DCL NYC to Canada 10/2 Magic (COMPLETE)

[Lunamis]

Hello all!

My first report here though my 3rd DCL vacation.

Background (as is necessary!):
Me: 28 (as of 10/06/16) and hubby (same age)
Location: Born and raised in Northern NJ and hubby is from South Philly, we live in Northern NJ
Huge WDW fan, 20+ trips throughout my life, sister is cast member
Hubby is NOT a WDW fan but we've discovered we both like DCL.

We've done two DCL vacation on the Dream in the Bahamas. Hubby is not a hot weather guy, hence the interest in the 5 day NYC to Canada 10/2/16. We were worried about the smaller ship and the entertainment value/feeling the ocean but wanted to give the Magic a shot.

A year and half after booking- we are A GO!

Day 01- Embark

We awoke early to make the trip 30 min to my parents who would drop us off in NYC. Not mentioned earlier- we have 3 rabbits who are taking up residence with the same "grandparents" while we are away.

Delicious local pastries and coffee consumed, we make the always harrowing trip on the NJ Turnpike to NYC. Driving in NYC is TERRIBLE always, but we were able to be dropped off by 11:30am.

Check in involved Canadian customs forms and TSA screening and finally we were seated and awaking our boarding number of 19. About 2 hours of waiting over, we boarded and went straight to lunch at Cabanas. Coming from the Dream, we consistently found this buffet less impressive quality wise. See some photos from Cabanas towards NYC below:

Lunch: accomplished. We now made it to our room.

VERY slightly smaller cabin than the Dream- we liked it equally. We always spring for a verandah room as we tend to spend a lot of time there.

Sharing some sparkling wine as we pulled away, we were on the NJ side which meant views of Hobokon Station, Ellis Island and the Statue of Liberty.

A bit late to dinner (so many nice views!!) we enjoyed Animator's Palette. I was prepared to tear up during the "show" portion, and so I did (the wine package did not help). We really enjoyed the mushroom pursette appy as well as the entrees. I think I really liked this better than the "show" on Dream's version! Crush is OK, but silly.. this one hit home.

We thought the magician on the Navigator was the main show but it was mostly a DCL themed production about tourists on the Cruise Line. While I'm all for Disney schmaltz, it was a bit much and hubby did not care for it either. The magician showed up for about 10 minutes at the end.

Night 1 DONE and enjoyed- a smooth night on sea and sleep followed.

 

[Lunamis]

Day 02- At Sea

Hope you all are enjoying! Comments are appreciated- it's encouraging

We found nothing suuuuper exciting on the Navigator today so it was to be our relaxing day.

Some photos of the cabin below:

We had breakfast at Cabanas- Mickey Waffles of course, showered, and hung out on deck. We switched between the the chaise chairs right by the adult pool (it was cool and windy) to the ones in the alcove by the elevators. Blankets were provided by the towels which was a great touch.

Eventually it was late enough for a cocktail and so hubby enjoyed a martini at Cove Cafe while I tried a Chinese Five Spice Iced Tea. I'm a big fan of tea and spices but this was not super good- I wish I got a cocktail instead!

Lunch was at Cabanas where we shivered but toughed it out on the outside deck! As long as it was warm enough- it was a really great place to have a meal and see beautiful views of the ocean. I would always suggest to eat out here when possible.

Nothing much occurred in the afternoon, we began to unwind and spent some time on the verandah having a glass of wine we brought on board and enjoying the views (this is what vacation is about- right!!)

Tonight was Carioca's and I was VERY excited about this meal. The dining room was bright and lively. They made some very cute Disney inspired hats and head gear from napkins- I got a robin hood hat! The food was great. We shared a tuna avocado tower (I think we also liked this at the Enchanted Garden on the Dream). Meals included hubby's sea bass (loved it according to him) and Jose Carioca's for me. This was sausage and other meats on skewers over rice. It was was delicious and fun to eat. Deserts could not lose- flan? yes please!


We decided to skip tonight's show. It was a magician we planned to see at Fathoms later in the evening.

We retired to Keys and enjoyed some live piano music (no cocktails tonight). Keys was so beautiful- the decor and atmosphere were lovely and we found we spent a lot of time here on the trip. We really enjoyed the lounges on the Magic much more than the Dream. They seemed to have a lot more guests and the themes were very well executed.

