Disney Cruise 2013

We took a bit of a surprise trip this past week. Conference Sunday this past month a deal popped up on Facebook and we grabbed it! We sailed on the Disney Magic out of Miami on a five-night cruise. We hit the ship Sunday morning, had a day at sea, Cozumel, another day at sea and finally a stop at Castaway Cay.
Day 1-We got accustomed to the ship, our very spacious rooms that were adjoining, and what was available for the kids. It did not disappoint for them! The ship's Oceaneer Clubs were great. They just refurbished one of them with a Toy Story room, an Avengers room, Pixie Hollow and Mickey Mouse Clubhouse. We couldn't keep the kids out! We spent that day in port swimming, going down their two water slides (the Aqua Dunk was great!) and exploring the ship.
Day 2-We woke up to very heavy rain, thinking that our day was going to be a wash! But it cleared up and we had a really fun day at sea. Lots of swimming and, again, exploring and playing in the Oceaneer Clubs. I read Ender's Game. A new favorite.
Day 3-Cozumel. We took a taxi to a resort called Paradise Beach. Great pool and beach area. Kam snorkeled for most of the time and we rode some canoes out into the lagoon. The kids enjoyed the pool more than the ocean--go figure. Back to the ship for pirate night, which I thought was pretty lame. They could have done a lot more with it. The wind started to pick up and did not let up the next day.
Day 4- Day at sea, but with lots of wind, so we couldn't really do much outside on the deck. The pools were closed and they ended up shutting down the water slides too. That night we started to really rock--20 foot swells! Lindsay got mucho sick and it was pretty scary there for a bit.
Day 5-Castaway Cay. I thought it would be better. The water was cold, so the kids didn't want to spend much time in the ocean. The snorkeling was no good--you had to swim out really far and Kam and I were too much of wusses to stay in the water for too long. So the kids really just wanted to get back on the boat.
Pros-The kids had the vacation of their lives! It has been their favorite thing so far, including Disneyland (my heart died just a little when they said that). The ship is made for them and they loved everything about it. The evening stage shows were unbelievable! True Disney talent and spectacle. Very clean ship and great attention to patrons. There was Disney music (great classic songs) playing at all times in the halls and elevators which added so much to things. Kam was able to go to the teen club (he turned 13 this past Monday) and we didn't see much of him. He loved his time there and stayed up well beyond us going to bed. The rooms were awesome with tons of space! They had Disney movies and Mickey cartoons playing nonstop. The water slides and pool area with the huge movie screen were a lot of fun. We spent a lot of time up on the top deck.
Cons-The food was a major letdown. I would give it a 2/10. I expected a lot more from Disney. We had language barriers with our server and he got our meals wrong most of the time. We wished the buffet were open more often to get food when you wanted. There were many times that food was not available. Our room was at the back of the ship and right below us was the engine room, so it was quite loud with creaks and slamming and various things. But we got guest services to deliver a couple fans that drowned out the sounds pretty well. Lindsay and I just realized that we are not cruise people. It gets claustrophobic and Lindsay has a hard time with motion sickness. I was expecting more of a feel that I get at Disneyland, but it just wasn't there for me.
All in all, it WAS a great trip, but I'm not sure if we will do one again. For that amount of money, Lindsay and I want to be able to enjoy the vacation as much as the kids do.