Magic - Canadian Cruise

[kathi]

Can anyone comment on the current cruise from NYC to Canada on the Magic?

We are considering a last-minute anniversary cruise on September 7th but I'm not seeing many reviews on this itinerary.

We have sailed on the Magic many times, so I know about the ship, I'm wondering about the ports, the weather, how rough the water is and the onboard activities during sea days. Is it too cold to use the pools? Too windy? How foggy is it? Do you have long enough in the ports to do a lot? What is the rotation for the 5 night cruise? (Is there pirate night?)

I need to decide before tomorrow afternoon (have a cabin on hold). Any thoughts would be most appreciated. (The other option we are considering is a Bermuda cruise on Celebrity Summit out of Bayonne.)

Thanks!
Kathi

 

[chiefdragon]

We just returned and loved every minute of it. It was cold but so much fun. Would recommend that you book a port excursion for both stops, but was not bad to walk around. 5 days are just the right amount of time.

 

[kathi]

When you say "cold" - how cold? Could you use the pool at all?

 

[Minnie Monellen]

When you say "cold" - how cold? Could you use the pool at all?

We went in June. VERY COOL! Only kids were in the pools. I would choose Bermuda over the cruise to Canada. Not as many activities on the Magic as on the Dream.

 

[NancyIL]

If only the Magic would sail to Canada in October for the fall colors.

 

[BethC1952]

I also took this cruise and am going again next month. The weather was cool most days. There were some adults who uses the pools, I wasn't one of them so I can't tell you how it was.

We loved our port days, and had plenty of time for our excursions and looking around. There were the usual onboard activities during the sea days.

The water was amazingly calm on our sailing. We did run into a bit of fog one of the days, but not nearly as much as I expected.

This definitely isn't a tropical cruise, but the Canadian scenery is beautiful and the people are warm and friendly.

Beth

Sent from my iPad using DISBoards

 

[chiefdragon]

I am normally cold so depends on the person. I wore jeans, t-shirt and a fleece jacket each day. But DH would wear shorts on the boat and the day at St. John. This cold depends on the person. We didn't do the pool since I was cold.

 

[lady9]

We just returned from the Canada cruise today. The weather was fine, a little rainy and some fog, nothing that was terrible.

The ocean was very rough the night we left port. I have never been seasick on 4 other cruises but was so sick I could not make it to dinner. DH went with the kids and said our tablemates had to leave halfway through dinner as they were sick as well. It was better the next morning which was our first sea day, but I still felt ill. Both sea days had plenty of activities to keep busy. We did do some activities. I saw more people than ever wearing the patch behind their ear.

The kids swam on both sea days, but it was cooler, 60-70s and there was a breeze as well.

We did the Peggy's Cove/Titanic excursion in Halifax. It was very informative. Our guide wasn't that great but very nice. She kept forgetting what she wanted to say, but we did learn a lot. It rained in the morning but did clear up in the afternoon for our excursion. The sun was actually out with some blue skies.

We did the Maple Sugar Shack and Brunch in St. John-skip it, way way over priced for what it was. I assumed that they were still producing the maple syrup and that was what we would see. (I know the sap is collected in the spring. I assumed it was stored and then produced so we could see parts of the production.) We listened to the history of syrup making and saw old equipment to present day equipment, but that was all we did, look at it. Afterward we were served pancakes. However, someone spilled maple syrup on the chair, and I didn't notice until I sat in it! Not a great way to end a not very exciting tour. The gentleman who owned the farm and gave the tour was super nice and our guide was excellent. She gave us lots of information and some stories about St. John. However, not worth $75 a person.

Overall, we enjoyed our cruise, but wouldn't do this itinerary again.

 

[darsura]

We returned today. The cruise was great. The best day to swim was the day we left NY as it was hot and humid. The other days were cooler but we still sat by the pool and used the hot tub. There were blankets by the pool if you wanted one.

We rented a car in Halifax to visit Peggy's Cove, the Swiss Air memorial, and the Fairview Lawn cemetery. It was a lovely drive. After returning the car we walked along the waterfront and visited a Pub (Tug's) for some fish and chips and oysters, and local beer. In Saint John we had not booked a car in advance and were unable to get one, so decided to go with a driver and enjoyed a drive around town and then out to St. Martin to see the sea caves. Great trip! Also saw the Reversing Falls twice to see the difference in the tides. The driver dropped us off at O'Learys where we tried the Alpine moosehead beer only available in Saint John. Then we walked back to the ship.

My family of 5 wore shorts every day during the day. A jacket was needed in Halifax because it was raining, but just a light one. I get cold easily so I always had a lightweight sweater on inside the ship because of the air conditioning.

