Disney Magic Review (forthcoming) Western Caribbean

[Tagong]

Hi all, I am currently working on my review of the Disney Magic. We were on the most recent Western Caribbean Itinerary and debarked on Sunday, February 1. I should have the review up within the next 24 hours but would be happy to answer any questions you may have in advance to it being posted.

 

My review will fairly thorough but there is always something that may be missed that someone may be interested in hearing about.

 

If you're sailing this ship soon you'll love it. If you're considering a sailing on this ship, what's stopping you?

 

Looking forward to your questions and hope you enjoy the review when it's up.

[Tagong]

Welcome to my review of my families magical 7-night cruise on the Disney Magic (Western Caribbean). To provide some context for the review you’re about to read my wife, daughter (2.5 yrs) and I travelled with two other couples and their kids (7 months and 1.5yrs). I will review the Magic from my perspective and that of my wife and daughter.

This was our first Disney cruise but our third cruise as a family. We have all previously sailed with Celebrity (Silhouette) and Royal (Independence).

 

Embarkation

 

We’ve twice embarked from Fort Lauderdale but this time we caught our ship in Port Canaveral. Port Canaveral wasn’t all that busy on Sunday our embarkation day with only two other ships in port that day (Carnival and Celebrity). We hadn’t pre-arranged a shuttle from the hotel (Best Western Cocoa Beach) to Port so the front desk suggested a private operator. The shuttle arrived early and had the two car seats we requested and after a quick install we were off to the terminal. It took about 10 minutes tops to get from hotel to terminal. The moment we stepped out of the shuttle we began to recognize the Disney Difference. Cast Members greeted us and promptly took our checked bags so they could be loaded onto the ship. We went through security which was a breeze (no line) and took the elevator up to the check in and the lounge. At the top of the elevator we were again greeted by a Cast Member who directed us where to check in and welcomed us all. Check in took a matter of minutes (again; no line) and we were then free to enjoy the lounge until our boarding number was called. Our group consisted of three families and while we all selected 12 noon as our boarding time when we did online check in we all received a different boarding number (7, 9 and 11). We were in group 11. I was worried it would take forever to board but honestly about 30 minutes (maybe less) after they started boarding our group number 11 was called and we were able to board the ship. Boarding was something I was most looking forward too as you board into the main lobby atrium rather than some gungy gangway level. Disney even takes it up a notch by announcing your families’ arrival. After boarding the ship we went straight to the Port Adventures desk to get our tickets for the Disney Junior Breakfast, Princess Gathering and Anna/Elsa Meet and Greet (more on these later). This again took a matter of minutes and we were on our way up to Cabanas for lunch.

 

Dining – Room Service and Food

 

Cabanas was rammed on embarkation day as you would expect any main buffet to be on boarding day. Fortunately we were able to find seats but it was very cramped and with some fussy little ones we weren’t really able to sit back and enjoy a meal after a busy morning. After embarkation day we only ventured into Cabanas as a family on two other occasions, our second day on the ship and our third which was also our first port day (Cozumel). It was busy both times as you would expect and we didn’t go back. That said; the food quality was very good and the variety of offerings was also quite good. I wished we had gone there more but given how busy it always was and with our little one we preferred to grab some room service and then snack on the pool deck. Daisy’s Delites, Pete’s Boiler Bites and Pinocchio’s Pizzeria were great for us to get little snacks for our little one who is more of a snacker than a big meal eater. Between the three you’re able to the staple foods offered by Cabanas (breakfast – yogert, fruit, pastries etc, lunch – sandwiches, burgers, hotdogs, chicken fingers, pizza). Unless you have special dietary needs these places did a great job and served us very well.

