imlazar
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Feb 14, 2005
- Messages
- 584
Here is my mini-report from the 9/17 Magic. This was our first cruise, we brought along my two sons, 5 and 2. We also brought along my wife's parents, ages 85 & 83. We had early dinner seating (after initially being waitlisted for it).
We had two adjoining cabins, rooms 6016 and 6018, both were category 8 portal rooms in the forward port section of the ship (that's front left for those of you land-lubbers out there). The rooms had an interconnecting door. Our room slept 4, two in the queen-size bed, one in the couch that converted to a small bed, and one in the bed that dropped down from the ceiling.
We arrived in Port Canaveral at around 11:00 AM after taking the Shuttle from the Radisson where we stayed the previous two nights (we spent Friday at the Kennedy Space Center and the Radisson pool). The shuttle dropped us off right in front of the terminal, we had about a 30 foot walk to the gate where we dropped our bags off with the porters and then we went inside. Check-in was pretty quick, about 20 minutes or so. It's a good thing we didn't fill out all the documents prior to arriving as they can be a bit confusing. Disney employees were aggressively working with folks to help us with the forms. We were checked in by about 11:30 but then we had to wait until around 12:30 to board the ship. The terminal became quite crowded, but they had TV for the kids to watch and several character appearances. There is also a food stand.
At about 12:30 or so the doors opened to the ship. It tooks us about 15 minutes or so to get through the huge line and make our way toward the gang-way, but first we had to stop for the group picture. If you don't want to do the picture, stay to the middle of the line and you can walk right on. As you board they ask you your family name and then announce it, which was very cool. We went to our stateroom right away, but found a sign telling us it wouldn't be ready until 1:30, so we went to topsiders for a nice, but very crowded lunch (a lot of strollers and carry-on bags lying around).
We then got into our cabin and unpacked. The room was fairly roomy, with plenty of draws, shelves, and closet space. The portal window was worth every penny (we didn't do a Verandah so as to avoid worrying about the kids falling overboard). After getting unpacked I registered my older son with the kids club, and then we all went to deck 9 for the depature party. It was very cool leaving Port Canaveral, seeing the coast-guard escort crafts, and watching the port employees waving with their big Mickey hands.
About an hour or so after we left Port Canaveral the Captain came on the PA system to tell us that due to Hurricane Philip, our itinerary was completely changing. Our eastern cruse was now a western cruise, we'd be at Castaway Cay on Sunday, sea on Monday, Grand Cayman on Tuesday, Cozumel on Wednesday, Costa Maya on Thursday, sea on Friday, and home on Saturday. We really didn't mind this at all, and actually welcomed the chance to see Mexico.
Here are my general thoughts about the rest of the cruise:
The good:
- meals were excellent pretty much everywhere, as others have noted, the dinners are very good, the deserts are outstanding.
- the personal level of service was amazing, our stateroom host and wait staff were very good, especially the stateroom host who really went out of his way to get to know us and who surprised the kids each night with an animal made from a towel (and chocolates). It was always nice coming back from dinner and seeing the room all ready for bed.
- the staff was consistently fantastic. I spoke with probably a dozen or so staff members and they were all energetic, enthusiastic, and anxious to help in any way they could. The cruise director Rachel was an abundance of energy.
- the ship is a beauty, if you've seen pictures you can grasp what it looks like on the outside, but the inside is fantastic as well. Take a lot of time and just walk around
- the Mickey pool was a blast, our kids loved it more than anything, though it was hard confining our two-year old to the fountain area since he isn't toilet trained yet.
- the shows were all very good. The Taylor Mason show was a highlight and the kids are still talking about it. We really liked Disney Dreams as well. The Golden Mickeys was good, especially how they tied it into the formal night
- getting dressed up in tuxes for formal night was worth every penny, the kids loved it
- the pirate dinner was a blast as well, as were the numerous mid-dinner shows and character appearances. Don't miss your first night at Animator's Palette and your final dinner night wherever it may be.
