8-3-08 Magic Review

[lvsatman]

We sailed on the Disney Magic on August 3, 2008 for seven nights. There were a total of four of us in our group. Myself, 37, my wife, 39, son, 14, son's friend, 15. My wife has been on two previous cruises, one with Carnival and one with NCL. My son and I have sailed once before on NCL, and this was his friend’s first cruise
All in all, we had a very good time, and had no real complaints other than the breakfast buffet. I won’t go into great detail, but just try to hit the highlights.
SHIP
You would never guess this ship just celebrated its 10th birthday. It is in very good shape. I saw very little evidence that it need to go into dry dock in a couple of weeks. Very clean and very well maintained.

CABIN
We were in a Cat 10 Deluxe Inside Cabin. We had some initial concerns about booking this cabin with four people, but all in all, it was a nice room, with plenty of room and storage space.

FOOD
The breakfast buffet at topsiders is really bad, but other than that, we found the food to be pretty good. Palo is very nice, but I did not feel that it was so much better than the other dining rooms that it was worth an extra $15 per person. We did both brunch and dinner, and would not spend the money to do them again.

ACTIVITIES
There are many activities for both the kids and adults on board at all hours. My son and his friend really enjoyed the teen club, The Stack. Most nights they came rolling in around 2am. My wife and I had no problems finding this for us to do. We did beer tasting one day, and tequila tasting another. If you are looking for something to do, you really can’t be bored.

EXCURSIONS
All four of us only did one excursion, and that was in Cabo. We did the Lands End Cruise that took you out to the Arch Rock. That was pretty fun, and not to expensive. My son and his friend did the Teen Cruise in Puerto Vallarta, they had a very good time on it.

OVERRALL
We all had a very good time. Mazatlan is a complete waste of time, but it was nice to finally get to Cabo, AND Puerto Vallarta was nice. Mazatlan is very dirty, and the water is gross. We had a great time, but would not do Disney again. We booked this cruise with great hesitation because of the high cost versus any other cruise line that does this same exact cruise. Other than the cabin being larger than our last cruise on NCL, we saw no difference of any kind in the quality of food or service that we got on NCL. I went on board with an open mind, but I never saw this amazing “Disney” this that makes it worth paying the prices that they charge. Again, we all had a very good time, but in no way did we feel that we got our money’s worth. We had Royal’s Vision of the Sea’s following us the entire week, and we could have gone on that ship, in a balcony, for about $2500 less than we paid for Disney. If you have young children under 10 or 11, I do think that Disney would be worth it, but for us, although I am glad we finally did it, I do not feel it was worth the money we paid.

 

[mommasita]

I am going to move this post to the cruise trip report forum.

 

[BabyFavorite]

I was on the ship with you at the same time apparently! I totally agree about the difference in cost between DCL and RCCL. (Just posted about it in another thread, in fact.) My kids are almost 9 & almost 13, and still, I think we will opt for RCCL next time around.

We did *adore* our servers (truly the highlight of the trip), but somehow none of it felt quite as magical as I'd expected. Don't get me wrong - there were many special moments and overall I would still recommend them for families - but, for the price difference, I will be glad to take a little less Disney magic next time around. I guess we just don't have the Disney Incomes to continually support that type of vacation! LOL

 

[DisneyMom92]

We, too, were on the same cruise! I am sorry you didn't feel you got your money's worth. We absolutely love Disney and most of our vacations include something Disney. My kids are almost 13 and 16, but they can't imagine cruising without the characters and the other things they love, including the ability to meet people online here before they cruise. We already have two future cruises planned.

Thanks for sharing your observations. I enjoyed hearing your comparison to the other cruiseline.

 

[Joan1]

Yes Disney is on the expensive side and we love it but we also cruise other lines. We look at the whole picture, price, dates we can travel and itinearies. We will be on the eastbound panama canal cruise this weekend because we have always wanted to do this type of cruise but all other cruise lines offer it in the spring or fall. We can't travel then because it would take the kids out of school for too long of a time. When Disney announced this for the summer we jumped on it. Other times we have gone with HAL, NCL, Princess or RCCL simply because we liked where they were going and the price was within what we wanted to spend. We have never had a bad cruise

 

[DisneyMom92]

Yes Disney is on the expensive side and we love it but we also cruise other lines. We look at the whole picture, price, dates we can travel and itinearies. We will be on the eastbound panama canal cruise this weekend because we have always wanted to do this type of cruise but all other cruise lines offer it in the spring or fall. We can't travel then because it would take the kids out of school for too long of a time. When Disney announced this for the summer we jumped on it. Other times we have gone with HAL, NCL, Princess or RCCL simply because we liked where they were going and the price was within what we wanted to spend. We have never had a bad cruise

We have discussed other lines simply because we like their itineraries and because we have (had) a friend dancing on a RCCL cruise. What ages are your kids? Mine were wondering if they would have as much fun and freedom on another line that may have more adults, less activities for kids and casinos. I would be interested in some of your experiences.

 

[lvstitch]

Having done the Eastern Caribbean and the Mexican Riv on Disney Magic I can say that I also felt the Mex Riv Cruises lacked the "magic" that I have experience on the Eastern Caribbean. I don't know what the difference is, maybe the ports or weather or not going to Castaway Cay but I feel the Caribbean cruises are much better.

 

[Joan1]

We have discussed other lines simply because we like their itineraries and because we have (had) a friend dancing on a RCCL cruise. What ages are your kids? Mine were wondering if they would have as much fun and freedom on another line that may have more adults, less activities for kids and casinos. I would be interested in some of your experiences.

