A vent about our recent Disney Magic sailing experience.

[bakerworld]

Shame your food was so impacted. We sailed Magic in 2015 and the food was very good. Magic even back then was rusty but I don't remember seeing peeling. Cripes, I was just thinking of trying the Bermuda out of NY.

 

[tee11]

Wow....I was on the Magic for the 10-10-22 NYC to Canada cruise and didn't notice any of this. Your pics are the reality though. We had a wonderful time and I did notice a mold stain in our bathroom grout and I never remember seeing that before. This was our 29th time on the Magic (52nd DCL in total). We were on her Maiden Voyage back on July 30, 1998 and have watched her evolve over the years. I honestly didn't notice any of the pics you posted but we were with first time DCL cruisers and we were busy making sure they were having a good time (which they did!). My husband did comment in Halifax as we were walking back to the ship that he never saw the hull so rusted.

As far as the comment card I do not like that the servers are grouped in with the food quality. It is not fair to the servers. I always bring lined paper with me (in a pinch I'll take an extra Trivia paper to use) and write out any concerns and to list by name the many crew who may have gone above and beyond. Then I fold and staple the extra page to the comment card. I have teeny, tiny stapler in my gadget bag at all times.

I am happy to report that the "C" is back on the statue. I had to check my pics to make sure and low and behold in the pic I took on the 10th, the day we boarded, the C is indeed missing but the pic I took later in the week the C is there....right? I am not seeing things am I? So, they must have fixed it during the week.

We had great servers and no issue at all with any staff. Our food was good except one time my soup came out lukewarm. But, people on our FB Group were complaining a lot about the food quality. They were also very upset that the ship ran out of popcorn during our sailing so there was no popcorn outside the WDT (latter part of cruise) or the BVT (at all). People who bought the refillable popcorn buckets were really upset, as well they should be.

Sorry your cruise was not up to par.

Mickey without the C in Magic

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Helmsman Mickey with the C (I think LOL)

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Edited to add: I was just telling my husband about the C on the statue and he said he saw them working on the statue one day. I did not see it but he did.


MJ

The ship ran out of popcorn!!???

 

[auntlynne]

It was actually made out of acrylic for weight issues of glass. Still beautiful though!

I had no idea. Still, beautiful

 

[mmouse37]

The ship ran out of popcorn!!???

Yep

 

[mmouse37]

Makes me so happy that I am sailing on the Wish in a few weeks...from what I've seen on posted videos, everything looks really good. I can't wait to eat at Marceline Market...I've seen rave reviews about that place. And I like it that you are served, and not self serve.

Not everything is served but it is a very nice venue. I really liked that they revamped the coffee/tea mugs....made them bigger. The ones on the other ships are just too small. The Wish is a beautiful ship....just very different from the rest of the fleet.

MJ

 

[NickE]

I agree with you. We were on the Oct. 5th sailing out of NYC. This was our 9th Disney cruise and 5th on the Magic. I posted a review as well. This cruise was as different as our cruise Nov 2019 out of NYC as it could possibly be. Everything from our harried dining team to the food, which was really subpar (didn't have a hot meal in MDR the entire cruise) was a disappointment. So many things were...off. The little touches Disney is known for just seemed to be missing.

This might be a silly thing (and it could have just happened) but seeing the Mickey statue in the atrium missing the "C" in Magic just summed up this cruise for us.

We were considering the NYC-PR cruise for 2023 but after this experience, we're taking a break from DCL (this likely was our last).

View attachment 712702

We just came back from the Oct 26 trip. The "C" was replaced, but be the end of the trip the epoxy didn't stick.

To be fair, it's a huge ship, and it requires A LOT of maintenance. They were grinding off rust and repainting the verandas of 8100 & 8102 as we had our disembarkment-morning breakfast in Cabanas (it's kinda weird that people in Cabanas can look down into those Concierge-level verandas)

 

[EilonwyWanderer]

We were on the sailing after yours--21-26th and the food truly was awful. On the last night in particular everything was so salted I couldn't even eat it and I like salt!

 

[sethschroeder]

why not just be on a carnival or go to the county fair for a fraction of the price….