- getting off the ship was a breeze, it was very smooth and we got through customs in very little time.
- the quality of the fast-food bars was suprisingly good, especially the hamburgers. They also had sandwiches and a fruit bar each afternoon next to the ice cream stand.
- we took in three movies in the Buena Vista theater, which is a very nice place. Having the movies was a nice break from the heat
- I liked the fact that classic and new disney films were running on the TV, as were shows about the ship itself
- The navigator was very detailed and is a must read
- my older son slipped and fell near the mickey pool, within about 10 seconds a DCL staffer was there providing him with medical attention. The signs say that lifeguards aren't on duty, but DCL staffers are poolside throughout the peak times.
- sea days were our favorite, there was no pressure to do anything or be anywhere at a specific point in time.
- the kids club was kind of a mixed bag. Our kids liked the open playtimes each morning from 9 to around 10 or 10:30. I liked the fact that they let our two-year old into the club if my wife or I would stay with him. However, my older son really didn't like the organized programs. The clubs were very dark, which might have contributed to his lack of wanting to be there, especially on his own. He never lasted more than an hour on his own. I sat through several of the programs and it seemed like about 70-80% of the kids were having fun, the rest were bored or distracted. The counselers were really great, they had a lot of patience and tried very hard to get those who didn't want to be there involved. I even saw one sit down with two brothers who were hitting each other and talk with them. However, many of the counselers had thick accents and it seemed like it was difficult for some of the kids to understand them. I think if our younger son was old enough to stay on his own with his brother, it might have gone better for us.
- Given that we went in September when kids were in school the average age of the kids on our ship was probably four or five, this worked out very well for us since our kids are 5 & 2. I heard from others that summer cruises have many more older kids.
The bad:
- the coffee tasted like they used ground cardboard instead of coffee grinds. Seriously, I was shocked at how bad the coffee was, especially in topsiders. If you are used to good coffee (we grind our own beans at home), you will be very dissappointed.
- the goofy pool is a mess. It was very dirty with pieces of trash floating in it (napkins I think?). It was also very crowded. This pool should have been twice the size that it was for the size of the ship. BTW, the Mickey Pool was closed twice for cleaning during our last day at sea. That isn't Disney's fault though, I suspect that parents take chances with their kids by not putting them in swim diapers so that they aren't confined to the fountain area. Each cleaning took an hour or so. Disney is VERY strict about keeping kids in swim diapers out of the pools and in the fountain area in the starboard mickey ear.
- My wife commented that there were something like 10 bars, but no inside cafeteria that was always open. If you wanted a bite when topsiders was closed, your only choice was to outside to deck 9. There was also only one drink station in the aft section of deck 9. Another one near the bow would have been nice.
- lines for character appearances were very long, typically 15-25 minutes for the more popular characters, sometimes longer
- the photographers were constantly taking our picture, which we didn't really mind very much, but they were very poorly organized. Prepare to spend a good deal of time in Shutters hunting for your pictures if you wish to buy them (which are very expensive). They really need a number system or something better.
- Our 8:15 character breakfast was too early, given that we went to Disney Dreams the night before so it was a late night.
- the last day is kind of crazy, we had a 6:45 breakfast seating and left our room around 8:00 AM. Needless to say, we were all pretty tired.
The ports:
- Castaway Cay looked nice, but it was a bit of a long walk from the ship and it was very hot. We didn't stay very long and we skipped lunch on the island so that we could get back to the ship. The kids didn't like the heat and didn't want to stay on the island.
- Grand Cayman was very crowded and not especially easy to get around with a stroller. We went to a few shops then went back to the ship. At each shop there is a "greater" who tries to get you to come inside.
- Cozumel was much nicer than Grand Cayman. We did the SeaWorld partial-submarine tour and we loved it, though it was very pricey (nearly $140 for the four of us), we could have saved a few bucks if we booked it ourselves. It is about a 50 foot walk from the pier.
