We’re off! It’s Sunday evening and your intrepid travelers are aboard the Disney Magic, currently steaming through the Gulf of Mexico at 22 knots on our way to the Bahamas and Castaway Cay.
Our day started the day before yesterday when we arrived in Galveston, Texas, in order to meet the ship. Flights from the west coast being what they are, we had to come in the day before and grab a room at the Hotel Galvez, which is purportedly haunted.
Before settling in for the night, we headed to a local eatery called “The Gumbo Bar”. Our love of New Orleans cuisine just could not allow us to pass this opportunity up. Like they say, everything is bigger in Texas and this goes for their bowls of gumbo as well. We chose the small swimming pool size and had them split it between two bowls as we enjoyed that and a shrimp and oyster poboy. Overall, it wasn’t New Orleans, but it was respectable. The roux was nice and dark, albeit, a little flour-y.
After dinner, we ended up on the beach for a midnight stroll, listening to the waves from the Gulf of Mexico lap at the sand. It was time to turn in, as we had a big day ahead of us, as well as a little light ghost hunting to do before bed.
I have yet to look at my pictures, but alas, I think the spookiest thing I saw on the fifth floor of the Hotel Galvez during my amateur ghost hunting was a hotel manager attempting to deliver a bucket of ice to a room where there was no answer. I would like to think that since I was armed with a camera, the ice-ordering ghost inside the room spared the manager a grizzly death and I was the hero of the night. That, or they fell asleep waiting for their ice. One or the other.
The next morning, we got all packed up and met our fellow cruisers in the lobby and awaited our transport to the cruise terminal. As we waited, we were regaled with cruise instructions and tales by Iris, a Disney Cruise Line (DCL) representative. Iris was, shall we say, a tad eccentric and probably not the best cruise psyching representative. She went out of her way to tell you that she wasn’t going to tell you how to spend your money, but since we are going to Gibraltar, since the ship parks right next to the rock, you really shouldn’t spend any money to see it, since you can see it from your room. Having personally hiked down the rock of Gibraltar a few years ago, I can assure you, looking at it from your room is not the same thing.
In case that wasn’t enough for the kids in the audience, Iris advised if we should go up the rock anyway, that the monkeys from Gibraltar will steal anything you have and you should leave all your belongings on the ship, telling us about the time when she left her wedding band behind, since the monkeys are attracted to shiny things. Having witnessed the Barbary Apes on our previous trip, it is true that they will snake a Luna bar faster than you can say Richard Simmons, but I’m not so sure about the attraction to shiny things. I was waiting for Iris to go the extra mile and tell us how the apes are evil and will steal our souls. Instead, she once again told us that while she didn’t want to tell us how to spend our money, we should avoid the Internet while on board, because it costs $1.00/minute and really, “…you’re on vacation. What happens if you get an email in the middle of the Atlantic? You’re not going to be able to make the funeral anyway, so why worry about it?” And thank you for sailing Disney Cruise Line: the cruise line that takes you away from ALL your burdensome funeral needs…
Before boarding the ship, we stopped by the local liquor store, where we met Bailey’s and Bo, the official liquor store Corgis, and we stocked up on about six bottles of wine to bring with us, as wine on board goes for a bit of a premium. As we passed through security and had our small carry-on x-rayed, the security officer looked at my wife and asked her if it was her bag. When she responded it was, a smile emerged on his face as he said with a south Texas drawl, “You’re gonna get SO drunk.” I didn’t think we were bringing that much hooch aboard…
Day One on board is now winding down. We attended brunch this morning at Palo, an adults-only restaurant, where we enjoyed some lovely fare, including the best eggs Julia I think I’ve ever had. The rest of the day was spent napping as a cool sea breeze buffeted the ship. We have formal night tonight and just the thought of putting on a shirt and tie while on vacation is distressing. I might see what I can do to get out of it…
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