Cruise Line gave a talk today. No big suprises but your's truely missed out on the inagural Stingray experience at Castaway by giving the wrong answer to a triva question. Oh well. Today was Martini Tasting and a session of board games oraginzed by on of the internet group. Both activites were great fun. Time seem to be flying the days are full of activities. Whoever though Disney would not come up with enough to do for 14
days was dead wrong. I am having an amazing time.

Times for the canal tomorrow in case you are interested:
Miraflores Locks 9:20
Pedro Miguel Lock 11:00
Gatun Locks 3:50 PM
These are the times for the east coast.

www.panamacanal.com

Now I know why I wanted to sail this cruise so much… I've already had a blast, gotten relaxed and pampered, well wined and dined, finished reading an entire book, AND I'M NOT EVEN HALFWAY THROUGH THE CRUISE YET! Wow, this is the best feeling! So many times on the shorter cruises you feel like you barely arrived when it's already time to pack and head home. This is the first trip in a long time that's really felt like a true vacation.

Yesterday and today are both sea days, which is the reason why I love to cruise. Sure, visiting ports is interesting, but just hanging out on the ship while it's underway to your next destination is a whole lot more relaxing. And with the Panama Canal crossing coming soon (Saturday), there's a buzz of excitement in the air. I'm not sure what time we'll enter the canal, but we plan to be on deck to watch!

Last night I treated myself to a spa treatment, specifically the "Ladies' Night" package. For $140 I received a full body massage, scalp massage, facial, as much time as I liked in the Tropical Rainforest, a glass of sparkling wine, and a gift ("Dermasque Purifiant," a mask). It was just wonderful! And while I only spent 45 minutes in the Tropical Rainforest, it reminded me how much I love it there and I plan to return again soon. For those who heard about my experience with "Ladies Morning" on my December 2004 cruise (big disappointment!), this was much better and well worth the money! I highly recommend it.

After the spa I went back to change into my "semi-formal" attire — ha! I'd read that the westbound cruise only had one formal and one semi-formal night, so I didn't bring that much in the way of dressier clothes. So either I read wrong or they changed it, because we have FOUR nights on this cruise (two formal and two semi-formal). I didn't bring enough clothing! So I had to get a bit creative, but it worked. Dinner was in Lumiere's, during which we were graced by the presence of Belle and Beast. Each diner also received a trading pin — the females got a Belle pin and the males got a Beast pin. Our friend Bruce remarked that the kids should have gotten a Chip pin, which I agreed would have been appropriate.

Alexander got fussy before I'd finished my entree and I found myself out in the atrium, pushing him in his stroller to lull him to sleep. Fat chance, mom! Alexander was enchanted with his surroundings, and wound up meeting both Cinderella and Genie, as well as several PassPorter readers who'd spotted us.

After dinner Dave headed off to an adult ventriloquist show while I went back to the stateroom to put Alexander to bed. Again, wishful thinking. He was up for a few hours after that. I did get him to try on the big sombrero we bought for his Uncle Chad, which was utterly charming.

Today has been very relaxing so far. We slept in (again!) and ate lunch in Topsider's. Then Dave went to the live auction, where he informs me he bid and won an apron from Animator's Palate. He also bid on a Lion King item, but it got too expensive too quickly. After the auction we put Alexander in his swimsuit and went up to deck 9 to frolic in the Mickey ear for toddlers. Alexander had a fun time in the water — he liked trying to catch the water coming out of the fountains. I had expected a mob scene here, but it was really quite enjoyable.

At the moment Alexander and his Daddy are taking a nap — another pleasure of a day at sea. A nap sounds pretty good to me right now, too.

(Links to photos and new videos are at http://www.passporter.com/panamacanalcruise )

Big doings yesterday on the Magic. There was a big welcome at Aca with stilt walkers a band and dancers. Our day was taken up with Ship of Fools tours, first the Bravo river rafting. OUTSTANDING way more fun than than we paid for with a lunch included. Watching our fellow fools fall from the rafts was too much fun. Even Hope got into the river. Then it was back to the ship were I had the rainforest room all to myself until Mr and Mrs. Roy Disney came in for a tour. After that we skipped the evening deck party to do the fort multimedia tour and the last cliff diving show of the night thanks to Erica who arranged it all for the ship of fools group. All in all a very exciting day. The multimedia tour had the added benefit of the fireworks show hosted by Aca for the Disney Magic. Thanks Roberto for your gracious hospitality we enjoyed our visit to your fair city.

