Just back from DVC Magic NYC cruise any questions?

[RedSox68]

We saw her in port on the 2nd when we were boarding the colossal NCL Breakaway. BOY did I want to be onboard the smaller and classier Magic! She is just so pretty sitting next to these white ships.

 

[poison ivy]

Yes, please share pictures! Thank you!

Ok so keeping in mind this was a DVC Member Cruise on the Magic, we were surprised to see what they were hosting for Halloween. Our cruise docs only had this to say:

Our party wasn't until the last day (Day 4 - At Sea). You can see it listed on the inside sleeve of the Navigator under "fun for all ages highlights".


Mickey's Mouse-querade Party at 1 pm (Lobby atrium)
"featuring music, games, a visit from some of your favorite Disney Pals in their Halloween Costumes and of course treats."

also shown on the insert. It ran about 45min.
.

I love Halloween, so we wanted to check it out and honestly it was a lot of fun!
This really is one holiday event not to be missed for the Oct. cruisers.

12:30pm - setting up (party at 1pm). The treat stations are marked by these banners.

and many were already lined up in the front row. (something I disagree with for the adults.)

these photos, explain why...... any children in the back on the main floor can't really see that well over the crowd.

But that aside, everyone was having such a great time

the characters spread out to mingle and dance with the kids

Costumes were so cute. Loved that little BB-8!

Trick or treating was in full swing.

Note: There were 7 treat stations but no map that I could see (look for the party banners)

3 were located on Deck 4

1 by the 4th fl. midship elevators. (They should all have treat bags. everyone is invited to participate)

This is where I jumped in on the action

also 1 by the Walt Disney Theatre

and finally 1 in the Vista Gallery

Plus there were 4 located on Deck 3
2 in the atrium lobby (CM's give a handful of candy)

and last 2 in the hallway to Fathoms / After Hours

where'd everybody go? the CM went to restock.

We hit all 7 with a half a bag of candy! Too fun.

As we were exiting on the elevators, we caught a glimpse of the Adult costume contest going on.

very creative ideas.

These appear to be finalists. (gotta admire anyone rockin' The Incredibles)

But Phasma gets my vote!

Definitely make plans to attend. We regretted not packing our top hats wigs and props.

 

[RedSox68]

Great pictures. Thanks! Makes me want to book an October cruise now! We sailed in October in 2009 and they certainly didn't have all this going on! And we had full pirate costumes too! There was an adult costume contest, for which my daughter spent two hours doing mummy make-up, and the winner was a guy wearing a cheap store bought costume!

 

[poison ivy]

We saw her in port on the 2nd when we were boarding the colossal NCL Breakaway. BOY did I want to be onboard the smaller and classier Magic! She is just so pretty sitting next to these white ships.

It was calling to you.

What is it about a Disney Cruise?

No question.

btw - we were very impressed looking up at the size of your ship as we were leaving.

Whoa!

 

[RedSox68]

It was calling to you.

What is it about a Disney Cruise?

No question.

btw - we were very impressed looking up at the size of your ship as we were leaving.

Whoa!

Whoa is right. We felt overwhelmed at first, but she was beautiful inside. And you can't beat the Peter Max paintings on the hull!

 

[poison ivy]

Whoa is right. We felt overwhelmed at first, but she was beautiful inside. And you can't beat the Peter Max paintings on the hull!

The artwork is so festive. What a ship. Did you post any pics?

 

[RedSox68]

The artwork is so festive. What a ship. Did you post any pics?

I have not ever been able to figure out how to post pics on here

I will say this about the Breakaway though -- as big as she is, she had the smallest stateroom corridors, stateroom doors, staterooms and balconies we have ever seen. As a graphic example: The bathroom was so tight that when you sat on the toilet, your hips touched the shelving unit on one side and the shower glass wall on the other. The balconies are about 3-3-1/2 feet wide -- just enough to sit facing out in the chair with your knees to the glass wall. The stateroom doors are about the size of a closet door! And they are butt up against the door next to you -- side by side -- and they open OUT. So everytime you left your room, you had to be careful you didn't whack someone in the hall. They may be building them bigger, but they sure are taking it out on the room the passenger gets to live in!

 

[poison ivy]

I have not ever been able to figure out how to post pics on here

I will say this about the Breakaway though -- as big as she is, she had the smallest stateroom corridors, stateroom doors, staterooms and balconies we have ever seen. As a graphic example: The bathroom was so tight that when you sat on the toilet, your hips touched the shelving unit on one side and the shower glass wall on the other. The balconies are about 3-3-1/2 feet wide -- just enough to sit facing out in the chair with your knees to the glass wall. The stateroom doors are about the size of a closet door! And they are butt up against the door next to you -- side by side -- and they open OUT. So everytime you left your room, you had to be careful you didn't whack someone in the hall. They may be building them bigger, but they sure are taking it out on the room the passenger gets to live in!

wow. I wonder who designed this ship? We couldn't really tell how big those balconies are. I'd probably hate that the cabins are so cramped - esp that bathroom! It's almost enough to discourage people from hanging out there. Hmmm.

but I'd still love to see some pics. How many floors is that ship?