My kids are now DD13 and DS11 - this is what we have been on and what we think about them

Carnival - always sailed on 7nt sailings on new ships and never had a problem. We went with Carnival when my youngest was 2 as they were the only ones that took children in diapers in their kids club. They would just page us if he needed to be changed. That didn't happen often because we wouldn't leave him there for a long time maybe an hour or two here and there

HAL - we found an itinerary we liked at a great price and totally loved the ship, we were on the Zuiderdam. The kids club was just ok but I know they have added things to it now. The only thing I would advise against this line is that the longer itineraries and the saiolings when school ISN'T out tends to have an older crowd. Nothing wrong with that but if you are looking for livelier evenings then this isn't the line for you.

NCL - we have been on a few different cruises with them. My kids liked the kids club in this one and they aren't the type to go to the kids clubs often but went every evening. Stick with the newer ships. The only thing that bothers me is all the alternative restaurants that are an additional cost but there are plenty of regular ones that do not have a surcharge

Princess - was a girls only trip so I don't know how their kids club is but I LOVED it, was on the Caribbean Princess and would cruise on it again in a hearbeat

Royal Caribbean - went in 2006 on the Explorer of the Seas and my kids absolutely loved it, especially my son as he is very active and loved the rock climbing, inline skating, miniature golf, etc. He keeps asking to go back on RCCL. The only thing we didn't like about this particular ship is that they have salt water pools. Their newer ships have fresh water and that is what we would book next time

Food - is a subject that not everyone will agree on
I found the food on NCL, RCCL and DCL to be on par with each other
HAL, Princess, and Carnival l would rate little higher quality

I also want to add that we go to Disney once a year, sometimes twice a year and my kids love going even now. I don't think that will change as they get older because they always ask when is the next time we are going.

BUT we do cruise other lines for the reasons stated above, itineraries and price
For instance the Explorer of the Seas cruise was a 9nt cruise, we had a suite, and it was still less then a verandah room for a 7nt cruise that same week on Disney

 

[DisneyMom92]

My kids are now DD13 and DS11 - this is what we have been on and what we think about them

Carnival - always sailed on 7nt sailings on new ships and never had a problem. We went with Carnival when my youngest was 2 as they were the only ones that took children in diapers in their kids club. They would just page us if he needed to be changed. That didn't happen often because we wouldn't leave him there for a long time maybe an hour or two here and there

HAL - we found an itinerary we liked at a great price and totally loved the ship, we were on the Zuiderdam. The kids club was just ok but I know they have added things to it now. The only thing I would advise against this line is that the longer itineraries and the saiolings when school ISN'T out tends to have an older crowd. Nothing wrong with that but if you are looking for livelier evenings then this isn't the line for you.

NCL - we have been on a few different cruises with them. My kids liked the kids club in this one and they aren't the type to go to the kids clubs often but went every evening. Stick with the newer ships. The only thing that bothers me is all the alternative restaurants that are an additional cost but there are plenty of regular ones that do not have a surcharge

Princess - was a girls only trip so I don't know how their kids club is but I LOVED it, was on the Caribbean Princess and would cruise on it again in a hearbeat

Royal Caribbean - went in 2006 on the Explorer of the Seas and my kids absolutely loved it, especially my son as he is very active and loved the rock climbing, inline skating, miniature golf, etc. He keeps asking to go back on RCCL. The only thing we didn't like about this particular ship is that they have salt water pools. Their newer ships have fresh water and that is what we would book next time

Food - is a subject that not everyone will agree on
I found the food on NCL, RCCL and DCL to be on par with each other
HAL, Princess, and Carnival l would rate little higher quality

I also want to add that we go to Disney once a year, sometimes twice a year and my kids love going even now. I don't think that will change as they get older because they always ask when is the next time we are going.

BUT we do cruise other lines for the reasons stated above, itineraries and price
For instance the Explorer of the Seas cruise was a 9nt cruise, we had a suite, and it was still less then a verandah room for a 7nt cruise that same week on Disney

Thanks for the info. My kids, too, are active and Disney doesn't have much for that part of their personality. We are just Disney oriented and have never been on another cruiseline. Every once in a while, we will see an itinerary for another ship that is interesting or a price will come across my desk that makes it hard to pass up, things like that. We were just concerned about the "adult party" atmosphere you hear about some other lines, especially those with a casino.

I am printing this out for future reference. Thanks again.

 

[Joan1]

Thanks for the info. My kids, too, are active and Disney doesn't have much for that part of their personality. We are just Disney oriented and have never been on another cruiseline. Every once in a while, we will see an itinerary for another ship that is interesting or a price will come across my desk that makes it hard to pass up, things like that. We were just concerned about the "adult party" atmosphere you hear about some other lines, especially those with a casino.

I am printing this out for future reference. Thanks again.

Your welcome - I find that the party atmosphere is more on cruises that are shorter in length and ones that are deeply discounted. Except on Disney, we have always sailed 7nts or longer and on newer ships and never had a problem.

I also wanted to add that on Princess they have a lot of pools which makes it nice as not one is ever overly full and one is usually open 24 hours. Disney pools are so small in comparison to other cruise line pools

 

[fcrouch]

I was on the same cruise - and meant to mention in my post about how clean the ship was - seemed in better shape than our last cruise on the Magic in spring 2007.

We love DCL - we've been on RCCL - but no other major cruise line. Our daughter, 8, loves the lab activities and making new friends. If she's happy, we're happy. And where else will Cinderella dry your tears when you have to leave the kid's club because you have an early morning excursion. That happened to us this trip - so there's always something a little magical for us. I do think the shows are superior to what we'd seen on RCCL - but that was 8 and 6 years ago respectively so that could've changed.

I do agree about the prices, however. Very steep compared to other lines. I think we would consider another cruise line if it was an itinerary we really wanted to try.