Room service is something we always look forward to on each cruise. Our daughter is an early riser so we’d often have some toast, yogurt, juice, coffee and croissants delivered around 7am. What a great way to start the day while you slowly wake up and enjoy the view on the balcony. Room service is free 24 hours however be advised that you will be charged for drinks (juice, coffee, milk etc). I vaguely remember reading that before we left but it had slipped my mind. That was a $23 mistake each day that could have been easily avoided had a just run up to Cabanas and brought the drinks down to our room. That said; this was my own mistake and by no means did it ruin our room service experience. Orders always came on time and were 100% accurate. As a little bonus our family was selected as the Magically Family of the Cruise. I had no idea this existed nor how or why we were chosen but the benefit was we received a special surprise at 3pm every day. One day it was chocolate covered strawberries, another day it was cupcakes, another day it was a cheese plate etc. In addition; it allowed us to order off Lumiere’s breakfast menu and the dinner menus of the other restaurants and have the meals in our room. We enjoyed this perk twice for breakfast getting omelet’s and eggs benny. We found out about this perk on embarkation day so it was in no way tied to our room service orders. It was amazing. Disney Difference!

 

Main Dining Rooms

 

Our rotation was as follows (Carioca’s, Lumiere’s, Animator’s, Carioca’s, Carioca’s, Lumiere’s Animator’s). I was a little disappointed at first as I was hoping to experience Animator’s three times vs. only twice but honestly if you don’t know what you’re missing (and I don’t think we missed anything) it’s all good. Overall we thought all three were fantastic. The food quality was extremely high, the offerings were plentiful and we always found something for everyone. I’m a picky eater and while I ventured outside my comfort zone on a couple of occasions I was very happy with everything I ordered and never left anything on my plate. The rotational dining idea is fantastic. It truly does make you feel like you’re at a different restaurant each night but having the same server and assistant follow you allows you to develop a great relationship. Every night as we arrived they had a different puree for the 7 month old, milk and juice on the table for the older two kids and after we ordered the kids meals they arrived very quickly. Brian and Rut (our servers) were fantastic and allowed my wife and I to mix and match meals for our daughter. She isn’t picky but we are so sometimes we’d replace a side of fries with a second vegetable. A lot of fries were consumed during the day at Pete’s Boiler Bites so we tried to avoid them at night if possible.

 

Staterooms

 

We had a stateroom with a verandah and also had a connecting room with our brother/sister in-law who had our 7-month old nephew with them and these worked out extremely well. Overall the staterooms were as advertised and reviews others gave here on CC were most accurate. The room itself was fantastic while the bathrooms needed a little TLC. That said what they lack in décor they make up for in functionality (more on that below). The raised bed was helpful to store our luggage and our stroller. There was more than enough closet and drawer space for three of us and for anyone that has a little one you know they come with a lot of stuff (2-3 outfits per day). The main bed (queen size) was extremely comfortable and neither my wife nor I ever experienced a bad sleep. The couch folds down and becomes a decent sized bed. The bed is perfect for kids but would be a little small for a taller or bigger teenager or adult. Our little one slept in that for the entire week and loved it. Disney offers bed rails so if you have a little one just call them up and ask for one to be placed in your room. The stateroom attendant will set up this bed each night during turn down service however at our request it was left in place every day to accommodate naps. The split bathrooms are nice as it does allow two people or more to get ready at the same time. The other lines we’ve sailed didn’t have the split bath and while we didn’t miss it in those instances when you have it you really notice the difference. The bath tub was also a ‘nice to have’ feature. Our little one isn’t afraid of showers but it’s just so much easier to bathe her in a bath vs. a shower. She liked playing around in it because it was new and different from home so bath time became an adventure she enjoyed every night. Size wise the rooms were really all you could ask for on a cruise ship. Moving around was a challenge but certainly not impossible. Given the amount of time most spend in their room it was more than sufficient amount of space.

