Newsies Cruises (or, How We Braved Hurricane Erin on the Magic) - Our First DCL Adventure! - Aug '25 *NEW 09/25*

[Newsies]

Lovely morning of exploring! And thanks for all the descriptions. I can't believe how empty everything looked. I mean, it was early but not THAT early.

I think it stems from the Magic being such a small ship and having so few guests -- the Atrium always seemed nearly empty in the mornings!

I feel like this sounds like a foreshadowing for a very long line.

Hahaha it actually isn't! As much as I love foreshadowing

 

[Stasieki]

Loving the detailed report. I went on the Dream once about 7 years ago. I need to do another one soon.

 

[Newsies]

Loving the detailed report. I went on the Dream once about 7 years ago. I need to do another one soon.

Thank you very much! The Dream was my #2 choice for this cruise, but Magic was the only ship sailing out of PC with the itinerary we wanted. We'll be on the Dream's sister ship in 2027 and we're very excited!

 

[Newsies]

A Princess Bunch & Palo Brunch​

I got to D-Lounge for the Mirabel/Bruno M&G at 8:30 and there were 2 or 3 families ahead of me. D-Lounge was another “lounge” that was found on deck 4, right above Lumiere’s, but I really didn’t consider it a “lounge” like the other ones on the ship were. This was where they hosted a lot of the “big” activities that were geared towards little ones or families, especially if they involved dancing and/or physical challenges. And even though there was a bar, I actually don’t think I ever saw a bartender here. It was more like a recreation room.

The Madrigal family tapestry and butterflies on the wall were really cute, though.

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Mirabel & Bruno are the absolute cutest! We agreed that we’re really glad we can talk about Bruno again, but the song is still a banger. I said I’d sing “We Don’t Talk About Bruno” at Karaoke one night and dedicate it to Bruno.

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When I wrapped up with Mirabel & Bruno, it was time to go back downstairs for Grace & I’s Royal Gathering appointment.

All character M&Gs are free on the Disney Magic, but they also offer a unique experience called the “Royal Gathering” where you basically reserve a time to meet four princesses. It’s a free M&G, they just streamline the experience by asking you to reserve it. These times can “sell out” quickly, so I definitely recommend being online at midnight when your booking window opens for activities like this.

It was really nice having an assigned time to meet the princesses actually, we got there at 9:15 on the dot when our window was open and we didn’t do any waiting to meet them. We saw Ariel, Cinderella, Tiana, and Belle!

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Everybody was sweet as ever, talking about collecting thing-a-mabobs with Ariel and about how Fairy Godmother made Cinderella’s dress with pockets like the “girl’s girl” she is and about how Soul Cat lounge has beignets but they can’t be as good as Tiana’s.

But our time with Belle? Well, that was a M&G for the books.

We walked up to Belle and started complimenting her friend Lumiere for being such a fabulous maître d’. She started talking about how he was so welcoming to her when she first arrived at the castle when suddenly, we were interrupted by the loudest and scariest crash I’ve ever heard in real life. It sounded like metal clanging and class shattering at the same time, and it was long, like a series of bangs and clangs that went on for a full minute at least.

Every single person in the entire atrium, including Belle & Grace & I, was staring at the left midship elevator bank where the source of this noise came from. My heart stopped, immediately scared for the worst-case-scenarios, but then I noticed that the elevator car (which was empty, thank god) was fully in place on Deck 4, so at least there were no passengers who could be hurt.

So that went on for a minute and then it was just 10 seconds of standing around, frozen, in stunned silence from absolutely everybody on all three decks of the atrium.

The princesses – being the absolute professionals they are – were the first to move things along and didn’t miss a beat.

“That sounded a bit like Gaston when he tried to storm the beast’s castle.” Was how Belle moved the conversation along. Brilliant.

Belle was the last princess we met, then it was time for us to head upstairs with the parents for Palo Brunch.

We never found out what the actual root of the crash was, but dad thinks it was a plexiglass panel falling. Nobody was hurt, thankfully, and Disney handled whatever it was discreetly and professionally. But that elevator bank? Out of commission for the entire rest of the cruise. Womp-womp. Traveling between our room and the upper floors/lower floors would be a lengthy and difficult experience for the rest of our journey, especially for Dad, whose mobility isn’t fantastic.

We can talk more about the overall state of the Magic at the end of the TR. For now: We’ll talk about Palo next.

We had about an hour until our Palo dining time when that was over, but General Disney Trivia was just starting at Soul Cat Lounge, so we decided to take a short walk over there since we were already on Deck 3.

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I liked doing trivia at Soul Cat Lounge when they offered it. You would need to get there early, since seats could fill up quickly, but I liked that it was a more open-concept space. It was very casual and much easier to move around than Fathoms.

