My first reaction to the idea of spending a week on a Disney cruise ship with a bunch of screaming kids was not exactly what you might call positive.

But after examining the info materials supplied by Disney I could see the ship was plenty big enough (11 decks, room for 2,700 guests) so I could see that there would be plenty of chances for peace and quiet and enough activities that adults did not cross paths with kids that often.

That was great for the kids and the adults.

So, off to sea I went on the Disney Magic, taking a seven-night Western Caribbean tour.

The result was one of the most fun weeks of my life.

Disney operates two ships which ply the Caribbean – the Disney Magic and the Disney Wonder. Neither is a casino boat, but both offer plenty of live entertainment for the big and the little.

The ship has several restaurants (I found all of them to be great) and a buffet and snack locales for later eating if you desire. Room service is 24 hours and is also free (except for the gratuity).

Lots of deck room to stretch out and view the waves or the passing islands.

The majority (60 percent) of the rooms come with a small outside deck, so you can do your ocean-viewing in private if you wish.

Disney has always been its own company and does not necessarily follow the competition in anything, and that's the way it is in cruising. Disney does its own thing...and, of course, does it magnificently well.

One of the great things about Disney cruises is that both parents and children are offered a myriad of things to do. If you wish, you can let your kids plan their own agendas and mom and dad can do the same. And be assured their kids are in good, safe hands.

The Disney cruises leave from Port Canaveral, Fla., near Orlando, making it much easier than many other ports. There is lots of parking at the port and the boarding process is so well planned that little time is lost once you arrive at the dock, unlike some of the larger city ports. And if you fly to Orlando, Disney will by pre-arrangement pick you up at the airport and transport you to the boat. Disney also has a new service that allows you to check your bags right from the airport to the boat, and to the airport from the boat on completion of the cruise. Airport transfers are an additional fee and you must book them ahead of time. Also to take advantage of the baggage-handling to and from the airport, you must be booked into Disney Cruise Line transportation.

At each of the cruise stops guests have the option of going ashore to shop or look around or book any of dozens of activities (available for pre-sailing booking through Disney, with varying fees).

The western Caribbean itinerary (Disney also has weeklong eastern Caribbean sailings) includes a stop at Key West. The ship arrives about noon and stays until about 9:45 p.m., giving passengers the opportunity to explore the town by day and spend a little time in the city's famous restaurants and bars by night. You can visit a bar where famed author Ernest Hemingway used to hang out, or the Southern White House, where President Harry Truman used to spend a lot of time. I booked the Catamaran Sail & Snorkel Tour. The barrier reef some five miles off Key West offers some of the most fun snorkeling ever, with dozens of brightly-colored fish buzzing around.

The ship also stops at Grand Cayman from 7 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. one day, and Cozumel, Mexico, from 10:30 a.m. to 10:30 p.m. another day. In addition, there's a day at the beach on Disney's private Bahamas island, Castaway Cay. Times vary somewhat, depending on the time of the year.

At Grand Cayman I booked the Shipwreck and Reef Snorkeling excursion and was not very happy with it. The "shipwreck" was basically a bunch of metal garbage from an exploded ship (hard to even tell it was ever a ship) and the fish were mediocre.

At Cozumel I booked the Ruins and Beach Tour and was very disappointed. The Mayan "ruins" were basically a few stones only a few feet high -- nothing close to the tall Mayan temples and structures to be found in Central America (especially many areas of Mexico and Belize).

Castaway Cay was a delight for both adults and children. Disney bought this small island to offer its cruisers a special getaway (no pressure shopping here) where they could swim with Southern Stingrays (debarbed), relax on several beautiful beaches, take a parasail trip (which I did and found it to be much more fun and less frightening than I thought it might be).

Time on the ship was never boring, with tons of optional activities for both adults and children. You could swim in a variety of pools, watch free first-run movies at a huge, comfortable theater, dance the night away, play bingo, shoot hoops on a top-deck basketball court, indulge yourself in a rainforest spa, play ping-pong or pool, engage in various participatory events, etc.

Kids have nearly an entire deck devoted to them, including the Oceaneer Club for ages 3-7 and Oceaneer Lab for ages 8-12. Kids can be dropped off here for supervised play and activities, and parents are given a pager so they can be contacted at any time.

Disney provides capable Youth Activity Counselors to help kids take part in various activities in a safe, fun-packed environment, and there is even a nursery for wee ones and a teen hangout area called The Stack.

Of course, Disney characters are always running around the boat, giving tots chances to meet and have their picture taken with Mickey, Minnie, Goofy, etc. and at scheduled photo sessions daily. On each cruise there is a character breakfast, Mickey’s Island Jam, featuring Mickey and the Gang.

At the end of each day there is a Broadway-style presentation in the Walt Disney Theater.

Passengers get a chance to try various food styles as dinner locations are rotated each night through three dining rooms: Lumiere's, with a classic ship look; Parrot Cay, colorful and festive, a nod to the topics; and Animator's Palette, with black-and-white sketches of Disney characters and movie scenes on the walls that get colored in during the meal. Your personal wait staff accompanies you to each dining area.

Plus, there is an adults-only fine dining restaurant, Palo, which has an extra charge ($5 per person for gratuity for high tea; $10 for a champagne brunch and dinner). This is the only night guests dress up a bit (though not required).

Staterooms on the Disney boats include one queensize bed, a split bathroom, toilet and a sink in one compartment, shower/tub and sink in the other, and a fold-down bunk separated by a pull curtain. Each room also has a safe, color TV (satellite programming) and a small cooler box. The rooms can get a bit cramped, but then most people spend little time there other than for sleeping. Two plush bathrobes are provided for relaxing for suites and concierge guests.