 

Entertainment

 

For the first time my wife and I actually caught a couple of the shows and even stretched our daughter one night so she could see one too. The Disney shows are fantastic. We saw Villian’s Tonight which is hilarious. It is hosted by Hades from the Hercules movie and he weaves a lot of current events into his commentary pieces. In addition to Villian’s Tonight we also saw Twice Charmed which is the spin on Cinderella. We took our daughter to this show and she had a great time clapping after all the songs. She was glued to her chair we had to drag her back to the room when we noticed she was starting to get overtired. The storylines for each made them unique enough to keep you engaged while at the same time they were familiar and you wanted to see more because you already knew the characters. The costumes in all shows were spot on and the actors/actresses all did a great job. We thoroughly enjoyed all the shows we attended. One night I caught the Magic show with Mike Super. I had never heard of him before but was on America’s Got Talent and another show called Phenomenon which he ended up winning. He was a great magician and put on a fantastic show. His illusions and tricks were unbelievable and his commentary and interaction with the audience kept me interested throughout the show. I would have gone to see him a second time but that was the second last night of our cruise. The last entertainment piece I will talk about is actually the first show Disney puts on which is the Adventures Away party. This takes place at the Goofy Pool on Deck 9 right after the muster/safety drill. We got up to the pool deck quite quickly since they allowed us (with strollers) to leave a bit before the drill ended. This allowed us to get great seats where we could park three strollers and round up enough chairs for the adults. It was a little difficult to see if you weren’t standing up but the music was pumping, the main characters were all there and we thoroughly enjoyed it from start to finish. They even hand out little streamers to the kids to wave during the show.

 

Characters

 

Another prime example of how Disney does it right. We arrive at the terminal restless and tired and just wanting to get on the ship. The process couldn’t have been smoother but what takes it over the top is when Captain Mickey arrives. He takes his position in front of the giant model ship and poses for pictures, signs autographs, doles out hugs and high fives and in general terms picks up the energy in the entire room. After 15-30 minutes he is replaced by Minnie Mouse. The character meet and greets throughout the week are laid out very well in each days navigator. While each character isn’t available to meet on each day of the cruise they do make multiple appearances and if you miss one meet and greet you’ll likely have another chance either later that day or later on in the week. We like to refer to Mickey, Minnie, Donald, Daisy, Goofy and Pluto as the main characters. You’ll have plenty of opportunity to meet them throughout a 7-nt cruise and each time they are usually dressed differently. For example you can meet Captain Mickey, Pirate Mickey, Beach Mickey, Formal Mickey etc. The other characters that were on our particular cruise were as follows: Cinderella, Belle, Tiana, Chip n Dale, Doc McStuffins, Jake, Sofia the First, Captain Hook, Smee, Peter Pan, Captain America, Stitch, Anna and Elsa. You’ll need tickets to attend the Princess Gathering and to meet Anna and Elsa. As mentioned earlier you can pick these up on embarkation day. You aren’t allowed to pick a date or time for these meet and greets however it is my understanding they are all done on sea days. The Princess Gathering was so enjoyable for my wife and I because our daughter is infatuated with Disney Princesses. It brought my wife and I to tears watching our daughter receive hugs and talk to the three Princesses. They all did a great job holding her hand, sitting down on the ground to get to her level and interacting with her. WOW! These Cast Members are fantastic at what they do. Anna and Elsa were the same in terms of their interaction with our daughter. Held hands, sat down with her and spoke with her for quite some time. The ticketing system for these is 100% the way to go. Lines to meet characters can get a little long and for these two in particular if they weren’t ticketed I could easily see lines getting to the 45min to 1hour in length mark. Instead by using tickets you’re given a time to arrive and within 10 minutes of arriving you’ll have met the character and you’ll be on your way back to the pool deck or wherever it is you want to be. Jumping back to the other character meet and greets we never waited any more than 10 minutes in any line. Lines were a little shorter mid-week as the initial excitement wears off and before the scramble begins toward the end of the cruise to get that last missing character autograph or picture. Another bonus is that Disney understands that not everyone can afford or wants to purchase the photos their photographers take so the Cast Members who are the character handlers will usually offer to take a few pictures with your camera on your behalf. Way to go Disney! The last ticketed meet and greet we attended actually took place on our first sea day and this was the Disney Junior Breakfast. It took place in Animator’s and they staggered your arrival time strategically. This is so you could get settled and place your breakfast order and after orders were placed characters came out at 5 minute intervals and came to each table. We met Jake, Sofia the First, Doc McStuffins and Goofy. We got pictures with all of them and had our autograph book signed. Fabulous event. The last character interaction we had I actually missed. I was in line waiting for Capitan Hook and Smee and my wife and daughter went for a walk. On that walk they bumped into Jake who played hide and seek and took my daughter on a private treasure hunt around Shutters. My wife says Jake played with my daughter for upwards of 10 minutes. This was while he was likely on his way back stage to take a little break. Disney Difference!

