My favorite Disney cruise on my least favorite Disney ship (long review)

[KashasMom]

Cruise Date: November 5-11, 2016

We booked the NYC to San Juan cruise as soon as it became available. Although the Magic isn't my favorite Disney ship, IMO it was a great deal ($$) sailing between two of my favorite ports. As soon as the bookings opened, I booked Elsa & Anna and the Princess Gathering. I also registered my daughter for the kids club, although I knew she wouldn't go. It's a good idea to register prior to sailing - the lines on the day of the cruise were VERY long. One other thing...be sure to download the Disney Cruise app. It's great! I loved having it - you can highlight your favorites and keep them all in one place. You can check out your dinner menus for the entire cruise. It's so much better than taking the paper Navigator.

Boarding/Sailaway/First Day:

We live about 30 minutes from the port so we left early and arrived at 11:15. We went through security quickly. The silver check-in line was almost empty and soon we were checked in and waiting to board. Even though we were there so early we were in boarding group 9. We hung out a bit, had photos taken with Minnie, and checked out the Navigator. Soon it was time to board. They introduced our family and we were standing in the atrium at 12:15 (our original PAT was 1:00!).

We went up to deck 9 for lunch. Out by the pool they were selling the water package. We bought 12 bottles for $19.50 plus 18% gratuity. It's not something we ever do but I was on some meds that made me extremely thirsty. Apparently there was a choice of Evian and Dasani, which I didn't know. Next time I'll pay more attention! We went inside Cabanas for lunch and it was barely crowded. Lunch in Cabanas was always pretty decent and every day there were crab claws and shrimp. The only thing that was never good was dessert. :-(

Soon our room - 6633 - was ready. Some cruises we get a balcony, some not - mostly depends on the weather. We don't have any issues with any type of room though and were fine with our inside room this cruise. Our room surprisingly did not have a split bath. Not really an issue, I was just surprised. I thought they all did. The room had PLENTY of storage - more than we used and the space under the bed is enough for 3-4 big suitcases. Our room was in excellent condition as was the rest of the ship. Dry dock did the Magic well. We met our steward and one of our suitcases arrived before the muster drill. My daughter put our magnets on our door and I hung our Fish Extender. I decided not to join an official Fish Extender Exchange but brought my own gifts to put in for my daughter. This worked well until the last night when someone STOLE one of her gifts! Had heard that it happens but had never had it happen to us before. She was also pixie-dusted by a couple of anonymous people including the Saenz Family (I hope they see this thank you!).

By now it was 3:00 and I realized I had not signed up to make a gingerbread house! I ran down to Guest Services and after the CM juggled around my Elsa & Anna and Princess Gathering timings, I literally got the last tickets! I was happy since we missed it on our Fantasy Very Merry Time cruise! Soon it was time for the muster drill which was held with several other groups in Animator's Palate. It was about as good as you can expect the drill to be. At least we weren't out on some hot deck with our life jackets ON the way the drills used to be!

Soon it was time for Sailaway. We are usually down at the stage level but decided to watch from above on deck 10. We were on the port side of the ship so we were able to see the show - lots of music and lots of Disney characters - (deck 9 was packed!) and see NYC as we sailed by. It's amazing to sail out of NYC - my favorite port. The weather was nice and the sun light on the buildings was perfectly beautiful! (We had been docked next to the Vista and it looked as nice as the reports I've read about it...very intrigued.) As soon as we passed the Freedom Tower, we headed to the starboard side of the ship and a bit forward to see the Statue of Liberty. Wow, it was SO windy there! There was a glare on Lady Liberty and tons of people were pushing and trying to take photos. I've seen her countless times but couldn't leave until I got at least one decent photo. There's just one thing about sailing from NYC that's different than sailing from FL - the crowd/vibe. When you sail from FL you have more of a mix of people from all over the U.S. as well as more international passengers.