Today started out cloudy and rainy but brightened up consideralby. The sea day was filled with the ship of fools wine tasting with 170 in attendance and a fine selection of wines from around the country. Then we attended a drawing session with Ducky Williams, now it's time for the Castaway reception and the Who Wants to be a Mousketter hosted by one of the members of In Sinc The evening will be rounded out with dinner and a comedy show. A very full day at sea.

Life is wonderful here onboard. Tuesday night was formal night and the three of us got dressed in our tuxedos (boys) and gown. Golden Mickeys was playing, and as it was only the second time I had seen it, I thoroughly enjoyed it — Cruella was particularly delightful. After the show we had formal portraits taken (oh, I have to remember to go look for them today!). Alexander looked so dashing in his tuxedo!

Dinner was at Animator's Palate, which had been transformed into the "Mouseketeer Club." Each diner received commemorative Mickey Mouse Club buttons that say "Disney Magic Eastbound Panama canal Voyage 2005." Even the servers got into the act with classic Mouseketeer garb and mouse ears. The only problem was with the soundtrack — it kept playing the "Mickey Mouse Club March" over and over! Arrrrggh! Almost as bad as "it's a small world!"

After dinner we dropped off Alexander at the nursery for two hours so we could see an adult show at Rockin' Bar D — comedian and ventriloquist Taylor Mason. Very funny! And the club was packed! We had to sit in folding chairs on the dance floor. We ventured over to Sessions after the show and noticed it was storming outside, complete with spectacular lighting bolts that lit up the entire sky and ocean. So we hurried up to deck 4 to take in the sights — many other people had had the same idea and the decks were crowded! It was quite an amazing light show.

The following morning our ship berthed in Acapulco! We dragged ourselves out of bed around 11:00 am. Using the "View from the Bridge" channel helped a bit, but it was so overcast and rainy this morning that it wasn't a clear night/day view. It's SO easy to oversleep in an inside stateroom. Anyway, we went up to Topsider's for lunch and sat outside so we could marvel at the gorgeous views. Acapulco is certainly one of the most attractive ports I've ever seen.

We'd booked an excursion — Acapulco Highlights Tour — that began at 1:30 pm. The excursion began with a 10-minute walk over to Fort San Diego, which had been recently transformed into a pretty museum. I had Alexander in the sling and he was a little fussy, though eventually he fell asleep. After the museum we boarded an air-conditioned bus and travelled over to New Acapulco, seeing quite a bit of the shoreline. Our tour guide, Alphonso, says the condos go for $400-500,000 for just two bedrooms. Yikes!

At the end of the tour we saw the famous Acapulco cliff divers. Six well-toned and tanned swimmers climbed down the cliff we were standing on, swam across the narrow channel, climbed up another cliff, and dove gracefully into the water. I took a video of it for those of you at home who are curious about it.

After our excursion we made a mad dash to our stateroom to get Alexander changed and fed for his evening in Flounder's Reef Nursery. We had an adult evening planned on Acapulco! Once Alexander was safely tucked into the nursery, we met up with Bruce and Marta and walked into the Zocalo (main square) where "La Flor de Acapulco" restaurant was located. We got an open-air table on the second floor verandah with a gorgeous view of the harbor and square below us. We tried the ceviche, seafood soup, enchiladas, fajitas, and a whole red snapper. It was very atmospheric and the food was, well, Mexican — not too different from what you'd get back home, probably because we were in a tourist area. Halfway through dinner we were treated to a fireworks show over the harbor — very magical.

By the end of the meal (which included a strawberry daiquiri and glass of Negra Modelo beer), I had a headache. So we made our way back to the ship so I could lay down a bit. But once I hit the cool air conditioning, I felt much better. We still had 90 minutes before our coach turned back into a pumpkin named Alexander, so we went up to deck 9 to swim in the adult pool and soak in the adult hot tub. Ahhhhhhhhhhh! The Acapulco lights were winking in the distance and a musician was crooning out love songs — it was very relaxing and Disney magical! After our soak we wandered past the Tropical deck party and scooped up some sweets at the dessert buffet. By this point, it was time to pick up our sleepyhead at the nursery and turn in for the night.

More photos are at:
http://www.passporterboards.com/ubb/showflat.php?Cat=0&Number=943007&an=0&page=0
(go to page 5)

As expected, last night's dinner at Palo was delightful (Palo is the premium, adults-only restaurant that requires reservations). We dined with our friends Bruce and Marta, and had the pleasure of Sasha as our server (we'd first met Sasha on the inaugural Western Caribbean Disney cruise in May 2002). We shared two pizzas (Proscuitto and Levante, mmm!) and enjoyed entrees of rack of lamb and linguini carbonara. For dessert we had, of course, the famous chocolate souffle, and the server brought a couple of extra desserts (but we were really too full to do them justice). Something new for us — Sasha brought each of us a complimentary glass of a refreshing, champagne-based, after-dinner drink, shot-glass sized. It was offered just before dessert to "cleanse the palate."