Guests are provided a "Key To The World" card, for use with a photo ID when embarking and debarking the ship; for opening your stateroom door; for locking and unlocking our in-room safe; and for use as charge cards when we purchased gifts, pictures, and drinks onboard.

Parents with children in the Youth Activity areas are given a pager, which operates anywhere on the ship, and a "Personal Navigator" planner each day, listing planned activities.

Disney boats are very handicap-friendly with push-plates to open every door and there are 16 handicapped-equipped staterooms.

Normally, there is no tipping until the end of the cruise, when each stateroom is provided an envelope with a recommended tip schedule ($25.75 from each adult guest for the dining room server, $18.75 for the assistant dining room server, $6.75 for the dining room head server -- sort of a maitre-de -- and $25.25 for your stateroom host -- basically, the maid.). That's about $150 per couple.

Disney Magic sails every Saturday for either the Eastern or Western Caribbean. The Disney Wonder sails every Thursday and Sunday for 3- and 4-night cruises to the Bahamas. Per-person/double-occupancy brochure fares for a 7-night Caribbean Cruise range from $799 to $4,299; third/fourth/fifth guests sharing accommodations with two full-fare passengers pay $199 (under age 3), $399-$1,199 (ages 3-12), or $599-$1,699 (for all others). Other passenger rates including children and 3rd/4th/5th passenger rates are based on many factors Visit Disneycruise.com for specific rates.

Disney will also be offering 7-day Mexican Riviera cruises in 2008, with the Disney Magic sailing from Los Angeles (with destination stops in Cabo San Lucas, Mazatlan and Puerto Vallarta. Cruises are set for May 25, June 1, June 8, June 15, June 22, June 29, July 6, July 13, July 20, July 27, Aug. 3 and Aug. 10.

Disney offers a solid, family-fun cruise and makes no pretensions of luxury...just what thousands of people look for.

For more information contact your travel agent or Disney Cruise Line at 1-888-DCL-2500 or log on to www.disneycruise.com.

And, Disney Cruise Line is doubling its fleet, adding two ocean liners to join the Disney Magic and Disney Wonder. The new ships will be two decks taller than the existing vessels and are scheduled to sail in 2011 and 2012.

Here is the usual schedule for Disney's Western Caribbean cruise:



Cruise Itinerary


Day

Port

Ashore

Onboard


Saturday

Port Canaveral

—

4:00 p.m.



Sunday

Key West

11:30 a.m.

7:30 p.m.



Monday

At Sea

—

—



Tuesday

Grand Cayman

7:30 a.m.

4:30 p.m.



Wednesday

Cozumel

9:30 a.m.

6:30 p.m.



Thursday

At Sea

—

—



Friday

Castaway Cay

9:30 a.m.

5:00 p.m.



Saturday

Port Canaveral

7:35 a.m.

—







Day

Port

Ashore

Onboard
I





Saturday

Port Canaveral

—

4:00 p.m.



Sunday

At Sea

—

—



Monday

At Sea

—

—



Tuesday

St. Maarten

8:00 a.m.

7:00 p.m.



Wednesday

St. Thomas/St. John

8:00 a.m.

4:30 p.m.



Thursday

At Sea

—

—



Friday

Castaway Cay

9:30 a.m.

5:00 p.m.



Saturday

Port Canaveral

7:35 a.m.

—


Here is some facts about the Disney cruise operation:

Each ship was built at the legendary Fincantieri Shipyards in Italy.

· The bow of the Disney Magic® was constructed in Ancona; the stern built 100 miles from there, in Marghera. The two sections were then welded together!

· Gross tonnage is 83,000.

· The ships' registry is The Bahamas.

· The overall length is 964 feet; the maximum width is 106 feet.

· The ship's draft is 25.3 feet.

· The ship's cruising speed is 21.5 knots; its maximum speed is 24 knots.

· Each ship has 875 staterooms and a crew size of 945.

· 73% of the staterooms have outside views; 60% of those have private verandahs.

· The home port is Port Canaveral, Florida.

· There are approximately 1,850 telephones aboard each ship.

· The total portable water storage capability is 82,000 gallons.

· The total diesel fuel storage capability is 20,000 gallons.

· The weight of the anchor is 14 tons.

· The weight of the propeller is 18.8 tons.

· The horsepower of one engine equals 15.448. The horsepower of all five engines equals 77.243.

· Each ship can distill 1,200 tons of fresh water each day from sea water.

· The water used to operate the laundry is water from the atmosphere, collected as it drains from the air-conditioning system. Specifically, 280 tons a day are retrieved; the laundry uses 220 tons.

· The colors of each ship are Mickey's colors: red, yellow and dark blue.

· Sorcerer Mickey stands at the bow of the Disney Magic®; the bow of the Disney Wonder® has Steamboat Willie.

· The stern of the Disney Magic has Goofy painting, while Donald Duck and his nephew Huey are painting the stern of the Disney Wonder.

· The interior of the Disney Magic is art deco, characterized by slender forms, straight lines and a sleekness expressive of modern technology.

· The interior of the Disney Wonder is art nouveau, characterized by an "art from nature" feel, with whimsical, swirling wave designs.

· The statues in the lobby of each ship are different: Helmsman Mickey in the Disney Magic and Ariel from Disney's "The Little Mermaid" in the Disney Wonder

This story was published on 03 Dec 2007.