We had second seating for dinner (8:15) - which we really like - so soon it was time for the 6:15 Welcome Aboard show in the Walt Disney Theater. Of course, the characters are a highlight - loved our CD, Clayton as well. Actually this was the first time on ANY of my cruises that I've actually remembered our CD. At 7:30 it was time for the Christmas Tree Lighting Ceremony. I have to admit that it was about a week before the cruise that I realized this was a Very Merry Time cruise. Honestly it was just TOO early. It was less than a week after Halloween!! We had been on the Fantasy a couple of years ago - 2nd week of December - for a Very Merry Time cruise that was perfect. I really LOVE Christmas but I wasn't into it on this cruise. Anyway...the atrium was PACKED - as it always is for any show/activity. This is probably my biggest gripe about the Magic. People are so squished together you can just about feel their breath on you! They had a small section roped off for "kids". People were pushing in, mothers were in there with kids, etc., etc. Mickey, Minnie, Pluto, & Goofy came out...some Christmas Carols were played - and then the lights on the tree were turned on. I have to admit that the tree was beautiful!

Off to Carioca's for dinner. The three of us were seated at table for 6. We met our waiter and assistant waiter and ended up being the only ones at our table. The head waiter came over during the meal to let us know that he'd seat us at a table for 4 going forward. Our serving team were very good, particularly our waiter. Out of the 4 teams we've had in the last 5 years, these 2 were the best. I do think that they were very rushed though. Funny thing - this was the first time my daughter had her meat cut! I always thought this was a funny thing when other people mentioned it and having had it done...I just think it's a bit odd. In any case, along with having a great time, the food in the MDRs was much better than we've had previously on DCL. That was a very pleasant surprise. With very few exceptions, everything was very good. Sadly, desserts still are not very good. Loved the breads though! That first night I had Beef Empanadas, Tiger Shrimp Cerviche, and the waiter recommended Prime Rib, all of which were very good.

We decided to skip Santa's Winter Wonderland Ball at 10:15 since they'd have another the next day. Back in our cabin we were greeted with chocolates and our first towel animal. We checked out some TV - daughter loved that there were so many Disney channels and multiple movie channels as well. It was a long day and soon we were asleep.

Day 2 (Sea Day):

We were up early and had breakfast in Cabana's...it was consistently awful - seriously the worst breakfast I've ever had on a cruise. I don't know that the heck the eggs were...things that should have been hot were cold, etc. I settled for cream of wheat and a half a bagel every day. One weird thing...there wasn't any milk or half and half for coffee in Cabanas - it was outside by the soda machines near the splash zone. After breakfast my daughter and I went to Carioca's to make our gingerbread house. Each family got the pieces for a the house, a bag of icing, and candies for decorations. The pastry chef took us through step by step to make the house. It wasn't too rushed but we did need to keep up the pace because there was another group coming in right after us! We got almost to the end and our house sort of caved in. :-( My daughter was upset but one of the CMs came over and helped us get it back together. It wasn't the prettiest gingerbread house but my daughter enjoyed having it on our cabin - and eating it! - over the next few days. You cannot bring your house off the ship so bon appetit!

It was a little too cool to swim so we went to a Mickey Mouse Animation class in the Promenade Lounge. Our pictures weren't the best but we had a good time. We ended up staying in the lounge for Bingo. We rarely play Bingo on our cruises but split with the $40 for two sets of tickets. No, we didn't win but came close a few times. Next up in the Promenade Lounge was a craft class - 3D elf. Somehow the morning was gone and it was up to Cabana's for lunch. The lunch selections were always good and there was a specialty "corner" (Indian, based on Tangled, Asian, etc.) each day. After lunch we went to Santa's Winter Wonderland Ball in the atrium. The Disney performers sang a few Christmas Carols before Santa and Mrs. Claus were introduced. Soon Mickey & gang came down the stairs. And finally Elsa & Anna came half-way down the stairs and made it snow...a highlight for my daughter who ended up with a bunch of snow in her hair. The show wasn't long and it was finally warm enough to swim. There weren't a lot of people in the pool yet and the water was warm. In the days to come when we were in the pool, I liked watching movies on the funnel vision. We went to the afternoon session of Bingo - Jackpot Bingo - (another $40). This time I won a Pluto Hat when I was called up to check the numbers. Pluto himself liked the hat when my daughter wore it for a photo with him later that day.

