Magic Time in Port

April 16, 2012

Despite the corporate ‘intrusion’ on my last day in St. Maarten, the day was still full of memories and surprises. It began when I first headed up to the SKY B conference room for my first class of the day and saw that an old friend was parked nearby. The Disney Magic lay alongside us. The Magic, while not the first ship I had ever been on was certainly a favorite. But the first thing that caught me by surprise was how small she looked. From our pool deck on 12 I literally looked down on her. The next thing I noticed was how old she looked. She first came on the water in 1998, but I believe she went into dry dock just a couple of years ago. It must have been longer as the ship’s hull certainly looked ‘tired’ with rust showing on the anchor chain and not the best Disney paint job at the water line.  However, as I looked at her crew deck I saw the thing that Celebrity crew members would still fight for . . . a small crew only pool to cool off in on hot afternoons! Miami, are you listening?

When I finally reached shore I only had a couple of hours available to play. Part of me wanted to do some shopping; looking primarily for a couple remotes for laptop presentations and also Tim asked me if I could find a waterproof case for his iPod. Additionally, I hoped to get by the Greenhouse one last time and then spending a little time on the beach would be appreciated. Since in St. Maarten all three of those destinations are on top of each other, the ambitious schedule was possible. I started first with a turbocharged shopping expedition along Front Street checking every potential shop from end to end but to no avail. No shopping success and I had burned 45 minutes. With a clear choice to make on how to spend the final hour plus, I headed to the Greenhouse for a nosh and a beverage. The other advantage this offered me was free internet access, of course.

As I sat at the bar engrossed in my computer three young men came and sat down next to me. It took just a couple minutes of conversation to identify them as crew members of the Disney Magic. We spoke for awhile and I learned that they were all on the activities staff, each in their first or second contract. As we compared ship life I realized that while the Disney ships are certainly still an attraction to me that I was glad I was a Celebrity crew member. They also informed me that the Magic would be doing runs primarily up and down the Eastern seaboard. It sounded to them, and to me, that Disney was turning the Magic into a ferry boat, bringing northeasterners to their Walt Disney World vacations. I’m sure that there is much more to it than that, but that was the impression with which I was left.

Running out of time, I chose to walk back to the ship through the touristy marketplace hoping to find a t-shirt to remember my enjoyable days in St. Maarten. As I walked by one shop I was surprised to hear Colorado based conversation off to my left. I paused long enough to identify the source and spotted a young family speaking to an older couple, who was apparently from our ship. They were comparing their experiences and both were from Colorado. As I edged closer the older couple left and I continued the conversation with the young family. It turns out that they are from Colorado Springs, he teaches airmen to fly gliders, and they live only five miles from my home! They were guests on the Magic, but the couple was admiring the Silhouette and talked about how they may need to take a cruise without their children in tow someday soon. They loved the Disney ship for the kids but wondered what a more adult centric ship would be like.

As I finished my stroll back to the ship I reflected on the coincidences of the day. We docked right next to the Disney Magic. I sat right next to three Magic crew members. I met a family from Colorado who were guests on the Magic. Since the Magic was the ship that first got me thinking about working on a cruise ship, the coincidences seemed remarkable. Was she affirming my choice? Or was there another message to hear?

And the adventure continues . . .