We dropped our bags for curbside check in (with no pressure for a tip) and headed straight to the parking garage right next to the ship. Not necessarily cheap, but oh-so convenient - secure AND covered. Don't even think of parking elsewhere! We were two hours early for our scheduled check-in time and prepared ourselves for a wait. No such thing! We walked right up to get our IDs made, got registered quickly for the Oceaneers Club, and then walked right onto the boat. We were grinning from ear to ear as they announced our family's arrival onto the Disney Magic!

Opted not to do an excursion in Grand Cayman and just took a shuttle to Seven Mile Beach. We ended up at the public beach - Sea Grape, I believe. There is a small restaurant there and some changing facilities - nothing fancy. Some wonderfully enterprising folks have put up a floating waterpark and then charge by the hour per kid for you to use it. Great fun for my boys again. The water itself is gorgeous as you would expect. The sand is rougher than in the US - more rocks. Big drop off heading into the water but levels off and isn't too deep for a while. Some older people were having trouble getting out of the water - steep climb. One woman had a cane which I can only imagine is tough to use in wet sand! On the way back to the ship, we stopped off at Margaritaville right by the dock. Gotta love Jimmy Buffet - there is a pool and waterslide right there in the restaurant! Even a bar IN the pool you where you can swim up and order drinks! Nice end to our time in GC!

Let's just say, if we ever dock in Jamaica again, I think we will stay on the boat. Jamaica was another port we decided not to do an excursion. Frankly, next time we would just stay on the ship, but having never been to Jamaica, we figured we had to go ashore and check things out. The immediate port area itself (Falmouth) is very nice. All the usual shops you find waiting for the ships and plenty of souvenirs to choose from. We decided that things in Grand Cayman had gone so well that we would venture to the beach in Jamaica too. It was bad from the minute we got into the cab, and I will rest most of the blame on this particular cab driver. We should have been worried when he was negotiating a price that meant "no tip"! There was a reason for that - we NEVER would have tipped him in the first place - and we generally overtip, I assure you! (He stopped on the side of the road to "urinate" and tried to get my husband to agree to stop and let him get his car door fixed by his cousin - trying to eat into the three hours we had booked with him. His driving was far more than assertive and he honked far more than anyone else we came across!) Anyway, he eventually got us to Montego Bay to the public beach there. We were expecting something pretty based on views we had coming in (and our time in Cozumel and GC). This beach though was just sad and depressing. You had to pay to get in, but we didn't even get that far - it just looked that bad from the road! We had him turn around and drive a half mile back to MARGARITAVILLE! Cracked us up, but right there overlooking Montego Bay, Jimmy Buffet has another restaurant AND a FREE floating waterpark. Food is overpriced, service slow, but view is wonderful and fun priceless! You can slide down the tube slide from the second story deck right into the water (life preservers available as well). From there it is a short swim to floating trampolines, rockwalls, and an obstacle course. We did buy some food and beverages to fortify ourselves for the ride back. We left feeling like Jimmy Buffet had saved our trip to Jamaica.

Leave it to Disney to create its own paradise smack in the middle of paradise! Our favorite stop - lunch was plentiful and free (like being on the ship); more than enough chairs/umbrellas for EVERYONE; loved snorkeling together as a family and couldn't have felt safer doing it. They have lifeguards way out from shore keeping an eye over the snorkelers. Water was quite comfortable (and I am not known for my tolerance of cold water!) The slides at Pelican Plunge were awesome - fast and fun. Hold onto your hats/sunglasses or you WILL lose them. We did the combo rental equipment package and did use up all our options. Not sure we would bike it again - not that much to see! The island could use a pool but that's about it!