We did General Disney Trivia this time, and I did pretty good! I got 19/20. Alas, the medal went to a group who got 20/20.

Soul Cat Lounge was conveniently located by the Aft elevators, so we were able to take those up to Deck 10 where Palo was.

With a few minutes to go before our dining time, we decided to take some photos on the deck and drink in the sights of Nassau. It was beautiful up there! We could see Atlantis, which was cool.

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When we were done with photos and looking out at Nassau, we headed back inside to check in for our Brunch reservation.

We checked in with maître d' Giovanni at the desk, and we were promptly brought to our table.

Palo is a Signature dining experience, but the ambiance is warm and approachable, with some open-kitchen elements and a lot of friendly Cast Members smiling at you and welcoming you to the restaurant as you walk to your table. One of these open-kitchen elements is a brick oven where a pizza chef is firing your second course options, and the smell that wafts out of this oven– delightful smell, mind you– fills the room every time they open it. There’s no shortage of natural sunlight, with floor-to-ceiling windows along the walls so you can enjoy the views of the port. Everybody is in a good mood here, with guests in their favorite outfits enjoying lively conversations at their tables and with their waiters. You can tell you’re in for a great meal because the walk to your table alone is a masterclass in ambiance and hospitality.

Our waiter was Hristo from Bulgaria. Everybody says that their Palo waiter is “the best,” and I’ll do the same. He was awesome. Great at conversation, made fabulous recommendations, extremely attentive. Part of the Palo dining experience is that even though you’re paying $60 a person, it is still all-you-care-to-enjoy, and he made it a point to encourage us to order everything we wanted, letting us know that he “wouldn’t be offended” if we didn’t finish anything. That part is so important in AYCE dining – not only does it ease your nerves about picking the right course and getting the best value out of your meal, it reinforces Palo’s confidence in their food. It very much reminded me of my favorite Walt Disney World dinner of all time, Shula’s (may she rest in peace), where our waiter Doug told us we were required to love everything, and that he would take back anything we didn’t love 100%.

Alcohol is technically not included in your $60PP charge for the meal, but your first mimosa is free. Personally, I opted for the non-alcoholic bellini to start things off. Peach puree and some type of sparkling white grape juice – very simple, very sweet, and very tasty.

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The bread basket made its way out to us first. I didn’t want to spoil my appetite with such a long road ahead, so I didn’t dig in here, but everything looked fabulous.

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Then Hristo brought out the pastries and all bets were off when I saw the almond croissant.

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Now, again – I don’t really eat pastries for breakfast anymore. I am really more of a greens-supplement-water-and-protein-shake girl. But I would trade all of the Premier Cafe Latte Shakes in the world away for this croissant. It was the freshest of fresh. Each buttery layer fell apart in my mouth with a delicate crunch, the center was filled with the perfect ratio of almond cream. This croissant alone could have potentially been worth the $60.

The family indulged in ordering two charcuterie boards for the first course, but I was trying really hard to hold out for better things ahead. Hristo kept saying, “each course will be better than the last!” and I knew it would hold true, so I didn’t eat anything off of either of these plates. Dad was very excited for that seafood board on top, especially for the stone crab claw.

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The next course was the “egg” course. I had a forkfull or two of Grace’s ham & cheese frittata and it was very good. They drizzled a balsamic glaze on top which was really interesting in the best way possible. I had never thought to drizzle balsamic on eggs, but it was great!

The next course was “pancakes & waffles,” and Grace was the only one who got anything. She had Blueberry Pancakes, and she really loved them, remarking that they were the freshest blueberries she’s ever had.

Finally we got to the famous Pizza course, with three different offerings being brought to our table – two flatbreads and a calzone. Hristo proudly remarked that the ingredients for the pizza dough are important from Naples. SO chic.

I ordered the margherita flatbread – very basic, I know. A cheese flatbread with fresh tomatoes and basil on top.

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It really did set the bar for margherita pies. Yes, the cheese and the sauce were good, and the tomatoes were fresh, but that crust was the best part and well worth the hassle of importing ingredients from Naples. It was so light with the perfect “crunch” to it, and more importantly, it absorbed the smoky flavors of the wood-burning pizza stove. Just outstanding.

But I can do you one better – the goat cheese & sun-dried tomato flatbread was the second option.

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This was so rich, and the goat cheese lent itself to the mildest saltiness imaginable. It was my favorite of the two pizzas, but not my favorite thing to come out of the pizza oven that day. Mom ordered the Calzone, and the Palo Calzone was the real deal. This Calzone MEANS BUSINESS. I can’t even call it a calzone with a lowercase “c”. This is the KING of Calzones. That fabulous dough becomes a pillowy pocket for mozzarella, bell peppers, and prosciutto. No sauce needed. The saltiness of the mozzarella and prosciutto mixed with the sweetness of the bell peppers blended together for the perfect flavor. Best Calzone I’ve ever eaten, best thing I had on the boat. This was mom’s dish, so I only had a couple bites of it, but I cannot wait to order this Calzone for myself one day. Only 600-something days until I’m reunited, but who’s counting?