We decided to go to a fun show called "majority rules" at Fathoms where they asked a question such as "What is the worst movie" and every team runs up and writes an answer and they announce the most popular- it was pretty adult and super funny. We stayed for the magic act mentioned earlier- it was a littler drawn out but Mike Super did some really mind blowing tricks! I'm so glad we took advantage of the programs on this ship.

Time for sleep! It was after midnight and St. John awaited in the morning

 

[poohs4me]

I am excited to see an NYC to CA trip report. I am hoping to do one next year. What cabin were you in or at least deck and general location? I loved the NJ views.

 

[poohs4me]

One more thing: what was the itinerary? and do you have the navigators as well?

 

[Twigs]

I was on this same cruise too! I am enjoying reading your trip report. It looks like we had the same dining rotation too! Did you take pictures of any of the menus? I am having a hard time remembering everyhting i ordered the second night in Animators and Cariocas, and I am kicking myself for not writing it down each night like I usually do.

 

[lorimay]

Aren't the views of NYC amazing as you leave port????
We did this cruise in 2012, loved it!

 

[Lunamis]

One more thing: what was the itinerary? and do you have the navigators as well?

I have them physically! I'll try to scan them at work this week to upload them.

I was on this same cruise too! I am enjoying reading your trip report. It looks like we had the same dining rotation too! Did you take pictures of any of the menus? I am having a hard time remembering everyhting i ordered the second night in Animators and Cariocas, and I am kicking myself for not writing it down each night like I usually do.

I did not take photos of anything other than the new pirate night menu. Hubby actually hates when I take photos of food at restaurants so I usually have to sneak something, if anything! I'm going to print the menus from DCL Blog and highlight what I got so I can remember. Glad you had fun too!!!

 

[Lunamis]

Day 03- St. John

We made it to Canada!

We've never been to Canada before and were very excited to try a good seafood chowder and poutine.

Breakfast was at Cabanas and we even sat outside despite it being chilly (you could see your breath!) and a bit windy.

I read about St. John before we left and knew I wanted to at least get to their famous market.

We disembarked and headed straight there, about a 10-15 minutes walk.

(the port)

(these light posts were very cute! Also, there was an NCL and Royal Caribbean ship in port)

We got to the famous market before the tour buses and browsed the aisles. It was very cool, but also a very local thing as it was mainly meat shops, produce, etc. I bought some local blueberry syrup and we headed on.

(I'm a terrible photographer and a lot of the photos on this day have that lower right hand blur- sorry!)

Still early in the day, we stopped at the Brunswick Square mall across the street. Not much to comment on this- it was like an American mall that had not been updated since the 80s. I did not come to Canada for McDonalds!

Around the corner was a historic property called the Loyalist's House. It was 5 dollars to tour this lovely 1700s mansion. After the revolutionary war, many British Loyalists fled to Canada. This is actually why the city of St. John was founded.

BAck by the harbour- there was another indoor mall that contained the New Brunswick Museum, shops and some restaurants. Most of the restaurants had beautiful patios overlooking the water. I wish we found this mall earlier!

A small local artisan market was set up in a square nearby in which we found some sea glass jewelry for my mother-in-law.

Finally it was late enough for lunch!

I pre-reseached a restaurant called Britt's Tavern that was supposed to have some lovely poutine. It did not disappoint! Poutine is basically fries smothered in a gravy with cheese curds. This was was turkey based with some pulled turkey meat on top- very good! I got seafood chowder which was fine but not as exciting as I'd hoped for.

We popped across the street to a microbrewery named Big Tide (we are into craft beer) and had a great pumpkin ale. The place itself was a little sketchy.

St. John is a small city and so we were finished by this point and walked back to the ship.

We had a 4pm tequila tasting in Keys which was great fun. We tried 3- a blanco, resposado and one infused with espresso (all Patron) and 2 smaller margaritas (a classic and a strawberry). I'm not very familiar with tequila so it was fun to try them side by side.

Taking a quick walk around the walking path I discovered you go right by where they have all the roping and anchors in the bow- crazy you can get this close!!

Tonight was TANGLED! I'd been looking forward to this night. They really go all out- extra decor outside the theater, Irish pub style music in the hallways, etc.

After dinner in Lumiere's (escargot, filet, gran mariner souffle- all good), it was time for the show. It was very good for a ship production! A lot of set pieces, decent singing. A lot of the actors do different rolls within the same play so it was really funny to see a royal guard from earlier be a thug a few scenes later.

