Is the Magic showing her age?

[JoeFromSeoul]

I like all things Disney (ok, except the cost) and I really like DCL. I have only cruised on the Fantasy and the Magic, but I plan to hit them all eventually. There is so much to love about the Magic that I feel a little guilty when I notice the minor signs of an aging ship. Things like a spot of rust on a railing or missing rivets around a stateroom porthole replaced with a phillips head screw (or not at all). She is still beautiful and puts those boxy ships to shame, but these little blemishes don't seem to be up to Disney standards.

They sail so often, and sea air is brutal. The crew works tirelessly to keep her looking great, so I don't really have any complaints. I just hate to think of her as getting old.

 

[TikiThunderPirates]

I would assume that since she is just out of Dry Dock a lot of these items have been fixed and refreshed. I actually find it amazing how well maintained the ships are and how often they go in for dry dock referbs.

 

[DisneyPiPhi]

We sailed on the Wonder in December 2017, one year after her pretty extensive 2016 dry dock, and didn't think she was showing signs of age at all. The dry dock process really seems to take care of those little signs you mentioned, like rust spots and missing rivets.

 

[PrincessTrisha]

I cruised on the Magic back in 2010 (just after a dry dock) and it was showing some ages back then. Rust all around the edge of the adult pool, dirty grout in our bathroom, chips and scratches.....it happens to every ship. It's just part of being at sea 24/7/365.

Disney is not immune from wear and tear.

 

[DISNEYFAN3260]

I cruised the Magic for the first time after the refurb in January 2017. Not sure what it looked like before the refurb, but I have to agree with the OP - I was a bit surprised at how it seemed to need some "detail" work so soon after major work was done. Rusty railings around the adult pool and lots of upkeep issues with our room (huge carpet stains, broken tv wall bracket, missing tiles in the bathroom, badly scratched room/bathroom doors). It just wasn't up to par with the other ships, IMO. For the first time on DCL, we also had less than outstanding service more than once around the ship, so that probably affected my general impression. That said, we enjoyed our trip overall and I gave the Magic another try later that year (with a better experience the second time). I understand age will take it's toll on any ship of course, but the Magic just didn't leave me with the same "WOW" feel as the other ships.

 

[Shanti]

There is so much to love about the Magic that I feel a little guilty when I notice the minor signs of an aging ship...The crew works tirelessly to keep her looking great, so I don't really have any complaints. I just hate to think of her as getting old.

Everyone gets old, even cruise ships. That doesn't have to detract from their beauty or charm.

 

[JoeFromSeoul]

While we were in port at Key West we were docked next to a Coast Guard vessel, the Spearhead. The DCL ships have such beautiful lines that they make other cruise ships look sad. But the poor Spearhead is strictly a utilitarian ship and may well be the ugliest vessel afloat. It looks like she was cobbled together out if concrete slabs and scrap metal. Next to the Magic, she looked positively depressed.

 

[JoeFromSeoul]

I would assume that since she is just out of Dry Dock a lot of these items have been fixed and refreshed. I actually find it amazing how well maintained the ships are and how often they go in for dry dock referbs.

Actually, this was just the fourth or fifth cruise after dry dock when the transformed Cariocas into Rapunzel's.

 

[CalifornianOrangeBird]

We were on the Magic in August of 2016, on the Mediterranean. Didn’t really notice any rust or carpet stains, our servers and pretty much every CM we encountered were incredible, and the ship herself floated on the ocean as if it were glass. In the end, based on what I’ve seen in this thread, it’s going to be YMMV.

 

[mevelandry]

Sailed the Wonder a few months after dry dock. I thought the Quiet cove and some carpets were in bad shape (although I heard the Quiet Cove has been fixed since)... An old ship can show some wear and tear here and there...

But I love them. They have a soul.

 

[cgolf]

Does the Magic have some character sure. Has it ever impacted our experience not a chance. Disney does the best they can to keep it looking as nice as possible, but with that schedule and the number of guests wear and tear is to be expected.

Even an extended dry dock wouldn’t be long enough to get all the rooms ship shape, the best they could do would be to block off rooms each sailing and redo the tiling and other room maintenance as they go.

Not to stir the pot but a general observation, this year when we sailed the Brilliance of the seas if I looked closely, she appeared to be cleaner with lest rust and bumps and bruises than the Magic. The Brilliance based on our sail dates would be 2 years younger though. That said we still love the Magic and she is still our favorite ship.

Personally I sometimes think people look to hard to find issues, maybe it is the cost of the trip? The ocean water is brutal on ships, I am amazed that they are able to keep them in service as long as they do.

Also wanted to add the service on the Magic has always been top notch. Do miss Rockin Bar D though, had a great John Charles concert there on our first cruise, it was a great setting for that kind of performer

 

[bgula]

We were on the Magic in March for the cruise immediately after the drydock. I did notice a lot of little things. For most of the cruise, one or more of the pop machines would have an "out of order" sign - same with the ice cream. Off the top of my head I can't remember what the hamburger place on deck is called - Plutos maybe? Anyway, it was closed for the entire cruise as they were gutting the inside of it, so you had to get hamburgers, chicken tenders, etc. by a small port inside the pizza place. Wasn't too bad, but they weren't serving fries at all. Carpets on various decks were stained. I figured all this kind of stuff would have been fixed during the drydock There were some other small issues, just can't remember what they were right now.

 

[ivanp91]

We were on the Magic in March for the cruise immediately after the drydock. I did notice a lot of little things. For most of the cruise, one or more of the pop machines would have an "out of order" sign - same with the ice cream. Off the top of my head I can't remember what the hamburger place on deck is called - Plutos maybe? ... Carpets on various decks were stained. I figured all this kind of stuff would have been fixed during the drydock There were some other small issues, just can't remember what they were right now.

Things like the soda and ice cream machines aren't really a consequence of the ship's age. It's a shame about the carpets though - did you happen to take notice of the carpeting in the lobby? That very badly needed replacing even a year and a half ago, hopefully they at least did that!

The burger place was Pete's prior to drydock, it has since been renamed Duck-In Diner.

 

[cgolf]

Things like the soda and ice cream machines aren't really a consequence of the ship's age. It's a shame about the carpets though - did you happen to take notice of the carpeting in the lobby? That very badly needed replacing even a year and a half ago, hopefully they at least did that!

The burger place was Pete's prior to drydock, it has since been renamed Duck-In Diner.

For the carpet in the lobby, I think they just got a bad brand. I had posted a pic from post dry dock and from one floor up it showed some of the marks people were calling stains in the thread about it. Looked like it has to do with how the fibers lay after it is vacuumed or washed. It also has been there since 2014 so would expect some staining.