Day 12
This was the day I had been longing for, but until the 11th hour there was some doubt that this would actually happen. This was the day we would get on the Disney Magic. I woke up at around 5:00 AM and needed to go to the bathroom. I looked out of the window to see if the Magic was already there, but all I could see was a ferry that had already been docked the previous day. When I came back from the bathroom, I saw another cruise ship pull in, but there was still no sign of the Magic. I went back to bed and I was just dropping off to sleep again when Graham told me that he thought he could see the Magic. He had woken up and needed to go to the bathroom as well. So I got up again. Initially I was not too sure, but soon I could clearly see the Mouse funnels. We watched as the Magic got into position and docked. We took a few photos in the process. Once the Magic was securely tied up, we went back to bed and fell asleep.
We woke up again around 8:00 AM and the first thing I did was look out of the window. I wanted to make sure that the Magic really was there and that it was not all just a beautiful dream. She was definitely there and I took some more photos. We got ready and reorganized the hand luggage. I attached the luggage labels to the bags that we were going to check in and we both needed to sign the cruise contract. Then we just chilled out for a bit. I played with my iPad for a bit.
By 10:00 I started to get restless. There was a ship in port and I knew that the port would open about 30 minutes later. I think Graham realized that he would not keep me in the room for much longer and I think he had started to get sick and tired of just sitting around. So we gathered up our stuff and headed out to the lift. Our room was very close to the lift, but we had to wait a little while until the lift came. Fortunately when it did, it was empty. We went to reception to check out and then we went outside. There were a number of taxis right outside the hotel. The port is not far from the hotel, but it was too far to walk with our luggage and in any case, I was not sure if one could actually walk there. So we got in a taxi and we were on our way.
Once we got to the port, porters approached our taxi and they unloaded our stuff and whisked it away. The port had not opened at that point and there was an impressive line. I left Graham near the end of the line and I went off in search of my friend Michelle. I was really excited that we got to cruise together again. We had cruised together in 2009 and had plans to cruise together again in 2011, but that unfortunately did not happen. As soon as I walked towards the terminal building, I saw her girls so I knew they had arrived. I walked around for a bit and saw her a few moments later making a phone call. I stayed nearby and once she had finished her call, we finally got to meet in person again. She took me over where the rest of her family was and we said "hi". Not long afterwards, there seemed to be some movement by the doors to the terminal and I headed back to join Graham.
The line did not seem to shift at all. I have now sailed out of 6 ports and with the exception of Vancouver, this was the slowest process. They checked the cruise documents and passports at the door and were pretty thorough about this. This is what caused the hold up. Once we were inside, it was up the escalator and through a short line for security. We ended up meeting up with Michelle and her family again. I am not sure what had happened there, as they were quite a way in front of us, but it was nice to be able to chat while we waited for our turn. Once we were through security, we were looking for the concierge check in. This is one of the nice perks that come with being a Platinum
Castaway Club member. We were directed straight to an empty check in desk. Check in was pretty smooth. The member of port staff that assisted us had to go and find us some Platinum lanyards and then handed us our Key to the World cards and our boarding card. I could have squealed with joy. We got boarding number 1. Normally boarding number 1 is reserved for concierge guests and Platinum Castaway Club members get boarding card number 2 or even number 3 on busy sailings. I also spotted that we were due to have dinner at Carioca's that evening. Before the cruise I was in two minds about the changes and based on the concept art, there was not much that I thought I would like. However, when I saw the concept art for Carioca's, I instantly fell in love. I was glad that we would have our first dinner there.
Once we were checked in, we found a seat. As soon as we had sat down, one of the DVC staff came over to talk to us. He asked if we were members and we confirmed that we were. True to form, they had no record of us. He did add us to the list though, gave us some lanyards and told us when the Member Celebration was taking place. As he just was getting ready to say goodbye, Michelle and her family joined us. I was very impressed with the terminal. I absolutely love Port Canaveral and any other port that we have cruised out of has not quite matched up to this. I think Port Canaveral still has a slight edge for me, but Port of Miami comes a close second. I love the layout of the waiting area and they have some interesting artwork.
I decided to have a walk around to see if any of the characters were out. This is very different at the Port of Miami. The characters had a separate room where they would meet people. Captain Mickey was out and he had no line whatsoever. So I jumped on this. Even though I had met plenty of characters in the parks, getting the first hug from Captain Mickey is always extra special.
I headed back to join the others and we chatted for a while. There is a walkway with floor to ceiling windows above the waiting area at the far end from where we were sitting and suddenly I spotted Minnie walking past. I pointed this out to one of Michelle's girls and then I headed off to the room where Captain Mickey had been. This time there were a few more people, but it was still a short line. I met with Minnie and then I waited at the far end of the room until Michelle and her family were done. We walked back to where the rest of our families were sitting and sat down again.