Re: photos:
I posted this for a fellow cruiser on our meet thread and it seemed to help, so hopefully it will guide you too.

1) I still use my photobucket account. http://s978.photobucket.com/ (I prefer a 3rd pty site.) They offer a free account up to a certain amount of storage. Just drag and drop photos there from wherever your photos are stored: sim card; camera; phone; laptop; photo file etc... and you see a "Share this Photo" section come up next to your picture. click on the "IMG" version which will automatically copy it and then simply paste it into the reply box on the DIS.

2) The popular method now is to upload directly to the DIS.
Just follow this thread on how to post photos directly from your device to the Disboards.

http://www.disboards.com/threads/you-can-now-upload-a-picture-directly-in-to-your-post.3376079/

It's not as hard as it sounds. Once you successfully post a pic, you'll easily be able to do it again.
A lot of first timers use the Test Board here on the DIS to practice. http://www.disboards.com/forums/test-board.88/

 

[RedSox68]

wow. I wonder who designed this ship? We couldn't really tell how big those balconies are. I'd probably hate that the cabins are so cramped - esp that bathroom! It's almost enough to discourage people from hanging out there. Hmmm.

but I'd still love to see some pics. How many floors is that ship?

Re: photos:
I posted this for a fellow cruiser on our meet thread and it seemed to help, so hopefully it will guide you too.

1) I still use my photobucket account. http://s978.photobucket.com/ (I prefer a 3rd pty site.) They offer a free account up to a certain amount of storage. Just drag and drop photos there from wherever your photos are stored: sim card; camera; phone; laptop; photo file etc... and you see a "Share this Photo" section come up next to your picture. click on the "IMG" version which will automatically copy it and then simply paste it into the reply box on the DIS.

2) The popular method now is to upload directly to the DIS.
Just follow this thread on how to post photos directly from your device to the Disboards.

http://www.disboards.com/threads/you-can-now-upload-a-picture-directly-in-to-your-post.3376079/

It's not as hard as it sounds. Once you successfully post a pic, you'll easily be able to do it again.
A lot of first timers use the Test Board here on the DIS to practice. http://www.disboards.com/forums/test-board.88/

Thank you. I will give it a try as soon as I can. I hope to do a trip report also.

One day for debarkation in Bermuda, we went down to deck five (we were on deck 10) to go forward and when we walked off the elevator were stunned at how huge the hallways were! They were three times the width of our's. Found out those were all family suites. Well la dee da!

 

[gismo1554]

You could disembark as early as 7:30am on our cruise provided you were walking off with all your luggage and didn't set it out the night before.
the majority of passengers were exiting between 8-9.
By 9:30 they were making announcements calling for passengers to please proceed toward the ship's exit off the main lobby.

From there you will proceed thru customs - then back thru the terminal and finally outside.

We did see several pax sit and wait in the terminal until their ride arrived.

And yes you can always pull up and wait curbside on Level 2 or circle back like the Philly airport if they chase you away.

You'll have cell access once the ship is docked.

What time does Cabanas serve breakfast from? Trying to decide between express walk off and getting a pick up around 8:30 (just in case there is any delay at immigration etc as non-US citizen) or doing regular exit and getting picked up around 9:30 (which may or may not be enough time to get through customs etc but want to be at hotel for 10:30).

 

[KashasMom]

Our friend is DVC and booked us all for the Fantasy in August. Will we be getting all that great swag as well or just the DVC member?

 

[poison ivy]

What time does Cabanas serve breakfast from? Trying to decide between express walk off and getting a pick up around 8:30 (just in case there is any delay at immigration etc as non-US citizen) or doing regular exit and getting picked up around 9:30 (which may or may not be enough time to get through customs etc but want to be at hotel for 10:30).

Cabanas opened at 6 am but they may not have had every food station open until 6:30am.

Our friend is DVC and booked us all for the Fantasy in August. Will we be getting all that great swag as well or just the DVC member?

That's great. We booked the Aug 2017 DVC Member Cruise on the Fantasy too. Come join our cruisemeet here: http://www.disboards.com/threads/fa...uise-august-26-2017-its-a-grand-slam.3540225/

In answer to your question: Yes! You will be getting all the swag. (most likely themed for the Eastern Caribbean)
Multiples of gifts in fact, if you have more than one cruiser in your stateroom. Every cabin and everyone in the cabin is included.