 

Other Venues on the Ship

 

Pools – We always situated ourselves near the Aqua Lab given the age of our little one (toilet trained) and the kids we were travelling with (both in swim diapers). The Huey, Duey and Luey area is fully covered and is the only area diapered little ones can play in the water. It was plenty big enough to accommodate the little ones on our particular cruise. The rest of the Aqua Lab which is a splash pad and wading pool (1.5 feet deep) was a great fun for our little one. She was one of the smaller kids playing in it so she tended to keep to the sides of the pool but she had a blast while some bigger kids splashed around her. I can’t comment on the other pool areas other than the Goofy pool which was always packed and never a lounger to be had. If you want a lounger at the Goofy pool get their early and plan to stay there all day as you won’t get your seat back if you leave for any reason.

AquaDunk – I rode this twice around noon on our last sea day. It wasn’t nearly as busy as Twist and Spout. Twist and Spout always had a line and given how long a slide it was and the fact that the rider had to be completely cleared before another could go you waited a long time. The Aqua Dunk on the other hand was so quick because the speed you travel. I think the line was never too large because little kids, tweens and young teens probably shied away from it in favour of the other slide. It was a lot of fun and really fast. It was too fast almost since I never really could see the ocean beneath me as the slide extended out over the side of the ship. Worth trying at least once to say you did it.

 

Adult Areas – We ventured into Quiet Cove once which was a very nice treat. Even though we were only there for 45 minutes it was nice to get away to somewhere a little more quiet and relaxed. As for nightlife I only ventured into O’Gills and Keys. O’Gills is a nice pub that I would frequent at home so this did indeed become my watering hole from home away from home. It had a nice bar area with plenty of tables and booths to sit at. Multiple televisions were around the venue which always had one of the many ESPN stations on where we could catch sports highlights. I went to Keys once with my wife on the last night and it was a nice place to sit back and enjoy a drink together. The performers were fantastic and really created a great atmosphere for adults looking to unwind from the day while also having a good time.

It’s a Small World Nursery – We dropped our little one off here once on the first sea day for nap time and while she did let us go she didn’t sleep much more than 20 minutes. The nursery is very well appointed with infant/toddler friendly décor and toys. The Cast Members are super good with the kids. The cribs (yes, full cribs) are located at the back of the room and around the corner from the main play area. They dim the lights back their but can’t keep all the noise out from the other kiddies who may not be sleeping. In our case one little one was inconsolable and his parents had not picked him up despite many calls from the Cast Members on hand. I think he kept our daughter up with the pitch of his cries and her general concern for anyone who is upset. I wanted to take our daughter back on the second sea day but my wife wasn’t too keen on it so we simply walked around the ship until she fell asleep and then we enjoyed an impromptu Mai Tai at the Promenade Bar. Yippie!

 

Oceanear’s Club and Lab – Our daughter was too young to attend the club or lab on her own as it’s only open to the 3-12 yr old crowd. I had heard they sometimes make exceptions for those under 3 who are fully toilet trained. That wasn’t the case on our cruise which was fine because after further thought we didn’t really want our 2.5 yr old playing and running around with 12 yr olds. That said; we did take her to a couple of the Open Houses they have throughout the week and she loved it. My wife and I went in with her and we played together. We enjoyed going up to the top of Andy’s bed and sliding down the Slinkey Dog slide, playing with the giant piggy bank and Mr Potato Head. The club space is huge with Andy’s Room, Mickey Mouse Club House, Avenger Academy, Pixie Hollow etc. One day while at an open house our daughter went through Mousketeer Training. The kids were put through their paces and after 30 minutes they were greeted by Mickey himself who approved them all to become Mousketeers. Our daughter received a wonderful certificate to put on her wall as a memory of our cruise. Well done Disney! We never ventured to the Lab so I can’t comment on that space.

