Just off the EBTA on the Magic

[Gilland18]

If you've done a Panama Canal cruise could you compare the two and which was is your favorite?

We've done two WBTA and one EBPC. The Panama canal cruise is my favorite vacation of any kind. Timing may be part of it; it was our third cruise so not newbies but still finding new things to do. We live in the midwest so the travel is better for PC. But none of this is to say anything against TA. The menus are similar, activities and entertainment are about the same. We just like the long cruises.

 

[MelissaE1]

Do you recall if the Florida resident discount was offered close to the sail date or further out? Was it inside cabin only? Thanks so much!

Looking back through my emails, I believe it was the end of January. We were able to get the rate on a verandah cabin.

 

[GingerPilot]

It felt like there were more kids on this EBTA then on the 2017 WBTA, but they never gave the numbers this year (and we didn't ask), but still not many. But this time the entertainers didn't need to look for the one kid in the crowd

The Concierge said there was a very high number of kids for a TA but she didn't say how many. There were over 2,000 guests onboard which is also quite a few for a TA. There were at least double the number of kids this time as the last time we did a TA in 2015. Did you see the group of boys running around at all hours of the night? I'd see them starting around 930 and up until at least 1130. Maybe 8-10 years old.

 

[olewnikpe]

I have them, but aren't unpacked enough yet

I am also interested in seeing the Navigators from your cruise, and seeing the various activities, etc. Thanks

 

[m&m's mom]

I have done both. I personally liked the somewhat cooler temps of the TA vs PC. Also, on the PC, Colombia is very poor and that was sad to me. We saw lots and lots of begging and homeless people.

 

[bobbiwoz]

I never was bothered by the ship’s motion. They seemed pretty smooth to me. I was on a cruise with way more motion in the Bahamas on the Wonder on 2017. The time change was a little difficult, especially for my husband. Losing an hour three days in a row to start the cruise was rough, but overall, we adjusted pretty well.

My husband felt the time change more negatively than I did, too. Glad that overall, the adjustment went well. This year we are going east to west, and wonder how those 25 hour days will affect us.

 

[KELLY]

Did any of you on this cruise get Navigators to post? I am on the WBTA in September and like to see all of the different activities offered on the TA cruises.

WE are on this Cruise as well. I haven't done a thing but book air pay it off and book a hotel in London and Lion King tickets for one night. We paln to do more in London but dd and I leave for a week in Disney this month. So a lot going on!!

 

[lilsonicfan]

I have the Navigators as well but just got back to work today so I haven't had time to scan them yet - that said I know a lady in the social media group scanned them all AND sent them to Scott at DCL blog so they should be accessible soon.

However, some things that were special for the TA cruise vs a regular DCL cruise (some or all of these have turned up on previous TA's, Panama Canal cruises etc.)
- Coast to Coast character campout (the sleepover for kids) - max of 100 kids
- we were specifically told that Navigators would be delivered to our staterooms ONLY because this was the TA cruise
- Anyone Can Cook series - I think there were 7 of these in total, and they brought in a chef especially for this rather than using an onboard chef. He is a chef at Be Our Guest in Magic Kingdom. Great series - adult only.
- Canvas and Cocktails - the painting and drinks class - was offered 4x on board.
- a small thing, but Palo brunch offered an area with about 5 special cheeses only brought on for the TA cruise
- crew talent show one night in the theatre - okay, I'm not sure if this happens all the time or not, but it was so great
- menus - with long cruises, there is a new menu every day so more than just the standard rotational menus and pirate menu
- Mickey & Friends group character photo opportunities

I'm sure there are more but I'm still processing this amazing vacation

 

[lspst8]

I have the Navigators as well but just got back to work today so I haven't had time to scan them yet - that said I know a lady in the social media group scanned them all AND sent them to Scott at DCL blog so they should be accessible soon.

However, some things that were special for the TA cruise vs a regular DCL cruise (some or all of these have turned up on previous TA's, Panama Canal cruises etc.)
- Coast to Coast character campout (the sleepover for kids) - max of 100 kids
- we were specifically told that Navigators would be delivered to our staterooms ONLY because this was the TA cruise
- Anyone Can Cook series - I think there were 7 of these in total, and they brought in a chef especially for this rather than using an onboard chef. He is a chef at Be Our Guest in Magic Kingdom. Great series - adult only.
- Canvas and Cocktails - the painting and drinks class - was offered 4x on board.
- a small thing, but Palo brunch offered an area with about 5 special cheeses only brought on for the TA cruise
- crew talent show one night in the theatre - okay, I'm not sure if this happens all the time or not, but it was so great
- menus - with long cruises, there is a new menu every day so more than just the standard rotational menus and pirate menu
- Mickey & Friends group character photo opportunities

I'm sure there are more but I'm still processing this amazing vacation

My kids (ages 6 and 8) loved the sleepover in the kids club. They did several activities and had a disco party with Stitch in the D Lounge before lights out. The kids all got a nylon drawstring backpack to bring their pjs in, and almost every kid was sound asleep when I picked up my daughters at 7:30am the next morning.