We skipped the Captain's Welcome Reception and got ready for the show instead. The show that night was Twice Charmed. I'm big on having a good seat (for any show/event I see) so we were always at the theater when the doors opened 30 minutes before the show. We had a chance to wind down and have a drink (virgin pina coladas for my daughter and me would become our nightly ritual). We must have seen Twice Charmed on our last Magic cruise but my daughter was much younger. We saw a total of 8 shows on this cruise - my daughter loved them all. I enjoyed 3 of them and this was one. It was really well done and at the end of the week, I thought that all the shows should be based on the Princess' stories or Aladdin, etc. (I don't like shows like Wishes, or Believe.) After Twice Charmed we went down a flight of stairs to Fathoms to catch the magic, balloons, and comedy of John Cassidy. He was absolutely hysterical. This was the another of my favorite shows.

Dinner was in Lumiere's, which is probably my favorite of the 3 restaurants on board. Just a nice setting. I had iced lobster/jumbo shrimp, fried brie, French onion soup, and Chateaubriand. The soup was the worst thing I had on the cruise! The rest - especially the Chateaubriand - was excellent. Skipped dessert again...too much water. One thing I noticed is the change in dress in the dining rooms. I'm not one to complain about how people dress (it doesn't affect my dining experience) but wow...shorts and crocs and just the most casual clothes. It's quite a different Disney than our last cruise. After dinner we walked around the ship a bit, watched some Disney on TV - pretty much the same thing each night since dinner ended so late (the only downside of second seating).

Next up Day 3 - another Sea Day.

 

[Mama Lisa 911]

I couldn't believe how "casual" some people dressed for dinner on our cruise last month! A male at a table across from us wore a Tshirt that had seen better days and a pair of what were clearly character pajama pants. I know it says cruise casual, both some people take the casual a little too far! It didn't seem to bother him in the least that his family looked embarassed and that other diners were looking at him in distaste. He seemed to take pleasure in telling the serving staff that he had decided to start dressing more "comfortable" for dinner.

 

[bobbiwoz]

I am enjoying your report. We're on the itinerary next year. It will be after Thanksgiving, so it will probably be later that we have swimming weather.

DH & I prefer 1st dining, and I will do Palo the first night so we can CE sure to be on deck as we pass the Statue of Liberty. On the DVC Member Cruise in September, our sight was the pedestal. We were on the wrong side to see anything else.

 

[tee11]

Can't wait to read more!

 

[disneyholic family]

looking forward to hearing more!!

 

[KashasMom]

Day 3 (Sea Day):

We didn't deviate from our morning routine so it was back to Cabana's for breakfast. Since we were up early it wasn't crowded. Crowds started to come around 9:15-9:30. After breakfast we had a photo opp with Minnie and then Goofy. We headed to Animator's Palate for our Elsa & Anna Meet and Greet. They were very strict about being on time/close to on time for this as the group in front of us found out. The line moved very quickly and we were in and out of there in about 10-15 minutes. We had done this on a previous cruise with just Elsa & Anna so it was nice to see everyone's favorite snowman, Olaf, was there as well. Just a note here about the character/princess photos...the CMs were so good about how many family photo combinations you were allowed. We always only did one - just my daughter. But there were families who literally did 7-8. Then there are the autograph books. And now - since you are not allowed to leave items to be signed by the characters/princesses at Guest Services - people are bringing big items (photo mats, etc.) to be signed. No complaints here (I get the excitement), just a heads up to have patience.

Back out to the atrium we had time for photos with Stitch and Mickey. And then we got on a pretty long line for the Princess Gathering. You never know which princesses are going to be on your sailing. We had Rapunzel, Cinderella, and Belle. The princesses are always so nice and always have a few words for children. My daughter will no longer wear any princess dresses for photos but even she still feels a bit of the magic when she meets them. I think that Disney does its best to make sure everyone who wants them gets tickets for the Princess Gathering. However, if you don't, there are still opportunities for photos with a Princess or two. Not many though...so check the Navigator.