Knowing that they turn O'Gills into the Snugly Duckling- we went there right after. Such a cute transformation! They put up tons of signage and extra decor. There are even covers put over the tables to make them look like old pub tables. We played Thuggo (bingo, but Thug themed) but did not win
They have a nightly little buffet in O'Gills and tonight they themed it with various brats and sausages.

(These are from my cell- sorry for the quality! You can see the antlers, masks, etc.)

A full day down- we watched Ratatouille and fell asleep.

 

[OhMari]

Hello, we were on the Magic too. Our son lives in NYC and he was our personal chauffeur. He actually took the subway down to Battery Park and took pictures for me when we passed the Statue of Liberty.

We went to The Bay of Fundy, when we got to St. John's. When we go to EPCOT we always go into Canada and watch the movie. I promised myself that someday I would see the Bay of Fundy. I actually cried really hard. My dh wondered what the heck was wrong with me. He is a lot like your dh, he hates hot weather and beaches, so this cruise was perfect for him.

Enjoying your TR. I had no clue till the end of the trip, that there was night time entertainment for adults. We were first time newbies, and I didn't research the cruise, like I do WDW.

 

[Jess_S]

Just wanted to let you know that I am reading along and enjoying your report. We were in St. John this past June as part of a land-based trip and stayed at the Hilton near the New Brunswick Museum. (It's a great little museum for those who are considering this trip in the future). We didn't see much else of the city due to rain, so it's nice to see what else was there that we missed.

 

[Lunamis]

Hello, we were on the Magic too. Our son lives in NYC and he was our personal chauffeur. He actually took the subway down to Battery Park and took pictures for me when we passed the Statue of Liberty.

We went to The Bay of Fundy, when we got to St. John's. When we go to EPCOT we always go into Canada and watch the movie. I promised myself that someday I would see the Bay of Fundy. I actually cried really hard. My dh wondered what the heck was wrong with me. He is a lot like your dh, he hates hot weather and beaches, so this cruise was perfect for him.

Enjoying your TR. I had no clue till the end of the trip, that there was night time entertainment for adults. We were first time newbies, and I didn't research the cruise, like I do WDW.

Those must be fun pictures to have! My parents ended up on a tour boat and watched us depart from the water. Great to have a personal chauffeur

I didn't see the Bay, actually! Did you see the waters recede?

We did not take much advantage of the adult programs on the Dream and I promised myself to amend that this time around- they are quite fun and popular!

Just wanted to let you know that I am reading along and enjoying your report. We were in St. John this past June as part of a land-based trip and stayed at the Hilton near the New Brunswick Museum. (It's a great little museum for those who are considering this trip in the future). We didn't see much else of the city due to rain, so it's nice to see what else was there that we missed.

I wanted to go to the museum- it looked really nice! Maybe next time

 

[Lunamis]

Day 04- Halifax

This is going to be a long one- it was a big day at a larger city and Palo at night! This is the day I looked forward to the most when planning the trip.

You could not embark until 9:30 on this day so we decided to do a longer sit down breakfast at Lumiere's. To be honest, I had not been too impressed with Cabanas on the Magic. The eggs were clearly boxed and the Mickey waffles consistently too firm- like they'd been sitting out for a while. Lumiere's served nice and fresh food! I had a omelette and hubby...I can't remember actually.

Today was a bit warmer but still chilly in the morning.

Halifax's port was a bit more built up than St John's with many vendors in an indoor area as soon as you entered. We skipped these vendors and headed toward the Maritime Museum.

It was about a 15 minute walk along the HarbourWalk. This was a lovely stroll with some pretty condo units and stores/restaurants lining much of the walkway.

The Maritime Museum held many great ship models and explained much of Canada's navel history. Coming from the US, I never really realized the importance of this city in many wars. There is a lot of English history in particular entwined here. In 1917, nearly 1600 people passed when two ships (one from France carrying ammunition) collided in the harbor. It leveled much of the downtown and was one of the worst accidents in history. The museum also held many artifacts from the Titanic and other ship wrecks. It was all fascinating and a bit somber.

We passed through a few shops and stopped for a snack at an Irish Pub before making out way to the Halifax Citadel. We had some local brews and some DELICIOUS fried haddock.

The walk to the Citadel was INTENSE! From the harbor we trekked steeply uphill multiple blocks and once there, had to climb the hill the Citadel was situated on. We were both pretty winded after this.