 

Shutters – This is a really cool set up. Instead of putting everyone’s photos out in the open you swipe your card at a computer to find out where your photos are filed. You then go to the book shelf that is sectioned by character, colour and number. We were Goofy, Brown and 10. There we found a nice folio with all our pictures. Wow! Very cool.

 

Ports – Cozumel, Grand Cayman, Falmouth** and Castaway Cay

 

Let me start by saying we are beach people so we were on the beach at all ports. I try to pick beaches that appeal to adults and little ones alike. I read a ton of reviews and frequent each ports board on CC before choosing where we’ll spend our day.

 

Cozumel

 

In Cozumel we spent the day at Nachi Cocom. Nachi appealed to me for a number of reasons first of which was limiting the number of people to 100. We were in Cozumel with 6-7 other ships or 15,000 other cruisers. I wanted a nice beach, nice restaurant, with a pool and didn’t want it to be too crowded. Since our daughter is 2.5 yrs old she’s not yet big enough to play in/on all the water toys offered by the other beach clubs (Mr. Sanchos, Playa Mia etc) so the ocean, sun and sand was all we needed. The food was fantastic. Between the four adults we shared four appetizers; two orders of guacamole, 1lb of wings and a plate of nachos. This could have been enough food for the day but alas we had to have lunch since we paid for it. I don’t recall all that we had for lunch but my wife and I split quesadillas and fajitas. Yum! It was authentic Mexican without burning your face off with spice. The drink selection was on par with 5 star resorts including all top shelf liquors. That said; we pretty much stuck to Corona’s and Tecate Light. The servers on the beach were efficient but we were close enough to the bar that we always walked to get our own. For the next couple years while travelling with our little one we’ll for sure go back to Nachi. Once she’s bigger we may consider one of the other clubs so she has some floating water toys to play with while we relax.

 

Grand Cayman

 

Within weeks of booking our cruise I had booked a cabana at Royal Palms. The reviews read made it sound amazing however as we got closer to the sail date some reviews turned negative and got me worried. I shouldn’t have worried. The Royal Palms is so close to the tender terminal but still far enough away to make you feel that you’re not swimming right next to a harbour. The Palms is a very nice facility we were greeted by security and told to speak to a staff member at the restaurant to get our cabana. There are six really nice cabanas which are now a little more luxurious compared to the 12x12 event tents I had previously seen in photos online. They had nicely painted (actually stained) wooden frames and sheer curtains for privacy. The whole cabana area is sectioned off so all cabana guests share a very nice and large piece of the beach. This section off area has a private walk through to both the beach and the bar/restaurant. Each cabana has its own table and four chairs as well as two to four loungers. The sand was smooth and soft and the cabana area was a great place for the little ones to play and for us to relax knowing they wouldn’t be stepped on. The rest of the beach at Royal Palms was quite busy that day so having a cabana was the right choice for our needs. We ordered buckets of CayBrew which is the local beer as well we ordered a massive platter of food. I can’t even remember all that was on that platter but the wings were amazing. The washroom and shower facilities were as advertised. The showers are outdoors so these are more or less rinsing stations. Change rooms are in the washroom area but are legit change rooms (2 in the mens). The pool area is adults only and on the day we were there it got a little rowdy. That said; our cabana was on the other side of the Palms and while we could hear the music the DJ was playing it was never bothersome. The beaches in Grand Cayman while wavy are our favourite, the sand is so white and soft and the water is the nicest turquoise we’ve ever seen. We would go back to the Palms in a heartbeat at this stage with our little one but would need to consider someplace else when she gets to that age where she needs water toys.