After dinner we spent some time chatting with PJ, the maitre d' at Palo. He patiently answered our puzzled questions about why we were only allowed to make one Palo booking on a two-week cruise. Believe it or not, there are some guests who were unable to get even one Palo booking for this cruise due to Palo's popularity. Obviously, those guests will be accommodated first if vacancies arise. And as this cruise has a very high percentage of return cruisers, essentially everyone knows about Palo and wants to eat there. We put our names on a waiting list, and PJ suggested we check back later in the cruise to see if there are any last-minute cancellations that we could squeeze into.

Alexander, in the meantime, was enjoying himself in Flounder's Reef Nursery. Before we dropped him off there, we'd taken him upstairs to Topsider's for his dinner, as they don't feed children in the nursery. He enjoyed cheese tortellini, quesadillas and salsa, fruit, corn, green beans, and beautifully grilled chicken (Daddy was sorely tempted to finish Alexander's portion – only the impending pleasures of Palo were enough to stop him). Once Alexander was fed, we brought him around to the nursery and checked him in. He happily went off with the friendly crew member without a backwards glance. We took our pager and enjoyed dinner without any calls for help. When we picked him up at midnight, he was asleep in his pajamas in one of the cribs. Easy as pie.

Back in the stateroom, I tucked Alexander in and settled in for a read while Dave took the laptop to deck 5 to research Manzanillo, the port we were visiting in lieu of Cabo San Lucas thanks to Hurricane Hillary. He didn't find anything terribly compelling about Manzanillo, though it seemed pleasant enough. Manzanillo is considered the sail fishing capital of the world (Dave considered a fishing charter for the morning, but nobody else was interested), but there's not much in the town of architectural or historical interest. The town has plenty of resort hotels and a substantial American expatriate population. Excursions include visits to the volcano to the north (90 miles away) and some beach trips. It's one of the most active commercial ports on the West coast of Mexico. We decided to wait until we arrived to see if we wanted to venture out.

Alexander, by the way, has two new skills. In the last week we've seen him wave bye-bye fairly consistently, and in the last few days we've been hearing him say "Da" clearly when looking at or trying to get Dave's attention. And as I write this, he's picking up and dropping his sandal (which he took off his foot, of course) and saying "Uh oh!" each time he drops it. Then he laughs manically. It's amazing how little things like this can impress me!

I woke the next morning to total darkness, of course, and had no idea what time it might be. Turns out it was 10:15 am — yikes! So much for making much of our time in port. Dave and Alexander continued to sleep while I sneaked out to check e-mail on deck 5. We finally all made it out of our "cave" by 11:45, just in time for lunch at Topsider's. We sat outside and enjoys the beautiful views of Manzanillo, which is quite a bit more scenic than we expected with steep, green hills surrounding the bay. After lunch we took photos and a little movie (Dave did his best impersonation of a TV travel guide). At this point we decided it would be best to simply remain on board, so we headed down to the theater to watch "National Treasure." Alexander conveniently fell asleep and woke once the movie was over. Hallelujah!

I have an idea for the darkness in the morning. I'm thinking of turning on the TV to the "View from the Bridge" channel and then muting the volume. That way I can see whether its light outside by glancing at the TV. And as long as I keep the curtains closed, the light from the TV shouldn't bother us. I'll try it tonight.

Photos (and a movie!) for this report are at:
http://www.passporterboards.com/ubb/showflat.php?Cat=0&Number=944180&page=0&vc=1#Post944180

Yesterday was rainy in the morning and windy all day long. The ship was rocking and several folks were missing from the dinners. Today at Manzanilla it is sunny and bright. Disney organized several tours and is providing complimentary shuttle service to downtown for shopping. While the port is comercial and lots of containers are seen, the downtown is touristy with lots of small shops and street vendors. It is hot and humid enough that shopping for more than an hour is taxing. Tonight is the Golden Mickey's and tomorrow Acapolco.

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!

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 me, Alexander, and the luggage. Then Dave returned the rental car and we checked in 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.

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! 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.

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).

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?

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). (Editor's Note: Alexander is One Year Old)

Just wanted to give you an update on things for us on our cruise. 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 http://www.weather.com/maps/news/epacstorm8/stormtrack_large.html, 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.

Jennifer, Dave, and Alexander

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Itinerary