The Citadel was a British fort used in multiple wars- it was gigantic. In the old barracks was a military museum detailing Canada's part in many wars. Again, I was unaware of a lot of Canadian history so it was interesting to see how much the country contributed to WWI/II etc. The fort also had great views of the city!

We spent quite a while here and wandered back into town (down hill was MUCH better!). We kept our eyes out for another place to snack but had bad luck. The brewery I picked out was on the uphill side of town and we did not want to go all the way up hill again. Another place we thought looked great was not open until dinner. Finally we settled on another Irish pub since we saw poutine on the menu. Both that and the seafood chowder were mediocre so we were disappointed.

Wandering through some more shops, we finally made it back to the port by about 3pm and stopped in at a brewery right across the street called Garrison. It was pretty crowded but a nice find since there was plenty of outside seating. We split a flight of brews and bought some more souvenirs and re-boarded.

Watching from our balcony- a bagpiper played as we sailed off- a nice touch!

On the way out of the harbor a ton (probably a few dozen) of sail boats waited for us to pass. We waved and the ship blew her signature horn- you could hear the boaters cheering! It was really fun.

No boaters but here is the lighthouse in the harbor...

Tonight was Palo! This meant we missed the pirate party but it was the only time slot available. A sacrifice had to be made!

Palo was delicious as always and Ritesh, our server was lovely. I had the seafood soup, halibut and chocolate souffle (of course!). Hubby enjoyed his calamari, filet and new amaretto souffle.

I think I liked the decor of Palo of the Dream just a bit better, but the open kitchen here was nice.

Tonight was the only night the ship rocked. It was very noticeable! We relaxed over a cocktail and piano at Keys (the Coco Royale- champagne and 1800 coconut tequila was divine) but the rocking was getting to Hubby and so we retired. It was a bit odd to sleep with all the motion but with all the activity today- finally did.

Thanks Halifax for a great day!

 

[Lunamis]

Day 05- At Sea (also- my birthday!)

Our last day! How sad!

Thank you for following along on the journey

We slept in and had a quick breakfast at Cabanas. The ship was still rocking a bit from the night before and would continue to do so until mid morning. It was much warmer today though!

There was not much on the schedule in the morning for us and so I took a few photos around the ship until it was late enough to enjoy a fruity (and not very strong) cocktail at Signals.

(it was warm enough to swim! Hubby didn't bring a suit so we did not but I regret not trying the AquaDunk)

(Love the pumpkin tree!)

We watched Jack Jacks Diaper Dash in which they set up a mat in the atrium and "race" babies. It could have probably been better but the babies who volunteered were just kind of confused and cried.

Lunch time! We wanted to eat on our Verandah and try some of the quick service locations. I haven't had much fast food at this point so I opted for a burger at Pete's Boiler Bites, a green salad from Daisy De-Lites and we rounded it off by picking up a few items from Cabanas. We probably looked really ridiculous with these huge plates of food!

(the Alaskan King Crab legs were 100x better than the stone crab from previous days- the mussels were very good every day)

At some point in the afternoon we headed to O'Gills for more trivia which was always fun! I waited until this point to buy souvenirs which was obviously a bad idea since everyone else was shopping on the last day. I browsed and made a few selections- a key chain, pin and pair of mugs as well as some little things for family and co-workers.

We watched Frozen on the Funnel Vision (Hubby's never seen it) until it was time for dinner.

Dinner was in Carioca's again tonight and had a more generic (but still good!) menu. Tonight was the only flawed service. Hubby asked for a beef wellington rare and they could only do it medium. This wasn't a problem but instead of telling us they just brought out a rare normal steak. Our server immediately noticed and went back to get a wellington.

Hubby told them it was my birthday and so I got serenaded by the staff, a button, and an extra piece of chocolate cake (yum!!).

We went to Palo afterwards to try their bar. Unlike the Dream, they have about a 10 seat bar for anyone to enjoy. It was neat because you could watch the kitchen. The chef came over and greeted us! We spent some time here chatting with our bartender and our server from dinner at Palo the night before.

We had a 10:30 cognac tasting in Cove Cafe and went back to the room to change into more comfortable clothing. Cognac is another thing I was not familiar with and a good experience.

OOPS! I forgot we needed to pack and have our luggage set outside! I called the desk and ensured they would still retrieve it even though we were an hour late. We quickly threw everything in our luggage and headed to bed.

