Just off the 8 day Bahamas Cruise out of NYC!!!

[wildcatwmn]

We reluctantly returned yesterday from a fabulous week on the 8 night sailing our of NYC (June 30th) on the Magic to Nassau, Castaway Cay and Port Canaveral. I will try to download pics and write additional info through the week, but right now, my desk is swaying!

Overall:
We loved this length, itinerary and sailing port as we live only 60 miles north of NYC. My son and I had done the Canada itinerary on Carnival once and there is definitely something to be said about driving to the port and hopping on the ship! No luggage restrictions, no big worries about flight delays, it was much less stress. Even those from other parts of New England and DC had similar thoughts.

My husband had never done a Disney Cruise and was a little reluctant about spending the week with the mouse. He said last night (and again this morning) that this was one of the best vacations he ever had. (We did keep him in the Quiet Cove area...lol).

Getting there:
We were tossing back and forth between a town car (figured we'd splurge) and driving ourselves as the cost to park AT the pier is now $35 a day ($280/8 nights), and is the same as if we took a car service round trip. With a little research I found a garage a few blocks up that charges $20/day and were extremely nice. My husband dropped us at the pier with the luggage, parked and was back in 10-15 mins. Total was $160 and as it turns out, since we had a friend of my son come with us, luggage would have probably not fit in a town car.


Check-In:
We elected for first check-in (11:00-11:30) and if you can do this, I highly recommend it. We arrived at the port at 10:30, dropped our bags with the porter, and walked through security at 10:45. The lines were very short (maybe 10 mins tops) for check-in and being Castaway members (have cruised Disney before) we were escorted to the Castaway Club line (which we were the next family on and were checked in within 5 mins). Taking care of the online pre-check-in REALLY helps. We walked over to the sitting area (there were characters available for pics, but the teenagers were not up to that yet) and at 11:45 they announced they would start boarding shortly. Sure enough, at 11:50, they started calling groups and within 5 mins we were on our way through.

Note, Disney tells you one bottle of alcohol per adult is allowed in your carry-on (which we did). In reality, (unlike other lines) they will allow you more. I would just be discreet about it. We did see some abusing this and noted one party was pulled aside.

More to come...feel free to PM or reply here with any questions in the meantime!

 

[Fatima1922]

I look forward to reading your trip report. Did you notice if upgrades were available at check in?

 

[wildcatwmn]

I look forward to reading your trip report. Did you notice if upgrades were available at check in?

No, there was a sign on the check-in desks when we got there at 11:00, that there were no upgrades available.

Interestingly, another family we knew said a few days before, they were contacted about a two cat upgrade by Disney, which they had not requested and did not have to pay for (of course they took it). I believe this is rare for DCL.

 

[nhgirl]

Did the Magic hit the pier? Someone on Cruise Critic heard it hit pier 90 on 7/8.

 

[disney debi]

Great start. Can't wait to hear more. We are on the 8/17 sailing and can't wait for our first disney cruise!

 

[helmetcam]

Yes, we hit Pier 90 while turning into the slip.

Here are pics of the hit and the damage- the wall took the worst of it. I can't embed pics yet so you'll have to copy & paste.

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[Dollar2]

Yes, we hit Pier 90 while turning into the slip.

Oops! I hope the Captain was able to find the ship's insurance card in the glove compartment

 

[Carol36]

Oops! I hope the Captain was able to find the ship's insurance card in the glove compartment

Glad y'all had a great cruise!

 

[wildcatwmn]

Yes, I heard that we hit the pier on the opposite side and cracked the concrete. Honestly, I found out about it afterwards. I also heard the NCL ship created a large wake with its thrusters and there was damage to a gangway by the Intrepid.

 

[wildcatwmn]

Here are some initial photos:

View of the Ship through window at Pier Arrival

Fire boat in NY Harbor

Statue of Liberty coming out of NY Port

Top of the Ship going under Verrazano Bridge

Window seat for Breakfast Day2 in Lumiere's

Secret Porthole Room 5020

Looking into the room from the in front of the porthole

The ship docked in Nassau

Sunset leaving Nassau

 

[Disney1fan2002]

Can you tell me what movies were playing on the ship? Our cruise is August 17th..I'm hoping Chimpanzee hangs in there until we cruise!

Great pictures, BTW!

 

[wildcatwmn]

Can you tell me what movies were playing on the ship? Our cruise is August 17th..I'm hoping Chimpanzee hangs in there until we cruise!

Great pictures, BTW!

I'll check when I get home tonight. BRAVE and Avengers (my son went twice) were the biggies. There were also a few showing of Muppets 3D.

 

[dbal]

I was wondering if you would share the name of the garage you used. I can't wait to hear more about your trip. We leave the 28th!!