- Costa Maya was sort of a mini Castaway Cay, with several shops and restuarants and two large pools. There wasn't much to see or do and we didn't stay very long. Again, the heat was very strong, I believe it was in the mid 90's and very humid.
Tips:
- we bought the water service, it was a good deal and we're glad we did it. it cost us $29 for 24 bottles of Evian spring water which were delivered to our room on the first night.
- read the passporter guide and the list of tips on this message board, I can't really add much to them. The passporter guide is easily worth the price.
- i'd highly recommend booking excursions on your own, most are very easy to get to on your own and are much cheaper than if you book them through DCL.
- don't try to do everything - our kids were exhausted by the third night, so we skipped a couple of the shows and got them to bed early. That helped a lot. Unfortunately we missed the pirate party.
- It was so hot outside that we didn't spend much time at the ports. In fact, one of the best times we had was when we came back early from Castaway Cay and pretty much had the Mickey pool to ourselves.
- I'd recommend bringing toys that the kids can use in the pool. During our last sea day someone dropped off a ton of beach toys at the Mickey pool that the kids all enjoyed.
- pack a lot less clothes than you think you'll need. I came home with about half the clothes I brought unused.
- packing dishwashing soap was helpful for washing the kids sippie cups.
- We spent about $850 on the ship, $100 of that was photos, $350 was tips, and $140 was our SeaWorld explorer excursion. The remaining $260 was water, drinks, and gifts/souveniers. We figure we spent about $100 in the various ports. Add that to the $3,200 cruise price tag, plus airfare, two nights at the radisson, rental cars, parking at the home airport, and it quickly adds up.
Bottom line - the trip was VERY expensive, we figured that in total we spent around $5,000 for the 9 day trip. We had a great time, but we're not sure it was worth it though at this point we're leaning toward another DCL trip next year. However' we're going to check out Club Med sandpiper and Sandles Beaches resorts as well before making a final decision. We may also just decide to rent a beach house somewhere on the East Coast.
That's all I can think of for now, hope this helps!!
We had two adjoining cabins, rooms 6016 and 6018, both were category 8 portal rooms in the forward port section of the ship (that's front left for those of you land-lubbers out there). The rooms had an interconnecting door. Our room slept 4, two in the queen-size bed, one in the couch that converted to a small bed, and one in the bed that dropped down from the ceiling.
We arrived in Port Canaveral at around 11:00 AM after taking the Shuttle from the Radisson where we stayed the previous two nights (we spent Friday at the Kennedy Space Center and the Radisson pool). The shuttle dropped us off right in front of the terminal, we had about a 30 foot walk to the gate where we dropped our bags off with the porters and then we went inside. Check-in was pretty quick, about 20 minutes or so. It's a good thing we didn't fill out all the documents prior to arriving as they can be a bit confusing. Disney employees were aggressively working with folks to help us with the forms. We were checked in by about 11:30 but then we had to wait until around 12:30 to board the ship. The terminal became quite crowded, but they had TV for the kids to watch and several character appearances. There is also a food stand.
At about 12:30 or so the doors opened to the ship. It tooks us about 15 minutes or so to get through the huge line and make our way toward the gang-way, but first we had to stop for the group picture. If you don't want to do the picture, stay to the middle of the line and you can walk right on. As you board they ask you your family name and then announce it, which was very cool. We went to our stateroom right away, but found a sign telling us it wouldn't be ready until 1:30, so we went to topsiders for a nice, but very crowded lunch (a lot of strollers and carry-on bags lying around).
We then got into our cabin and unpacked. The room was fairly roomy, with plenty of draws, shelves, and closet space. The portal window was worth every penny (we didn't do a Verandah so as to avoid worrying about the kids falling overboard). After getting unpacked I registered my older son with the kids club, and then we all went to deck 9 for the depature party. It was very cool leaving Port Canaveral, seeing the coast-guard escort crafts, and watching the port employees waving with their big Mickey hands.