Day 06- Disembark

Even though we didn't go to sleep until 1am- I got up at 5 to watch us pull into NYC. It was beautiful to see the lights and buildings from the ship.

We decided to have the "Until we meet again" seated breakfast in Carioca's. We bid adieu to our home for the past 5 days and enjoyed some eggs and breakfast meats.

All good things must come to an end and we sadly made our way down the gangplank and into the terminal to search for our luggage. We easily spied our bags and customs was a breeze.

While my parents drove us into NYC, we thought it would be easiest to grab a cab to Penn Station and an NJ Transit out to NJ. THIS WAS A BAD IDEA. Cabs were at a premium since all ships in port disembarked and carrying heavy luggage through a station and onto a train was tough at best. We decided we would just pay the $40/night parking next time to make it easier and less stressful.

OVERALL:

We had a really nice time on the Disney Magic and in Canada. The ship was indeed smaller and I worried we would find less to do. I was wrong and we enjoyed the bars MUCH more than the Dream and took advantage of the nighttime adult activities. The cabin was a bit smaller but since it was the 2 of us- it was no problem.

Cleanliness was top notch, as expected throughout the ship but in some parts you could tell it was older due to rust/fading.

The food in the restaurants was on par with the Dream and in many cases, better. Cabanas quality and selection was definitely not as good.

St. John was fine but a bit boring and while we enjoyed the day well enough, have no desire to return. Halifax was a great stop- a lot to do, rich history, tons of food options and very clean/friendly.

5 days is not enough to completely unwind, I think but THANK YOU DCL!

Also, I am a graphic designer on the side and have many Disney World and DCL related pieces on my RedBubble account- feel free to check it out

 

[LeslieG]

I was looking at next year's sailings from NYC and was wondering about the fall foliage. I see in your photos that everything still looked green.

 

[Lunamis]

I was looking at next year's sailings from NYC and was wondering about the fall foliage. I see in your photos that everything still looked green.

Everything was still pretty green for us! If there is a later sailing to Canada, I would try that. Honestly though, both of these stops were pretty urban so unless you go outside of the city, there won't be sweeping foliage views.

Hope that helps- have a good trip if you decide to book!

 

[OhMari]

I agree St John's was a small city. We took the tour bus and saw the river twice. We stopped early morning and late afternoon and saw the river going both ways. We also saw the Bay of Fundy. I wanted to see that area. At EPCOT at the Canadian Circle Vision Movie Martin Short mentioned the area as a "can't miss area". This was my reason we went. There was also sea caves, but the water just came back and started rising and everyone was scurrying out of the caves. Our tour bus stopped out in the country, where she thought there was some fall foliage color and said Canada was at its prime peak in color. (I was like really?)

Rocking was intense Wednesday night. I took a spin class and I was told if it would not have stopped, the exercise machines are closed, it is too dangerous.

 

[bbn1122]

Enjoyed your TR. Contemplating a 4 or 5 night out of NYC next fall. DH and I did a 2 night to nowhere in 2012 on the Magic out of NYC and loved it. We live in Colts Neck, NJ, so we love to take advantage of the Magic in NYC.

We did visit St. John in 2009 on a extended family cruise on Carnival (our first cruise ever!). St. John was our only stop of that cruise and it was fine.

We are looking just for a getaway just DH and me, with out our teenage and adult sons. This would be our 5th DCL trip.

Thanks for your thoughts and photos.

 

[chunkymonkey]

Thanks for your TR! I agree the Magic had slightly better food in the MDRs but the Cabanas on the Fantasy was slightly better. Overall it was comparable.
Already more excited about our DCL Cananda Coast cruise next year. Especially because it's a Marvel Day at Sea cruise too!

 

[JoAnnPan]

Thanks for sharing! I would have be thrilled with a Robin Hood hat!!
I would love to sail this ship if only for the Tangled show and Snugly Duckling.
I live in NJ also and always thought a Disney Cruise from NYC wouldn't feel as magical being that I see the city all time, commuting like you mentioned is more stressful than say leaving for a cruise from Florida...how did you feel?

 

[Mich123]

Great report! We are sailing on the Magic in February and I was looking for info on the ship and food--your report was very helpful. I'd never considered a NYC to CA cruise before, but I think I would now--what a great way to see St. John and Halifax!