The morning flew by so we went back to our room and changed into our bathing suits. We had lunch by the pool. My husband had pizza from Pinocchio's pizza (always pretty long lines), my daughter had a burger from Pete's Boiler Bites, and I had wraps from Daisy's De-Lites. The pizza was okay/good. The burger was gross. The best was the food from Daisy's De-Lites - several choices of wraps, fresh fruit, salads, cookies. It was great for lunch or a quick snack. For dessert we had soft serve ice cream from Eye Scream Treats. Over the course of the cruise, I lost count of how many ice cream cones we had. The soft serve machines were almost always not working 100% - the ice cream was so soft that it would fall off the cone completely so the station was a bit of a mess. Flavors were chocolate, vanilla, and a combo of both. There were three machines of the 3 flavors. During the cruise they switched the flavors on one of the machines to have a different flavor - blueberry, pineapple, etc.

We swam for a while in the Goofy Pool although stood in the Goofy Pool is more accurate. There were so many people in the pool that there was barely room to do more than stand. A new thing - I guess to control accidental peeing in the pool - is to make everyone get out of the pool for 10 minutes. This happened every 20 minutes or so. I guess the thinking was that everyone should go to the bathroom. What was actually happening was 1) all the kids went into one of the nearby hot tubs or 2) the kids got out and had an ice cream or a drink. At least the pool wasn't drained and refilled during our cruise!

Tonight was Pirate Night. We've gone from barely dressing up to fully dressing up to now somewhere in the middle. Most people do a little bit, some do a lot. Disney provides a pirate bandana so you have that at the very least. You can bring eye patches, glow sticks, etc. My daughter had pirate gifts that she received in our Fish Extender from a previous cruise - a pink pirate scarf and eye patch, a pirate bracelet, and a pink pirate tote bag. After showering/dressing (hairdryer was not very good - might want to bring your own if you have long/thick hair) we had some time to kill before the show so we looked around the shops. The Magic only has two shops (plus a small Star War themed shop near Fathoms) and the merchandise is limited. The duty-free merchandise is VERY limited. There are some of the usual Disney things, some specialty cruise things, pirate outfits in case you forgot yours, etc. Most of the merchandise is over-priced/expensive (any Disney thing you can get on land is cheaper on land). We purchased postcards and some small items and I bought a Disney Cruise backpack, which I love - and wasn't horribly priced. We had gotten a Castaway Cay backpack as a Silver Castaway gift back in 2013 and I use it ALL the time (so much so that I had to have the straps reinforced). I figured it was time for another one. By the way, our gift on this cruise was a beach bag. I think it's the second one we've gotten - not something I'd use. :-(

We headed over to the Walt Disney Theater for the show - Ventriloquist Lynn Trefzger. It wasn't one of my favorite shows but my daughter loved it. There were also 1 or 2 adult shows later at night.

Next up was the Pirate Show. We found a spot on Deck 10 where we could watch all the action on Deck 9, which was packed! We liked this show much better than the show we last saw on the Fantasy - Minnie, Goofy, and Chip and Dale dressed in their pirate gear. Obviously, you have not lived until you've seen Goofy dance to Moves like Jagger! Then Captain Hook, Smee, and some bad pirates came in before Mickey zip lined from the rear funnel to the stage! It was a bit scary seeing "The Franchise" stuck tens of feet up in the air but he made it safely to the stage. There was a lot of music - Disney knew its audience well with a nod to Jersey via Bon Jovi's Living on a Prayer and other well known sing-along tunes. The grand finale was the fireworks display. All in all, definitely a very enjoyable show!

Dinner was in Animator's Palate. There was a bit of a "show" and Mickey as the Sorcerer. That happened so quickly and he didn't come near our table so just a couple of blurry photos from that. I had Serrano Ham and Cheese, Chicken Walnut Salad, Pork Chop, and finally room for a Mickey Bar! Once again, everything was very good.

Another great day!

Next up Day 4 - another Sea Day.

 

[Pens Fan]

Enjoying your review! I just wanted to chime in on your MDR food comments. In the past, we have never been too impressed with the MDR food. It got the job done, but wasn't really remarkable. Like you, however, we noticed a marked improvement on our last cruise on the Magic in October. For the most part, the food was really good and somehow managed to not be cooked to oblivion. We were very happy.