 

Falmouth**Montego Bay

 

Last time we ported in Falmouth we walked around the Port and headed back to the ship. Only two ships can port in Falmouth and we didn’t realize that with two large ships a wind tunnel was created. As such it was quite breezy so we decided perhaps it wouldn’t be a good beach day. This time around we booked something in advance. Again; doing lots of research we decided to book a beach day through Resort for a Day. We had the choice of going to Hilton Rose Hall and Jewel Runaway Bay. I decided upon Jewel because reviews had indicated it had the nicer beach (we’re beach people) and that the food was better. The bonus was that they were building a waterpark similar to Rose Hall that was scheduled to be completed end of 2014. For those interested that waterpark still isn’t completed and Jewel is being very cryptic with when it will be completed. That’s neither here nor there since we didn’t end up at the Jewel. We encountered some poor weather which prevented us from docking in Falmouth so we ended up docking in Montego Bay. The terminal at Montego Bay is not nearly as nice as Falmouth. It is actually kind of rundown by comparison but we didn’t’ care as we weren’t spending the day at the terminal anyways. Since our ship wasn’t scheduled to port in Montego Bay our ship docked at a shipping yard and we took shuttles to the main terminal (2 min ride). I was a bit worried about our bus transfer given we were supposed to port in Falmouth however I knew we’d find someone at the terminal representing Resort for a Day given they do tours from Montego as well. After asking a couple people we found the Resort for a Day rep and were on a shuttle to our beach within 10 minutes of arrival. The Jewel is closer to Ocho Rios and Falmouth so it was about 1hr 10min from Montego. About 10 minutes into our transfer our driver asked if we’d prefer to go to Hilton Rose Hall which was closer and wouldn’t cost us any more than what we would have paid at Jewel. We agree and spent an amazing day at the Hilton Rose Hall. The beach was closed because of the weather which was really just windy so we found a nice spot near the lazy river/water slides. Our daughter loved…loved the lazy river and water slides and we couldn’t get her out of the water. Our waiter was amazing and kept the drinks and patties flowing all day. Other than the patties the food was ok but when you compare any food to what you’re eating on the ship everything is just ok. If we port in Montego again I wouldn’t hesitate to go back to Hilton Rose Hall but I am a little disappointed to have not gone to Jewel since it seemed to offer everything my wife and I look for in a land based vacation. Again; great day despite the curveball and kudos to Resort for a Day for scrambling to make sure we had a fantastic day.

 

Castaway Cay

 

Disney does it right, yet again. Castaway Cay is one of the most amazing ports of call, beaches etc we’ve ever seen. Nestled in a large but yet quiet cove this beach spot is perfect for adults and kids. Away from the beach you’ll find shops, restaurants, bike rentals, splash zones, kids clubs and everything you love about the ship but on land. I started my day with a little jog called the Castaway Cay 5k which is a great way to see the island just prior to everyone getting off the ship. It starts and finishes near the second tram stop (Pelican Point) and the bike rental shop. You run up to the runway and around the loop that takes you past the observation tower then down toward Serenity Bay (adults only) and then back. The observation tower is worth checking out but will take you roughly 45 minutes to walk to and from if you’re beaching near Pelican Point. If you’d rather not spend that amount of time away from the beach it would be worth renting bikes. We never did, so I can’t comment on the cost but they have a ton. Adult bikes, kids bikes, infant seats and most importantly…helmets. Which to my surprise were cleaned after every use. The beach is large enough for the crowds that come with the Dream/Fantasy so you have lots of space if on the Magic/Wonder. The water is calm and shallow so you can walk a long ways out but don’t walk past the roped off areas. Lifeguards on duty do not like it when you cross the rope, which we didn’t but you could hear them hollering at many that did. Your Key to the World card works everywhere on Castaway Cay except the post office which isn’t always open. We wish we had more time there because there is so much we wanted to do but didn’t. If we see a cruise that offers two days at Castaway Cay we’d highly consider booking it for that reason alone. One of the best beach days you’ll ever have even if you don’t get one of their amazing cabanas. We had a cabana in Labadee when cruising with Celebrity so I wanted one bad at Castaway Cay but the price is significantly more and they are extremely hard to get. I don’t feel like we missed anything not having one but I sure would like to try one on a future cruise.