About an hour or so after we left Port Canaveral the Captain came on the PA system to tell us that due to Hurricane Philip, our itinerary was completely changing. Our eastern cruse was now a western cruise, we'd be at Castaway Cay on Sunday, sea on Monday, Grand Cayman on Tuesday, Cozumel on Wednesday, Costa Maya on Thursday, sea on Friday, and home on Saturday. We really didn't mind this at all, and actually welcomed the chance to see Mexico.
Here are my general thoughts about the rest of the cruise:
The good:
- meals were excellent pretty much everywhere, as others have noted, the dinners are very good, the deserts are outstanding.
- the personal level of service was amazing, our stateroom host and wait staff were very good, especially the stateroom host who really went out of his way to get to know us and who surprised the kids each night with an animal made from a towel (and chocolates). It was always nice coming back from dinner and seeing the room all ready for bed.
- the staff was consistently fantastic. I spoke with probably a dozen or so staff members and they were all energetic, enthusiastic, and anxious to help in any way they could. The cruise director Rachel was an abundance of energy.
- the ship is a beauty, if you've seen pictures you can grasp what it looks like on the outside, but the inside is fantastic as well. Take a lot of time and just walk around
- the Mickey pool was a blast, our kids loved it more than anything, though it was hard confining our two-year old to the fountain area since he isn't toilet trained yet.
- the shows were all very good. The Taylor Mason show was a highlight and the kids are still talking about it. We really liked Disney Dreams as well. The Golden Mickeys was good, especially how they tied it into the formal night
- getting dressed up in tuxes for formal night was worth every penny, the kids loved it
- the pirate dinner was a blast as well, as were the numerous mid-dinner shows and character appearances. Don't miss your first night at Animator's Palette and your final dinner night wherever it may be.
- getting off the ship was a breeze, it was very smooth and we got through customs in very little time.
- the quality of the fast-food bars was suprisingly good, especially the hamburgers. They also had sandwiches and a fruit bar each afternoon next to the ice cream stand.
- we took in three movies in the Buena Vista theater, which is a very nice place. Having the movies was a nice break from the heat
- I liked the fact that classic and new disney films were running on the TV, as were shows about the ship itself
- The navigator was very detailed and is a must read
- my older son slipped and fell near the mickey pool, within about 10 seconds a DCL staffer was there providing him with medical attention. The signs say that lifeguards aren't on duty, but DCL staffers are poolside throughout the peak times.
- sea days were our favorite, there was no pressure to do anything or be anywhere at a specific point in time.
- the kids club was kind of a mixed bag. Our kids liked the open playtimes each morning from 9 to around 10 or 10:30. I liked the fact that they let our two-year old into the club if my wife or I would stay with him. However, my older son really didn't like the organized programs. The clubs were very dark, which might have contributed to his lack of wanting to be there, especially on his own. He never lasted more than an hour on his own. I sat through several of the programs and it seemed like about 70-80% of the kids were having fun, the rest were bored or distracted. The counselers were really great, they had a lot of patience and tried very hard to get those who didn't want to be there involved. I even saw one sit down with two brothers who were hitting each other and talk with them. However, many of the counselers had thick accents and it seemed like it was difficult for some of the kids to understand them. I think if our younger son was old enough to stay on his own with his brother, it might have gone better for us.
- Given that we went in September when kids were in school the average age of the kids on our ship was probably four or five, this worked out very well for us since our kids are 5 & 2. I heard from others that summer cruises have many more older kids.
The bad:
- the coffee tasted like they used ground cardboard instead of coffee grinds. Seriously, I was shocked at how bad the coffee was, especially in topsiders. If you are used to good coffee (we grind our own beans at home), you will be very dissappointed.