However, the desserts, oh my. I honestly do not understand how a cruise ship that caters to families and children can manage to make such awful desserts. I can't remember the last time I enjoyed one, except maybe the odd ice cream sundae which is pretty hard to screw up. I've learned a trick though. On our Iceland cruise the very first night I wasn't hungry by dessert time and I knew they weren't worth the calories so I told our server I'd pass. Well, he was in "first night, impress, eager to please mode" and insisted on bringing me something he thought I'd enjoy. He brought me the most delicious bowl of raspberry sorbet. It was perfect, light, refreshing and oh so yummy. He explained that there is a sorbet available every night, though the available flavor will change. I've ordered that almost every night on a DCL cruise since. It never disappoints!

 

[KashasMom]

However, the desserts, oh my. I honestly do not understand how a cruise ship that caters to families and children can manage to make such awful desserts. I can't remember the last time I enjoyed one, except maybe the odd ice cream sundae which is pretty hard to screw up. I've learned a trick though. On our Iceland cruise the very first night I wasn't hungry by dessert time and I knew they weren't worth the calories so I told our server I'd pass. Well, he was in "first night, impress, eager to please mode" and insisted on bringing me something he thought I'd enjoy. He brought me the most delicious bowl of raspberry sorbet. It was perfect, light, refreshing and oh so yummy. He explained that there is a sorbet available every night, though the available flavor will change. I've ordered that almost every night on a DCL cruise since. It never disappoints!

During all of my cruises there were probably a handful of desserts that stood out. I just don't understand why desserts can't be better! On Disney I usually have a Mickey Bar but that's good to know about the sorbet!

 

[KashasMom]

Day 4 (Sea Day):

By this morning, I was REALLY ready to get off the ship. Three plus sea days in a row is definitely more than my limit! We ended up sleeping just a bit later than usual before having breakfast at Cabana's. After breakfast we went to the pool and despite signs saying lounge chairs could not be reserved ALL of them had towels, etc. on them while only 10% actually had people sitting in them. This is really one of my big pet peeves. If you are going to have rules, why not enforce them? We found a table and chairs in the shade. My husband hung out and watched the funnel vision movie while my daughter and I went swimming. While we were there they had a Fun in the Sun activity, which was basically some kids dancing on the stage by the pool (too few wanted to get OUT of the pool to participate!). Next up there was an ice sculpting demonstration. We missed most of it since we went to lunch. We sat outside all the way in the back of the ship and it was so windy everything was flying around. The theme in the special corner of Cabana's was Tangled so there were different kinds of sausages, pretzel bread, etc. It was another good lunch. Of course we had ice cream cones for dessert!

After lunch we went to Fathoms for the Towel Folding activity. Our steward, Vinay, was helping out and my daughter loved learning how to make all the animals he left for us each night. Actually, I was kind of surprised that we even went to this....just not something I would have normally chosen.

Next up we headed to O'Gills Pub which had been turned into the Snuggly Duck for Thugo. You might recognize the Snuggly Duck from Tangled. It was a pub located somewhere in the woods not too far from Rapunzel's tower. Thugo is sort of similar to Bingo. Instead of letters there are pictures of various thugs. We were lucky to get there early and get a seat because it ended up being standing room only. It was more fun than I expected.

We made our way to the Promenade Lounge for an Olaf ornament making activity. We were lucky to find a few seats but it ended up being the most crowded (other than the atrium events) activity of our cruise. The Promenade Lounge itself is not very big and overflow people always ended up sitting on the floor. For most activities they ran out of supplies (papers, scissors, etc.) For Olaf, this was so bad that they just had everyone get on line and one by one the CM helped everyone make the ornament. I don't think it was well-organized at all. Hopefully in the future they won't underestimate the popularity of some of these activities.

On our way back to our room we stopped in to check our photos. I about fainted to see that the only photos in our folder were 2 with Minnie from the day we boarded! Francois assured me that by using that photo they could find all the rest of ours. (I seriously had little hope since Disneyland never did find ANY of our photos from February!) He told me to check back the next day.