Or pay the same price and get a superior product where something like the Haven on NCL gives you a private pool, private sundeck, private lounge areas, private restaurant (with high quality food than most anything on DCL), private bar, plus get included drink package.

With Disney coming out with more and more ships they are going to have to step up the game as the pool of people willing to overpay simply for night entertainment that is better than other lines has its limits.

 

[sethschroeder]

It used to be that DCL was one place where you could experience that old Disney quality. Now, the only place you can experience that is at Tokyo Disneyland.

Just saw the youtube video on their expansion. Its like why is something like that not occurring at WDW where they have tons of land and a massive customer base in the US and the rest of those that travel here for Disney.

Like its shocking to see that new land expansion come together compared to what they are doing here.

 

[sethschroeder]

I sailed the Magic last October and didn't notice any problems. Maybe she hasn't been properly maintained in the past year due to low staffing and cutbacks.

Food was fairly poor as of December. It was okay but not to what DCL used to be and I wouldn't even say its to WDW QS levels.

Silly to let small things ruin a vacation.

Except many don't let them ruin the vacation but its 100% something to outline and complain about post vacation. Either because the product has had a downfall from the past or it simply isn't comparable to other options that people have for vacations.

DCL is not a "cheap" vacation and thus should be judged to a higher standard when reviewing the trip you were just on. When you are spending a good amount of money I would expect eggs of all things to properly be done. Its like saying its not worth complaining about Le Cellier when the steak and food dramatically went downhill just in the last year.

 

[Chipmunkmaniac]

I agree with you. We were on the Oct. 5th sailing out of NYC. This was our 9th Disney cruise and 5th on the Magic. I posted a review as well. This cruise was as different as our cruise Nov 2019 out of NYC as it could possibly be. Everything from our harried dining team to the food, which was really subpar (didn't have a hot meal in MDR the entire cruise) was a disappointment. So many things were...off. The little touches Disney is known for just seemed to be missing.

This might be a silly thing (and it could have just happened) but seeing the Mickey statue in the atrium missing the "C" in Magic just summed up this cruise for us.

We were considering the NYC-PR cruise for 2023 but after this experience, we're taking a break from DCL (this likely was our last).

View attachment 712702

i agree with the chandelier and general upkeep. The c must have been a recent accident cause on the TA in September it was still that so lets hope they were 'just' waiting on its replacement...

 

[KashasMom]

We just came back from the Oct 26 trip. The "C" was replaced, but be the end of the trip the epoxy didn't stick.

To be fair, it's a huge ship, and it requires A LOT of maintenance. They were grinding off rust and repainting the verandas of 8100 & 8102 as we had our disembarkment-morning breakfast in Cabanas (it's kinda weird that people in Cabanas can look down into those Concierge-level verandas)

It's really NOT that huge of a ship. It's almost 1/3 the size of the largest ships out there. And honestly, certainly at Disney prices, there are higher expectations for the product delivered. Seems like in the dining rooms they needed more crew. Guess they're needed all around the ship then?

 

[soundnew]

That is really disappointing to read. We sailed on the Magic to Iceland in the summer and did not have a similar experience. Hope they will fix that soon!

 

[lucyem]

We just got off the Magic yesterday. We ate in cabanas once. Gross. Soupy eggs and mickey waffles so hard that they could be used as weapons. I did tell my server at dinner and he said he would tell someone because it shouldn't be that way. When we wandered through cabanas later in the week we noticed the eggs looked less soupy. So who knows maybe my complaint was passed on.

We were very happy with the MDR food. We had second seating and the food was good, better than on our last DCL cruise. I was worried after reading this thread before we left. We were more than happy to eat every meal in the MDR. Palo on the other hand was OK. We did both brunch and dinner. I don't think either was anything to really rave about except the pizza. But since I can't get good pizza at home I'm biased.

We were told dry dock is in April for 3 weeks. We were told a huge amount of staff is new. We were also told this has been a bit of an issue when combined with some New Yorkers on the Bermuda NYC runs.

I did see the items that needed fixing in the photos others have shared. I expect a fair amount is on the list for dry dock which from what I could gather was delayed due to covid.

My only complaint about the ship were the staircase hand rails. I never saw anyone cleaning them. We don't use the elevators at all so it was a constant gross what did I touch kind of thing. It was funny because the public bathrooms were spotless and I almost always saw an attendant in them.