 

Debarkation

 

Always the worst part of any cruise but the Disney Difference really makes this day a bit enjoyable. First; instead of forcing you to meet in one of the on ship venues to quickly whisk you off the ship and into a giant customs line Disney invites you to a leisurely breakfast. In our case since our last dinner was in Animator’s we had breakfast there at 7am (early dinner means 7am breakfast and late dinner means 8:15 breakfast). It was a nice a la carte breakfast with our regular servers. After breakfast we exited through the main lobby atrium as we embarked the ship a week ago as Cast Members thanked us for joining them and “hoped to see us soon”. Finding our luggage was a breeze and a porter lugged it through customs (again; a breeze). In 2hrs 45 minutes we had time to eat breakfast, debark the ship, pick up a car rental and get to Orlando airport. I was worried based on previous debark experiences that we’d be late or possibly miss our 1pm flight. Instead the Disney Difference filled our bellies, sent us off smiling and got us to the airport with plenty of time to spare.

 

Conclusion

 

The Disney Difference I heard so many people talk about prior to our cruise is real. Every Cast Member you meet or come across greets you with a smile and a ‘how do you do’. If you have a problem the all jump up to fix it and if you don’t they are always trying to find ways to make your cruise more enjoyable. There was a time where I said I would never cruise because we are as mentioned a beach family. I can now safely say that after this Disney Cruise we may now in fact be cruise people. I even went so far as booking my next Disney Cruise on board since the itinerary was so good and the price was right. Most importantly it meant experiencing another of Disney’s fantastic ships.

 

Again; I look forward to any feedback or questions.

Edited February 3, 2015 by Tagong
better space each section

[Stressedmom2]

Out of curiousity can I ask which stateroom you stayed in? We sail on the Magic in August and are staying in a connecting verandah stateroom and so far have been unable to find a detailed/informative review?

 

Glad u and your family enjoyed your cruise!!

[Tagong]

We were in stateroom 6592 which connected to 6594. They were located between aft and mid ship. Nice location. If these are similar to the rooms you're looking at I can answer any questions you may have.

[Silverman]

Great review!! The Magic does go to Castaway Cay twice in one sailing but not all the time. Its a 4 day Cruise. Leaves from Miami.

[Silverman]

Found one on Oct 28.

 

Miami-

Castaway Cay-

Nassau-

Castaway Cay-

Miami

[Friend100]

Found one on Oct 28.

 

Miami-

Castaway Cay-

Nassau-

Castaway Cay-

Miami

 

Halloween and double dip ... That is.

[Tagong]

Thanks Silverman and Friend. I'm considered B2B 4nt and 3nt Bahamas on Dream in February of 2016. It's a better time for us to cruise then...albeit more expensive too.

[Tagong]

Stressedmom did you want anymore info on our rooms?

Edited February 4, 2015 by Tagong

[LLM]

Thank you for your awesome review! We are cruising on the Magic December 27th and I am planning on doing the CC 5k. How early were you off the ship? Do the 5k people return to the ship before everyone else disembarks on CC? TIA!

 

Lisa

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums

[Tagong]

Hi LLM. Thanks for kind words. We met in Fathoms at around 8:15am but didn't leave the ship until around 8:45am. We got off the ship from the forward gangway and as we walked to start finish line I did notice that some people had started to trickle out the aft gangway. I believe runners are supposed to be off first but in this case it was almost simultaneous. Those not running are not held on the ship until the race is complete. Many people sign up for the 5k with the intent to run/walk and some just want to walk the entire way. It was fun and I was glad I did it. It is a great way to see every accessible part of the island.

[divot33]

Great recap, Tagong! Thank you!

 

I was ready to pull the trigger on booking Nachi for our trip in June and then I saw a VERY negative review - your recap makes me feel a lot better about booking it.

 

Thanks!

[Stressedmom2]

Yes sorry tagong been away from boards - we are also staying in cat 5b stateroom - just wondered how much of a difference the reimagination had made. I see that there is now storage space under beds - wud there b enough room for 2 large suitcases? Did u have be problems/issues with ur room r did u hear/see ne problems with staterooms and poor state of bathrooms? Do u have ne pics that u cud post of ur stateroom?