We showered and dressed for the show and dinner. That night's show was Tangled, which was a new show for us. I really, really liked this one. For dinner in Carioca's there were few choices that sounded appealing. I had the Tiana Shrimp, which was good, and the Turkey, which was not so good. At least we weren't being hammered every night by our waiter with the "excellent" speech the way we were on one of our Fantasy cruises.

Next up...Day 5 Land Ho!!

 

[KashasMom]

Day 5 (St. Maarten):

Up early, breakfast at Cabana's, and off the ship! So happy was I that I could have kissed the ground. Just a note - get towels from the pool deck to take to the beach. There are none available anywhere else. There were insect repellent stations when we got off the ship for people worried about misquitoes, etc. There was also a couple playing the steel drums. St. Maarten has several shops right where the ship docks. You can buy souvenirs, snacks, etc. There was WiFi but unbelievably it was not free (one of the few ports without free WiFi).

We have been to St. Maarten so many times so we decided to spend the day at the beach. We planned to go to Orient Beach. We headed to the taxi stand and found a van going to the beach(es). We dropped a family off at another beach first (can't remember which one but it didn't look particularly nice). It took about 30 minutes to get to the family-friendly part of Orient Beach. We were there by 10 a.m. The taxi cost $7 per person one way. There are several sections where you can rent a lounger/umbrella. We stayed just about where we were dropped off at Kakao Beach Bar & Restaurant. We were able to get comfy chairs and umbrellas right at the water's edge for $10 each. There were also clean restrooms, showers, and changing rooms. The bar area was nice - a typical beach bar.

We swam for a while - the water was really nice - and very calm. My daughter and I walked all the way down the beach. There was jet skiing and parasailing. There were a few small shops as well. We saw other sections with chairs (each section had different colors). Each section was in front of a particular bar/restaurant. The prices varied but nothing was less expensive than $10 per chair - although some included a drink for that $10. I think we had the best/nicest set up and were happy with our choice. We did a bit more swimming and my daughter was thrilled to snorkel and see fish. I had bought an inexpensive underwater camera and she enjoyed taking photos of the fish.

We had lunch at Kakao Restaurant (free WiFi). My husband and I had Trigger fish in a delicious sauce, rice, and a vegetable quiche. My daughter had salmon linguine. The food was delicious!! We watched the very big iguanas sunning and running around while we ate. After a short break, we went back swimming. It was the perfect day! We took a taxi back to the ship ($25 total). The driver was super nice and he and my husband chatted it up.

After showering we checked out the character photo opps. This was the absolute perfect time since most people were still off the ship. We hopped between the 4th deck and the 5th deck taking photos with Minnie, Chip and Dale, and Daisy. We took some pictures down in the atrium in front of the Nautical Mickey statue and the giant gingerbread house.

The show that night was Buckets and Boards. I remember that they were on our last cruise but we had skipped the show. At the time everyone had said how great they were so we didn't want to miss it. My daughter loved the show. I thought it was okay.

Dinner was in Lumiere's. I don't remember what I ate but I remember that it was SO noisy in there. And that's when I really noticed how dressed down everyone was. I do remember that we were so tired that my daughter took her Mickey Bar back to the room. It was a bit messy but she was thoroughly content! We all slept very well.

Next up...Day 6 Tortola.

 

[LeslieG]

Please tell me about the sorbet. My son is allergic to dairy, so anytime there's sorbet, I'm interested. But sailing many times on DCL, I've never known them to have sorbet. Are you sure it wasn't sherbet?

 

[Pens Fan]

Please tell me about the sorbet. My son is allergic to dairy, so anytime there's sorbet, I'm interested. But sailing many times on DCL, I've never known them to have sorbet. Are you sure it wasn't sherbet?

It is most definitely sorbet. It isn't on the menu. Our server just brought some out for me one night and explained that it is always available, though you never know what the flavor will be. I order it all of the time now and have had many different flavors. They are all good, but the raspberry is my favorite. I just thought of something, however. I discovered this on the Magic and the only cruise we have taken since was also on the Magic. I guess it's possible that it it only available on that ship. I really don't know.

