I’m not sure why it didn’t dawn on me before, but Port Canaveral is only one hour away from Magic Tree in Kissimmee. Why not combine a cruise with our trip to Magic Tree? And so we did. We started off with a four day cruise to the Bahamas on Carnival Glory, then disembarked the morning of our check-in day at Magic Tree, and started our week that afternoon.
We drove to Jacksonville on Friday, the 14th. Our normal place to stay is the Hilton Garden Inn, but they were sold out. Luckily we only had to try a couple more in the neighborhood before we found Springhill. We got a suite for $118-it was very nice. We also discovered a new place to eat-Copeland’s of New Orleans, and it was fantastic. And it was right across the street from where we were staying.
Next day, we drove to Port Canaveral, and tried a Springhill there, but it was $230, so we tried elsewhere, and found a Holiday Inn Express right across the street from Terminal 3, where we were leaving the next day. It was $204, a little high, but the convenience made it worthwhile. There’s a grouping of restaurants in an area called The Cove, down the street, and we hit Rusty’s Seafood and Oyster Bar. We had oysters, cocoanut shrimp, gumbo, and it was all great.
Monday, the 16th, first day of cruise
Getting on the ship was a breeze-we dropped off our luggage at the terminal, then parked and assembled the scooter in the parking garage and drove on down to the entrance. The scooter really came in handy, as we were waved ahead of the line several times. Once on board, we grabbed a burger and waited for our room.
Since the rooms are pretty tight, we had to use a little experimentation to figure out how to store the scooter. Parking part of it underneath the makeup table worked out pretty well.
Of course, I had to get up before sunrise a couple of times (before it got old). The last picture is from Princess Cays, where we got off for lunch on shore.
One of our favorite things to do after dinner was to hit the bar on Deck 3, where a string ensemble played most nights. This deck has an outside area, and that’s a great place for privacy. The food image is at brunch in the main dining room-Juevos Rancheros.
Disembarkation Day, Sept. 20
Having a passport paid huge dividends-we were able to bypass a huge line of people that didn’t have one. And we didn’t have to even show our passport, we just had our faces scanned. Then, we headed to Magic Tree, for another week in Orlando.