 

[gummie22]

We were the family that was upgraded a few days before the cruise. My travel agent emailed me to inform us of the upgrade from 11A inside to 9A Deluxe ocean view (large porthole 5508) about 3 days before we sailed. We didn't request an upgrade but happily accepted!

We did book the cruise in April 2011 (for a June 2012 sailing), just after the NYC cruises were announced. So, maybe booking that early, and having a super wonderful travel agent who we use for all our Disney travel had something to do with it. (We have travelled a lot (outside of Disney) and do our own planning and booking, but a few years ago I decided to try using a travel agent for Disney - and she has been like a wonderful new friend!)

You know that old saying - "Dreams do come true!"

And it was a great cruise that created some great new friendships! Hope to see you guys soon!

Lorri

 

[wildcatwmn]

dbal, MTP57 is the name. It is at 601 57th Street between 11th and 12th. It is on your left as you are going east in a modern building at street level. The garage across the street is double the price.

 

[wildcatwmn]

Lunch and Tour:
Once on the ship, we proceeded to Parrot Cay for the buffet lunch. Lunch was good with a combination of salmon, chicken, peel and eat shrimp (I remember them from last time!!!) and staples like hot dogs and mac and cheese for the kids. We got our first taste of dessert (which I am now working off two weeks later).

Even though it was only 12:00 or so, Parrot Cay was starting to get busy, and by the time we came out, they were starting to divert people up Topsiders. We really wanted to sneak a peak at our room, but the stairs were blocked and our only option was to take the elevator up to the pool. We went up to 9 and took a tour of the spa and all their treatments. My husband and I decided to opt for the the VIP pass which gives you 8 days unlimited access to the Rain Forest as well as a one hour session in the Rasul. The price was $230, which is about $40 more than what I had seen mentioned for the 7 nights. We definitely used the Rain Forest during the week (not as much as I thought I would though), and loved the Rasul, but think it was a bit overpriced. We made good use of the showers in the Spa when we had 4 getting ready for dinner (especially my DH since he is so tall and barely fit in the cabin shower) but there is no cost for that anyway.

On our way around the pool deck, we noticed that the Topsider's line was ridiculously long, and had heard Parrot Cay was now less hectic. Keep in mind you should check the other restaurant if one seems too long a wait.

By this time, it was approx. 1:30 and we decided to see if our room was ready (we had been carrying our carry-on's around). It was, so we went and dropped our bags, checked our pre-ordered room refreshments, met our room Hostess, gave her a tip to keep our ice buckets full, and went up top to sit by the pool and have a drink.

At 3:00, we went to the meet and greet that had been set up by the group started on here and met some of the great folks that we wound up spending quite a bit of the week with.

Next up was the "mustard" (as my DH calls it) drill. They no longer make you wear your life jackets and we were fortunate enough to be on the shaded side of the boat as it was close to 90 out. The drill took 15-20 mins as they smooshed us together and re-called missing cabins. I was surprised how many people were not paying attention and had their cabin numbers re-called before saying "here." This just delayed the whole heated process, but in all, it's not a big deal.

Back up to the top deck, and we watched the Norwegian Gem pull out. Before we knew it, the horn blew and we were backing out of the slip!!!

The bar tenders were coming by with trays of frozen drinks and we were surprised how reasonable they were compared to other cruises we have been on. I guess this makes up somewhat for the cost of the cruise fare. A frozen drink is $5.75 and a beer fill up is $4.95. If you or someone in your family is a beer drinker, I highly recommend you purchase the souvenir mug for $14.95 (can be done ahead of time by phone or on the ship when you arrive). With the mug, you get a 22 oz. fill up for the price of a 16 oz. When you don't want to carry the mug (it is glass and heavy), they hand you a card and the next day or time you are at the bar, you trade the card back for a new mug. (Just don't forget to save a mug on the last day so you have your souvenir)!

 

[wildcatwmn]

Sail-Away:
Once we left NY harbor (see pic above going under Verrazano bridge) and the sail away party was ending, the crowd seemed to thin out as it was now about 5:30 and passengers that had the early dinner seating left to get ready.

We were really happy we had the late seating so we didn't have to rush, so we went down to the room, got our suits on and came back up to the hot tub. The pool was kind of cool, and the hot tub was not so hot.

Also, note we spent most of our time by the "Quiet Cove" adult area. They really do make a effort to keep it 18 and over.

 

[Lucille1963]

I love this report. I can't wait to read more.

 

[davale4]

My husband had never done a Disney Cruise and was a little reluctant about spending the week with the mouse. He said last night (and again this morning) that this was one of the best vacations he ever had. (We did keep him in the Quiet Cove area...lol).

We are going on our first Disney cruise in August and my husband is not too sure about it either . I hope that this vacation will turn out to be one of our best! Love the pics! Waiting to hear more...

 

[disney debi]

Loving your trip report so far. Can't wait - just four more weeks til we sail!