 

[LeslieG]

That's really odd, because we've been on the Magic several times, and when I would ask for sorbet, the server would always want to give me sherbet, which is not non-dairy. Maybe it depends on the server. Actually, they would normally make my son a special dessert each night that was non-dairy, although it never involved sorbet. Thanks for the info though. I will press them on it next time, or maybe ask the head server.

 

[xavier2001]

That's really odd, because we've been on the Magic several times, and when I would ask for sorbet, the server would always want to give me sherbet, which is not non-dairy. Maybe it depends on the server. Actually, they would normally make my son a special dessert each night that was non-dairy, although it never involved sorbet. Thanks for the info though. I will press them on it next time, or maybe ask the head server.

On the Wonder this year they had a different flavor sherbet each night, was definitely sherbet though and not sorbet. I know b/c my Mom ordered it each night and raspberry was her favorite too.

 

[Pens Fan]

I don't want to derail this excellent review any further with the sorbet / sherbet debate, but all I can say is that I have always asked for sorbet (and that is what the original server that offered it to me called it) and that is what I received. If it actually is sherbet, it is not like any I have ever had in my life. It looks, tastes, and appears just like sorbet.

 

[KashasMom]

Day 6 (Tortola):

Forgot to mention that my husband dropped off the form for a future cruise (placeholder) the night before. No need to wait to speak to a rep unless you're booking a specific cruise. Next time I'll try and do it before the last night but it wasn't a hassle at all. By the next day (Tortola day) I had an email with the confirmation.

After breakfast in Cabana's we got towels from the pool deck and headed off the ship. This was our 3rd time in Tortola. It's always hot! They finished the shopping area - lots of stores and a restaurant/bar - and free WiFi. We walked a minute or so to the taxi stand to go to Brewer's Bay. They put us in a van and we waited about 10 minutes for another family to join us (there was free WiFi in the van). Cost was $8 each way per person. Twenty minutes later (10:00 a.m.) we arrived at Brewer's Bay. It was a nice beach - not gorgeous. I'm not sure if that was because it was a bit overcast or the water wasn't different shades of blue. I must be spoiled. It was very private though. There was a small restaurant that didn't look too appealing and lounge chairs were available for $5 each. We arranged for the driver to be back in 3 hours (1:00 p.m.). The beach was empty. There was a good amount - lengthwise - of beach and I don't think there was ever more than 40-50 people there. The waves were VERY rough - the kind that knock you down and drag you under. It wasn't good for snorkeling. There weren't any shells but plenty of rocks. My daughter and I walked the length of the beach and spent a lot of time in the water - most of the time a bit inside where the waves broke. We had a bit of rain - on and off - nothing too bad. By noon I was ready to go back to the ship but figured we had to wait for the other family. Finally at 1:00 we met our driver and waited and waited for the other family, who apparently had already left! He put us with another group back to the ship.

Once back at the ship we went to Cabanas for another good lunch (it closes at 2). The ship was still very empty so after a break and a bit of swimming, my daughter and I decided to try the AquaDunk. Even knowing the floor was going to open up underneath I was still quite surprised when it actually happened! My daugther LOVED it. I went back on once more and she went twice more. It's definitely better than the AquaDunk on the Fantasy!

By now it was late afternoon so we headed back to our room to shower/dress and start packing - the worst part of any cruise. Back up on deck we watched as the ship left Tortola. We went into Shutters and I ordered the photo CD (10 photos for $149). I always get that package because the professional photos of my daughter and the characters/princesses are always better than mine! I've never been disappointed. And happily, Francois was right and ALL of my pictures were in our folder!

The show that night was Disney Dreams. I should have liked it...there were plenty of character appearances - but I really just wasn't into it. Not one of my favorites. After the show we went downstairs to Fathoms to see Dave K, the hypnotist. He was good - one guy who was hypnotized was really funny. I'm sure it would have been a much better show if it didn't have to be kid-friendly.

Dinner was in Animator's Palate. This was the night our drawings were part of the show. It's always a lot of fun to see everyone's drawings, especially the one's they animate. For dinner I had Macaroni and Cheese soup and Beef Wellington. Enjoyed both! Unfortunately the desserts were more yucky than usual that night. We said goodbye to our waiter, assistant waiter, and the head waiter. They had been a very good team.