I do want to point out the best part of the cruise which was the crew. They were all great and really made our trip.

 

[Travel60]

This is what I am afraid of.

Concurrently, I have begun researching an answer to our situation:
a) Given what we spend on DCL, and
b) And we are interested in some more/interesting itineraries . . . and
c) Our son is now 21+ years old so the fantabulous Kid's Clubs no longer provide me with much value . . . and incidentally,
d) I couldn't care less about Marvel, and oh, I am no longer such a voracious consumer of StarWars or Pixar entertainment, YET
e) there are key attributes of DCL that I really love (care wrto food allergies, "wholesome" non-drunk atmosphere, no casino, great entertainment, excellent cast-member interactions, classic decor, and others that I may not even realize)

"Which of the other 'premium' cruise ship lines offer alternative cruise experiences that I should investigate?
Holland America? Celebrity "Edge"? Princess?

"Tips for Travelers" is a wonderful u tube channel that I've joined . . . and the proprietor seems to value the same things that my wife and I do. But we're giving the DCL Magic another shot next week, so we'll see.

Most of the big ones have casinos.

When we cruise as adults, we prefer smaller ships with more interesting itineraries - Ponant, Tauck. Looking hard at American Cruise lines for domestic sailing. Heard and read very good things.

 

[mmouse37]

Were they implying the New York cruisers were complaining more than other guests? We sailed from NYC to Canada last month and in our FB many people complained about the food and they were from all over the country and other countries. We are from NY and I thought the food was fine. Cabanas has no problem other than the eggs were more loose than other cruises.

MJ

 

[_auroraborealis_]

Or pay the same price and get a superior product where something like the Haven on NCL gives you a private pool, private sundeck, private lounge areas, private restaurant (with high quality food than most anything on DCL), private bar, plus get included drink package.

With Disney coming out with more and more ships they are going to have to step up the game as the pool of people willing to overpay simply for night entertainment that is better than other lines has its limits.

NCL has an actual Broadway/West End show on several ships now, and are trying to push for more.

 

[Sophie’smom]

Were they implying the New York cruisers were complaining more than other guests? We sailed from NYC to Canada last month and in our FB many people complained about the food and they were from all over the country and other countries. We are from NY and I thought the food was fine. Cabanas has no problem other than the eggs were more loose than other cruises.

MJ

We were on this sailing as well. We had a wonderful cruise.( I did miss the popcorn and guest services said the shipment wasn’t there— seriously, in NYC !) we had a gorgeous sail away evening.

Maybe it’s hard when we enjoy anticipating and planning the vacation and then it doesn’t meet expectations. Those who have done a route or ship before and loved something want that again. ( and rightly expect it for what they are paying)
The OP helped so many cruisers with info and links, I hate that their vacation wasn’t as great as hoped for.

I know I’ll never have a sail away like the one we did. First time out of NYC, gorgeous weather, only tub of popcorn we got on the sailing, and loving the NYC view. It set the tone for our trip.

I just did a 4 night VV Key West/Bimini on the Scarlet Lady that had me missing DCL so much ! Lovely ship delicious food but not my style at all.

 

[Marthasor]

Just saw the youtube video on their expansion. Its like why is something like that not occurring at WDW where they have tons of land and a massive customer base in the US and the rest of those that travel here for Disney.

Like its shocking to see that new land expansion come together compared to what they are doing here.

Tokyo Disneyland is owned, 100%, by The Oriental Land Company. They simply license the IP from the Walt Disney Co. So any expansion in Tokyo is being paid for, exclusively, by OTC and not Disney. If Disney wants to expand WDW in any way, it would be 100% on Disney's dime. Different ownership companies, different expansion priorities.

 

[kathi]

Just debarked the Magic yesterday and I didn't find fault with upkeep, and I thought the food was so much better than our June Fantasy sailing. Palo dinner was lacking, but main dining was much better than I was expecting. So - everyone will have different perspectives. I prefer the Dream class ships, but not having to fly to port sold us on the Bermuda cruise. Weather was fairly dreadful, and seas were rough, but I'm still glad we sailed.