We didn’t do any of the cooking classes, but they looked like they were very well attended. Get there early if you want a good seat!

My husband and I did do the Canvas and Cocktails class, which was really fun and a pretty good value at $55 per person. The class was held in Animators Palate and lasted about 2 hours. You can get nonalcoholic drinks if you choose. There were about 15 people in our session, and Gus, the instructor, said it is only offered on longer cruises on the Magic.

There were drawing classes, both family and adult, almost every day, and we got to draw a lot of fun characters beyond Mickey and Goofy. I remember drawing princess emojis, Olaf, Dory, Spider-Man, the Genie from Aladdin, and Stitch.

It was an awesome trip, and if you are thinking about doing a TA cruise, I would definitely recommend it!

 

[ginag2010]

How's the ship's condition? Is it in good shape or time for a dry dock?

 

[Birdie dog]

Did you book your own air or use Disney to book your air. I'm already starting to look for my flight home from Barcelona next year. The prices are high right now except for a new airline that seems sketchy.

 

[lspst8]

How's the ship's condition? Is it in good shape or time for a dry dock?

It was my first time on the Magic, and I think the ship was in great shape. The Magic didn’t seem like a 20 year old ship to me.

 

[lspst8]

Did you book your own air or use Disney to book your air. I'm already starting to look for my flight home from Barcelona next year. The prices are high right now except for a new airline that seems sketchy.

We booked our own air. We flew home on Norwegian, a direct flight from Barcelona to Newark. (We rented a car and drove the rest of the way home to Pittsburgh.) I booked the flights around Thanksgiving and paid about $1100 for the 4 of us.

 

[lilsonicfan]

Did you book your own air or use Disney to book your air. I'm already starting to look for my flight home from Barcelona next year. The prices are high right now except for a new airline that seems sketchy.

We booked our own air too - flew Westjet (a Canadian airline) from BCN to Toronto, then home. This early, prices will definitely be somewhat high.

How's the ship's condition? Is it in good shape or time for a dry dock?

I agree that the ship was in great condition overall. My biggest complaint was the shower; in both our rooms the curtain was clearly in need of replacement as it was mildew-y, yuck, and the shower head basically pointed straight down and didn't angle at all no matter what I tried.

 

[Karin1984]

I agree that the ship was in great condition overall. My biggest complaint was the shower; in both our rooms the curtain was clearly in need of replacement as it was mildew-y, yuck, and the shower head basically pointed straight down and didn't angle at all no matter what I tried.

What did your stateroom host say / do when it was reported? I had a leaky faucet on my room on the Magic in January and I was pleasantly surprised how quick Maintenance was in my room to fix it.

YouTube vloggers Legglife were on the Magic a few months ago and in their review they said it felt like an older ship and there were some remarks about the upkeep. Might be worth checking out.

 

[lilsonicfan]

To be honest I didn’t report it, because I felt like it was overall a very minor issue and I also felt like perhaps the issue with the curtain is mostly just me hating shower curtains in hotels (hate when they touch you!!) I mentioned it in my comment survey but i also emphasized that it was nothing to do with our stateroom host.

 

[Karin1984]

To be honest I didn’t report it, because I felt like it was overall a very minor issue and I also felt like perhaps the issue with the curtain is mostly just me hating shower curtains in hotels (hate when they touch you!!) I mentioned it in my comment survey but i also emphasized that it was nothing to do with our stateroom host.

Oh totally get you on shower curtains touching you!

But next time report it, as it could be a sign of more mildew elsewhere, not cleaning properly or an overworked host with too many rooms to look after to notice it. The feeling of the curtain is one thing, but mildew is mildew and shouldnt be there.

 

[JARNJ3]

We booked our own air. We flew home on Norwegian, a direct flight from Barcelona to Newark. (We rented a car and drove the rest of the way home to Pittsburgh.) I booked the flights around Thanksgiving and paid about $1100 for the 4 of us.

How was the Norwegian flight? Flying out on Monday to Rome!!!!!

 

[DVC Doc]

WE are on this Cruise as well. I haven't done a thing but book air pay it off and book a hotel in London and Lion King tickets for one night. We paln to do more in London but dd and I leave for a week in Disney this month. So a lot going on!!

I’m on this cruise as well and haven’t even booked flights yet

 

[lspst8]

How was the Norwegian flight? Flying out on Monday to Rome!!!!!

It was fine — we usually fly Southwest or Spirit on short domestic flights, so the plane with its seatback entertainment and actual food seemed very fancy to us.