We had the PLAPL rotation. Pirate night was the 4th night, but we skipped that to go to PALO's, which was wonderful.

To the OP, I would definitely recommend this cruise, but loved my Celebrity cruise 2 years ago too (on the Infinity to Alaska). I am considering the Bermuda cruise too..perhaps for next year.

 

[kathi]

Thanks so much to everyone for responding!!

We have to decide by 5 pm tomorrow and all of your comments really help. We have only cruised Disney (this would be our 10th cruise) and have wanted to try Celebrity, but we love the Magic. Our actual anniversary is the 10th, so that would make it Pirate night (which we do not enjoy) and Palo would be perfect followed by the fireworks.

My husband does not want to be cold, but I'm a geologist and I LOVE rocks and hiking, so this trip sounds perfect. We have vacationed in Maine a number of times in September, so it really shouldn't be that much different. He is just used to cruises being tropical.

We are on the Fantasy in November, so could get our tropical DCL fix at that time.

Decisions to make.....

Kathi

 

[taximom00]

Thanks so much to everyone for responding!!

We have to decide by 5 pm tomorrow and all of your comments really help. We have only cruised Disney (this would be our 10th cruise) and have wanted to try Celebrity, but we love the Magic. Our actual anniversary is the 10th, so that would make it Pirate night (which we do not enjoy) and Palo would be perfect followed by the fireworks.

My husband does not want to be cold, but I'm a geologist and I LOVE rocks and hiking, so this trip sounds perfect. We have vacationed in Maine a number of times in September, so it really shouldn't be that much different. He is just used to cruises being tropical.

We are on the Fantasy in November, so could get our tropical DCL fix at that time.

Decisions to make.....

Kathi

We went on this cruise in July...it was our 1st Disney cruise. (Took my daughter on a non DCL cruise 3 years ago and I have done many pre parenthood!)

We chose this itinerary as it was out of NYC and my mom lives there (we live in Boston)...so it was easy with no flights involved. Plus, my mom didn't want the Caribbean in July!

I was hesitant as, like your husband, I think Caribbean cruise!

As you will be on the Fantasy in November, I would chose this cruise just for a different itinerary.

Halifax is a lot like Boston/Maine in that 'waterfront port feel'.....

As you are a geologist, you might check out the Saint John excursion called Stonehammer park. (I think that is the name) We didn't go on this however I thought it looked interesting...something about how the land formed thousands of years ago....my daughter's grade did a huge rock unit last year (7th grade) and she really liked it....but I didn't really think my mom would manage the walking so we passed and did a riverboat cruise instead...which was great overall.

It was cool at night on deck..in fact Pirate Night was so foggy they were sounding the fog horn and Mickey had to walk down the stairs instead of zip lining in (which I heard he usually does)

Sea days were cooler...some kids using the pools but not really crowded. The first day in NYC and port days were warmer.

They put fleece blankets on the deck chairs at night as well as sea days for the adults

I felt like the sea was rougher than my Caribbean cruises. The first night and last sea day my daughter had terrible headaches and just needed to lie down (even though I know they say look at the horizon!) That last sea day the pool looked like a wave pool....the kids in it were having a blast!

I would go as fall in New England is nice and after the long, hot, humid summer we've had, it will be a nice change! You'll enjoy the Caribbean on the Fantasy in November!

For us, it was about experiencing a Disney cruise and we loved it!!

 

[kathi]

Thank you for sharing your experience. We only have a few more hours to decide, but now have thrown a 4 night Dream in a concierge stateroom into the mix.

So:

5 night Canada on the Magic in veranda stateroom.
4 night Bahamas on the Dream in concierge family stateroom.
7 night Bermuda on Celebrity Summit in an Aqua Class stateroom.

All about the same price (including airfare, extras, etc.)

What to choose??? Must keep researching.

 

[jilljill]

Tons of info in this thread: http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2757016

Have you looked at the trip reports section to see/read any reviews of the Canadian cruises?

 

[NancyIL]

Thank you for sharing your experience. We only have a few more hours to decide, but now have thrown a 4 night Dream in a concierge stateroom into the mix.

So:

5 night Canada on the Magic in veranda stateroom.
4 night Bahamas on the Dream in concierge family stateroom.
7 night Bermuda on Celebrity Summit in an Aqua Class stateroom.

All about the same price (including airfare, extras, etc.)

What to choose??? Must keep researching.

For the same price - Celebrity Summit! However, I'd rather go on a 7-night CANADA cruise (not one of your options) for more variety in ports than you'll get with the other itineraries. (It looks to me like the Celebrity Summit is 6 nights in September 2012.)