- the goofy pool is a mess. It was very dirty with pieces of trash floating in it (napkins I think?). It was also very crowded. This pool should have been twice the size that it was for the size of the ship. BTW, the Mickey Pool was closed twice for cleaning during our last day at sea. That isn't Disney's fault though, I suspect that parents take chances with their kids by not putting them in swim diapers so that they aren't confined to the fountain area. Each cleaning took an hour or so. Disney is VERY strict about keeping kids in swim diapers out of the pools and in the fountain area in the starboard mickey ear.
- My wife commented that there were something like 10 bars, but no inside cafeteria that was always open. If you wanted a bite when topsiders was closed, your only choice was to outside to deck 9. There was also only one drink station in the aft section of deck 9. Another one near the bow would have been nice.
- lines for character appearances were very long, typically 15-25 minutes for the more popular characters, sometimes longer
- the photographers were constantly taking our picture, which we didn't really mind very much, but they were very poorly organized. Prepare to spend a good deal of time in Shutters hunting for your pictures if you wish to buy them (which are very expensive). They really need a number system or something better.
- Our 8:15 character breakfast was too early, given that we went to Disney Dreams the night before so it was a late night.
- the last day is kind of crazy, we had a 6:45 breakfast seating and left our room around 8:00 AM. Needless to say, we were all pretty tired.
The ports:
- Castaway Cay looked nice, but it was a bit of a long walk from the ship and it was very hot. We didn't stay very long and we skipped lunch on the island so that we could get back to the ship. The kids didn't like the heat and didn't want to stay on the island.
- Grand Cayman was very crowded and not especially easy to get around with a stroller. We went to a few shops then went back to the ship. At each shop there is a "greater" who tries to get you to come inside.
- Cozumel was much nicer than Grand Cayman. We did the SeaWorld partial-submarine tour and we loved it, though it was very pricey (nearly $140 for the four of us), we could have saved a few bucks if we booked it ourselves. It is about a 50 foot walk from the pier.
- Costa Maya was sort of a mini Castaway Cay, with several shops and restuarants and two large pools. There wasn't much to see or do and we didn't stay very long. Again, the heat was very strong, I believe it was in the mid 90's and very humid.
Tips:
- we bought the water service, it was a good deal and we're glad we did it. it cost us $29 for 24 bottles of Evian spring water which were delivered to our room on the first night.
- read the passporter guide and the list of tips on this message board, I can't really add much to them. The passporter guide is easily worth the price.
- i'd highly recommend booking excursions on your own, most are very easy to get to on your own and are much cheaper than if you book them through DCL.
- don't try to do everything - our kids were exhausted by the third night, so we skipped a couple of the shows and got them to bed early. That helped a lot. Unfortunately we missed the pirate party.
- It was so hot outside that we didn't spend much time at the ports. In fact, one of the best times we had was when we came back early from Castaway Cay and pretty much had the Mickey pool to ourselves.
- I'd recommend bringing toys that the kids can use in the pool. During our last sea day someone dropped off a ton of beach toys at the Mickey pool that the kids all enjoyed.
- pack a lot less clothes than you think you'll need. I came home with about half the clothes I brought unused.
- packing dishwashing soap was helpful for washing the kids sippie cups.
- We spent about $850 on the ship, $100 of that was photos, $350 was tips, and $140 was our SeaWorld explorer excursion. The remaining $260 was water, drinks, and gifts/souveniers. We figure we spent about $100 in the various ports. Add that to the $3,200 cruise price tag, plus airfare, two nights at the radisson, rental cars, parking at the home airport, and it quickly adds up.
Bottom line - the trip was VERY expensive, we figured that in total we spent around $5,000 for the 9 day trip. We had a great time, but we're not sure it was worth it though at this point we're leaning toward another DCL trip next year. However' we're going to check out Club Med sandpiper and Sandles Beaches resorts as well before making a final decision. We may also just decide to rent a beach house somewhere on the East Coast.
That's all I can think of for now, hope this helps!!
and on the last night when the kids were WAY over tired, he happily made arrangements for our dinner to be sent to the room. that was really nice.
This is one cruise we will never forget. Plus I won't forget all the friends I made here before we left.