I thought we had a bit more time past 10:30 to get our bags in the hallway but our steward told us they had to be out by then. We ran back to the room, finished throwing things in the suitcases and got them out in the hallway just before 10:00. I was so surprised that everyone really did have their suitcases out AND CMs were already taking them away. Wouldn't want to miss that 10:30 cutoff and have to lug our bags the next morning!

We went to the atrium for the farewell show that was supposed to start at 10:15. They neglected to say that the characters would be coming out for 15 minutes of free-for-all photo opps. Sometime after 10:30 the show started. The "show" consisted of 2 Christmas songs and the characters waving goodbye as they went up the stairs. Definitely not the best farewell show we've seen on DCL!

We went back to our room to sleep and unfortunately the nagging, creeking/knocking noise that was in our room all week really came to life! It was so loud and horrible - sounded like the ship was 200 years old!! It took us a VERY long time to get to sleep. Definitely not the way to end our cruise!


Day 7 (Disembarkation in San Juan):

I ran up to Shutters to get my CD. We packed up the last of our things. Somehow we always end up with a bunch of little bags, backpacks, etc. on the last day! I didn't realize that Cabana's was open for breakfast (it is! - at least one side). After saying goodbye to our steward we went to breakfast - out of our room by 8 a.m. They starting calling the "characters" for disembarkation. We had Mickey and knew we'd be the last to disembark since we didn't have a flight to catch. Somewhere around 9 we moved outside to the pool area and waited and waited and waited. By about 9:30 we went down to the atrium. There were people wrapped around deck 4 and down to the atrium. Finally the line was just about empty and without waiting for them to call us we left the ship. It was close to 10:00 a.m. We spotted our luggage easily enough but the immigration line was surprisingly long!

Finally outside, we got a taxi to the San Juan Marriott Resort & Stellaris Casino on Condado Beach. Obviously it was very early when we arrived (before 11 a.m.) but they allowed us to pre-check-in and use the pool, etc. It was a really nice hotel. We went across the street to Starbuck's for some cofffee and walked down the block a bit. I love San Juan, particularly Old San Juan but chose this hotel thinking we'd use the beach. There were a few restaurants around and a CVS and Walgreen's but not much else that we could see. We went back to the hotel and changed into our bathing suits. The pool is gorgeous and we spent hours in it! We went to the restaurant by the beach for lunch and saw that the red flags were up because of the rough waters. After a little more swimming in the pool, we showered, changed and headed to Old San Juan for a (very) little shopping and dinner. (Taxi was about $20.) We went to Triana's for dinner (we had been there on a previous visit). Loved the chicken mofongos & fried plantains!

The next morning we had an amazing breakfast buffet at the hotel. Too soon it was time to go to the airport for our flight home!

This really was a great cruise. I'm still not a fan of the Magic (like the Fantasy) but everything seemed to click. I think the biggest difference is my daughter's age (7). She's now able to swim in the Goofy pool and was excited to do all of the activities and see the shows. (She doesn't go in the kids' clubs). I think we have a couple more Disney cruises left and may just do the Magic out of NYC again!

 

[bbn1122]

Enjoying your TR. ? Did you mention your sailing date? I did not see it in your first post.

I am looking forward to a short 4 night cruise next October out of NYC with my DH. We sailed out of NYC in 2012, we live in Monmouth County, NJ, so closeness of the port is such a bonus. Also, NYC is stunning to sail out of.

 

[KashasMom]

Enjoying your TR. ? Did you mention your sailing date? I did not see it in your first post.

I am looking forward to a short 4 night cruise next October out of NYC with my DH. We sailed out of NYC in 2012, we live in Monmouth County, NJ, so closeness of the port is such a bonus. Also, NYC is stunning to sail out of.

We sailed out of NYC in 2012 too (June). This one was November 5-11, 2016. I think I want to try the Wonder next. Not sure since it's more similar to the Magic than the Fantasy. Would consider the Dream but not for 3/4 nights. So maybe it will be the Magic out of NYC again.