 

TIA

[LLM]

Hi LLM. Thanks for kind words. We met in Fathoms at around 8:15am but didn't leave the ship until around 8:45am. We got off the ship from the forward gangway and as we walked to start finish line I did notice that some people had started to trickle out the aft gangway. I believe runners are supposed to be off first but in this case it was almost simultaneous. Those not running are not held on the ship until the race is complete. Many people sign up for the 5k with the intent to run/walk and some just want to walk the entire way. It was fun and I was glad I did it. It is a great way to see every accessible part of the island.

 

 

Thank you! Just trying to figure out if I should send the kiddies off with their grandparents or have them wait until DH and I finish the 5k.

 

Lisa

 

 

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[Tagong]

Stressedmom - I do have pics and will post some tonight. In fact I think I have a video as well. Will have to figure out a way to post that or send it to you directly. The rooms were fantastic and we had no issues what so ever. I didn't hear of any other guests having issues either. There is more than enough room under the beds for two large suitcases. In fact you could probably get 3-4 if you wanted. The bathrooms are decent just weren't updated in the last dry dock so by comparison to the rest of the room they look a little shabby. That said; everything was clean and in working order. I wouldn't be concerned with the bathrooms at all.

[Tagong]

LLM - I would send your kiddies with the grandparents. Castaway Cay has so much to offer I doubt they will want to wait until you get back from the 5k unless they want to sleep in. I was the only runner of our group of nine and we simply agreed to meet up after the race on a certain portion of the beach. That said; they ended up meeting me at the finish line to cheer me on for the final few meters. You'll have a blast.

[Tagong]

divot33 - I saw those negative reviews as well which had me a little bit concerned but as you know some people are just too difficult to please. Nachi was a fantastic place to spend the day. We didn't even have the best of weather conditions but the facility makes up for what ever Mother Nature doesn't.

[boymomdeb]

Wow- Thanks for taking time to post such a detailed, helpful review! We are sailing next month on our first Disney Cruise for seven nights on the Magic and you really helped answer a lot of questions! You rock!:)

[sunset@sea]

Thanks for the review! We were on this same sailing (but am not organized enough for a review yet!) We'll be repeating the itinerary on the Fantasy in the fall so it was interesting to hear what you did. We have young children and were thinking of more beach time next tine around. Will have to check out the beaches you mentioned.

[surran12]

Thanks for sharing your experience on the Magic. It sounds like an amazing ship and I hope to get to experience it as well some day.

[Tagong]

boymomdeb - thanks for the kind words. I know the review was long but I appreciate the detail others put into their reviews and this is my way of reciprocating. You'll absolutely love the Magic. I hope your vacay is everything you dreamed and more. Any further questions let me know.

 

sunset@sea - if you'd like to know anything further about the beaches we visited let me know as I could have written a heck of a lot more on all four visited.

 

surran12 - I hope you get to experience the Magic one day too. Beautiful ship and fantastic crew. You'll be made to feel like royalty.

[cocacola86]

Would this be a cruise for a couple in their mid 30s without feeling out of place?

[Tigerman4LSU]

@Tagong - Great write up. We are going on the same trip in 5 weeks from Sunday.

 

Do you have happen to have any pics of the menus, etc.?

 

Was there a character breakfast?

 

George

[Tagong]

cocacola86 - you and significant other without kids? If so I'd say yes because the adult only venues are very good. Quiet Cove, Cove Cafe are nice during the day and at night the shows are very well done. The non-Broadway style shows are good too. Plus you have Keys, Fathoms and my favourite O'Gills. You won't be able to avoid kiddies altogether but you will get quiet time if and when you want it.

[Tagong]

Tigerman4LSU - I unfortunately do not have pics of the menus. I like good food but I'm not a foodie so snapping those types of pics wasn't something I did. I thought the menu offerings in all three dining rooms were very strong. Good variety of options, something for everyone not matter whether you're adventurous or picky. Kids options were very good also.

 

They did have a Disney Jr. Character breakfast on our first sea day. Four characters were Jake, Sophia, DocMcStuffins and Goofy. Lots of fun and very well done. Each character comes to your table for a personal visit and photo opp.