Shortly afterwards, the Family of the Cruise was announced. This is normally the sign that boarding is about to commence. I got rather excited. I could not wait until I finally could see in person what they had done with the Magic. Just after the Family of the Cruise boarded and before boarding number 1 was called, a cast member walked up to Michelle to ask what boarding number they had and told them to come with him. They got to board straight after the Family of the Cruise. Once this had happened, they called boarding card number one. We headed to the exit. We had to go up a level and then walk along the walkway where I had seen Minnie earlier. At the end of that walkway, the photographers had set up for the embarkation photos. We were directed straight to a photographer. I really like how the embarkation photo came out.
Then it was time to actually get on the Magic. I was both nervous and excited. One drawback with the Port of Miami is that the boarding level is actually on deck 4. At one of the ports in Alaska we got back on the ship on deck 4 and this was complete chaos so I was not looking forward to this. Even though it was not quite the same as walking in the atrium on deck 3, this worked well. They still announced everybody and then you walked across to the port side. I got my first look at the atrium. I was prepared to hate it, especially as they removed the Chihuly chandelier, but it actually took my breath away. As much as I loved the old atrium, the re-imagined version was truly stunning. Graham initially thought it looked a bit lopsided with only one staircase, but it soon grew on him and by the end of the cruise, he really liked it.
One thing that really surprised me is that they directed us to Carioca's. With one exception, when we boarded late, we have always eaten at Parrot Cay. However, they always try to redirect people to the buffet on deck 9. This has become kind of a standing joke in our family. So I was very surprised and almost a little disappointed that Cabanas was not even mentioned. I am always looking forward to hear what the excuse for sending people there is. Still, we were planning to eat at Cariaco's anyway so this just made things easier.
As we approached Carioca's, I straightaway spotted a familiar face even though he was dressed up as an elf. Edward is my all time favourite server. We had him as our server in 2009 and then saw him all around the ship during our two cruises in 2010. He got off the Magic at the end of our Transatlantic cruise in 2010 to go to Germany to be part of the opening team of the Dream. He had been on the Dream and the Fantasy ever since. As we have no interest in the large ships, I did not think that we would ever see him again. In October I found out that he was transferring back to the Magic and as soon as the cruise was booked, I requested him as our server. It was great to see him literally as soon as we stepped foot on the ship. He was on hand wipe duty, but as it was still quiet, we had. Quick chat.
Once some more people arrived, we said goodbye and headed inside Carioca's where we were seated straightaway. I loved this space as much as I thought based on the concept art. I have always really liked Parrot Cay, but this is now much brighter and airier. Lunch was nice. Graham had some salad and his beloved Peel and Eat Shrimp first whereas I headed straight for the hot food. I had some Marinated Chicken, Cheesy Mashed Potatoes, Penne in a Feta and Tomato Sauce and some Roast Beef from the Carvery. I also swung by the kid's table and had some Corn Dog Nuggets. Graham then went back and got some Chicken, some kind of Fish, Roast Beef and Vegetables. I had some more of the Cheesy Mashed Potatoes, some more Corn Dog Nuggets and some Spaghetti with Meatballs. We both had some dessert, but it was not very memorable and I cannot even remember what we had.
After lunch, I had something to take care of. I had booked our Palo dinner for the evening that I thought was Pirate Night. I had been looking at Navigators from previous cruises doing the same itinerary that we did and Pirate Night was on the same day as the stop in Cozumel. When we got our first Navigator, which also had an overview for the whole cruise in it, I noticed that Pirate Night was actually on the same day as our stop in Grand Cayman. We were staying in Cozumel until about midnight and that was the reason for the change. This change threw up two potential problems: we had to spend Pirate Night in the dining room, which we don't like and we would have missed dinner in the re-imagined Animator's Palate. So after lunch, we headed to Palo to see if this could be changed so that we still would spend Pirate Night at Palo. Whenever we cruised before, we had to go to one of the clubs to make changes or get a reservation. This time round, the Navigator stated that those things needed to be taken care of at Palo. As we were aft anyway, this was easy. We headed straight up to deck 10. The Palo manager Francesco remembered us from the previous year and we had a short chat. It was no problem to make the change. While we were there, we also requested a server. The previous year, we had an amazing server for all three meals in Palo. I had heard through the grapevine that Susanna had recently returned to the Magic after her holiday and I asked if we could have her again. Francesco was only too happy to oblige. With business taken care of, we said goodbye to Francesco and went exploring.
We decided to take a turn around deck 10. There had been quite a few changes. They had installed a number of sunroofs. I never quite knew what to make of this. As I am fair-skinned and burn easily, part of me welcomed the new additions. On the other hand, I have never had a problem finding a shady spot outside either on deck 9 or better still on deck 4, which is one of my favourite spots to hang out. So I think they could have left deck 10 for people who are looking for some sun. The other issue is that the supports for the sunroofs take up quite a bit of deck space. Add to that the fact that the splashdown area for the Aquadunk slide is on deck 10 as well and they have lost quite a bit of deck space.
what a fabulous first day of cruising 