 

[gismo1554]

Cabanas opened at 6 am but they may not have had every food station open until 6:30am.

Thanks! That's great

 

[MouseWatcher]

WDWinfo says that Disney offers pre/post night stays at the New York Marriott Marquis, Loews Regency and the Westin at Times Square. Is this true? Does anyone have more info on the added cost or how it works? Are there transfers? I can't find any other info on it. We are considering sailing out of Manhattan on the Magic in Nov 2018 but we're from Alabama so much more familiar with Port Canaveral. I would love to have a couple of days afterward to sight see. If Disney no longer offers this, does anyone have any suggestions on where to stay that will be convenient but economical? Thanks!!

 

[poison ivy]

WDWinfo says that Disney offers pre/post night stays at the New York Marriott Marquis, Loews Regency and the Westin at Times Square. Is this true? Does anyone have more info on the added cost or how it works? Are there transfers? I can't find any other info on it. We are considering sailing out of Manhattan on the Magic in Nov 2018 but we're from Alabama so much more familiar with Port Canaveral. I would love to have a couple of days afterward to sight see. If Disney no longer offers this, does anyone have any suggestions on where to stay that will be convenient but economical? Thanks!!

You have to call DCL directly and inquire about this. They should be able to go over the list of available hotels and rates they offer and can book any pre/post stay plus add transfer fees to the total cost of your cruise reservation at that time. We did this for the British Isles cruise and it was very convenient. Others have booked the hotels independent once they learned which were the Disney sponsored ones, but I'm not sure if they were able to add transfers in that situation. Check with the DCL as to what their policy is in that situation.

 

[bbn1122]

I just looked thru this post from last year. Great info. DH and I will be heading out of NYC for a 2nd time this October. I can not wait.

We live NJ. Last time we just parked at port since it was a 2 night to nowhere. This time around it's 4 nights to Canada. Not sure if we will leave the card for 4 days $$. Parking last time was easy and the Magic came and went from same port slip.

Also, just booked Bermuda for 2018. I could really get used to Disney in NYC every year!

 

[poison ivy]

I just looked thru this post from last year. Great info. DH and I will be heading out of NYC for a 2nd time this October. I can not wait.

We live NJ. Last time we just parked at port since it was a 2 night to nowhere. This time around it's 4 nights to Canada. Not sure if we will leave the card for 4 days $$. Parking last time was easy and the Magic came and went from same port slip.

Also, just booked Bermuda for 2018. I could really get used to Disney in NYC every year!

We could get used to sailing Disney out of NYC too. There were a few cruises we had our eye on. Really liked that Bermuda itinerary, but after the 2 cruises we have coming up this year, we may take a cruising sabbatical until 2019. We'll see. You will love Canada. We only visited Halifax which was beautiful.

For this cruise, we hopped the NJ Transit NE Corridor Line from Hamilton to NYC Penn Station and hailed a cab to and from the port. It was cheaper and much easier not having to drive, but a lot more to manage on the train with luggage. I took photos which I'll share if anyone is looking for more information on travelling by via rail NJ to NYC.

 

[RedSox68]

I just looked thru this post from last year. Great info. DH and I will be heading out of NYC for a 2nd time this October. I can not wait.

We live NJ. Last time we just parked at port since it was a 2 night to nowhere. This time around it's 4 nights to Canada. Not sure if we will leave the card for 4 days $$. Parking last time was easy and the Magic came and went from same port slip.

Also, just booked Bermuda for 2018. I could really get used to Disney in NYC every year!

For us, paying to park directly at the port is worth every dollar. We've done it twice now and being able to walk off the ship and go right up to our car was just too convenient. We did it last year for the 7-night to Bermuda and will do it again tihs year for the 7-night to Canada/N.E. We researched every other way to get there and/or park off-site, but we just didn't want the hassle of taxis or walking, etc. I like the quick in and out and having control of my own car without waiting for them to retrieve it.

 

[bbn1122]

For us, paying to park directly at the port is worth every dollar. We've done it twice now and being able to walk off the ship and go right up to our car was just too convenient. We did it last year for the 7-night to Bermuda and will do it again tihs year for the 7-night to Canada/N.E. We researched every other way to get there and/or park off-site, but we just didn't want the hassle of taxis or walking, etc. I like the quick in and out and having control of my own car without waiting for them to retrieve it.

I should have mentioned my DH's law office is in Brooklyn. So, we may park at his parking lot and take a cab or Uber over. Then our parking is free. We still are not sure.

Thanks everyone for your input and advice.

 

[Anna114]

Best thing we ever did was walk off first. I live on LI so we took a taxi to Penn Station and on our train home. I timed it when we left the room. is was 7:28am and we were at Penn by 8:04am. As we exited the ship we crossed the street, no line and got right in a taxi. It's the only way we will do it when using the NYC port.