The final savory course was our real “entrees,” and I chose the Eggplant Rollatini at Hristo’s suggestion (and the suggestion of many, many reviews I watched and read before getting on the ship). Now, we are a very Italian family, but this was my first time trying Eggplant Rollatini. Here, lightly breaded and baked eggplant slices are filled and rolled with prosciutto, sweet ricotta, and smoked mozzarella cheese, then covered in tomato sauce and baked in the oven.

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Heavenly. I don’t think I can eat anyone else’s rollatini after this, because I can’t imagine any other rollatini living up to this. The entire dish just melted in your mouth. I am very picky about my Italian food and I was hesitant to eat at Palo for that reason – but this was truly amazing.

Everyone else loved their entrees, too. Grace and dad both hailed the lasagna she ordered as “the best in the world,” I had a bite and it was good but I don’t love lasagna so I’m not the finest judge for that. Dad almost cried over his Wild Mushroom Ravioli. And my one regret from this meal is that I didn’t get to try a bite of mom’s Chicken Parmigiana (sorry – Parmesan-Crusted Chicken Breast*) that Palo is so famous for and Hristo insisted at least one person at the table ordered.

The real “Disney Magic” was that we somehow had room for dessert. Hristo promised that every course would just get better and better, and he was correct. The Warm Chocolate Fondant was simply the best.

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This was a chocolate lava cake. It was rich, but it wasn’t dense or heavy – the perfect ending to such a large meal. Beautiful dark chocolate flavors, especially in the gooey center. A delightful espresso gelato accompanies it, which is absolutely genius. I use instant espresso powder in my brownies because it amplifies the flavor of the chocolate and makes everything all that more dimensional. Really, there’s no better match than espresso and chocolate.

It. Was. The. Best. Meal. Ever.

In a decade of touring Walt Disney World, I’ve never had a meal like that… ever. I would go so far as to say it rivals our favorite old-school Italian restaurant in NYC (Patsy’s on 56th if you need a rec!) A month ago, I would have called that “blasphemy.” But now, it is just the reality I live in. Disney Cruise Line served me some of the best Italian food I’ve ever had in my life. I never would have guessed it. Palo, I was unfamiliar with your game – I will never underestimate you again.

We thanked (and tipped) Hristo, thanked all of the Cast Members who were thanking us for dining at Palo, signed the guest book, and rolled ourselves back to our staterooms so we could digest and get ready for an afternoon at the pool.

Click here to continue​

 

[Stacybaeasm]

That brunch sounds delightful (I say as I eat a frozen Jimmy Dean breakfast sandwich at my desk.) Your food experience certainly went up leaps and bounds from your first lunch!!

I was so scared when I was reading about your "crash" experience during the meet and greet. As soon as you mentioned the elevators, every elevator issue from the TV show 911 came to my mind. But Belle handled it beautifully. Oh the training those princesses must have to go through!

 

[Newsies]

That brunch sounds delightful (I say as I eat a frozen Jimmy Dean breakfast sandwich at my desk.) Your food experience certainly went up leaps and bounds from your first lunch!!

Hahaha I feel you -- I wrote that update while drinking a protein shake for breakfast But yes -things only went "up" from the first meal!

I was so scared when I was reading about your "crash" experience during the meet and greet. As soon as you mentioned the elevators, every elevator issue from the TV show 911 came to my mind. But Belle handled it beautifully. Oh the training those princesses must have to go through!

Belle was a pro! All of the princesses looked like they picked things back up seamlessly. Sidenote, is 911 worth starting? A lot of my friends are super into it but I just don't know if I have time to pick up another show!

 

[Stacybaeasm]

Belle was a pro! All of the princesses looked like they picked things back up seamlessly. Sidenote, is 911 worth starting? A lot of my friends are super into it but I just don't know if I have time to pick up another show!

I love 911 but I am a huge fan of Angela Basset and Peter Krause (although he isn't with the show any more.) I also loved 911 Lonestar but Rob Lowe!!! I'm curious about the new spinoff -911 Nashville because I'm into the show and format now but I'm not so sure I want to watch Leanne Rimes. If I were you, I would go back to the beginning of 911 and watch a few episodes to see if you like it. I don't think picking the original show up as it starts the new season will be helpful - a lot went down last season that I think we will be dealing with for a while.

 

[Newsies]

Enjoying the Rainforest Room/Pirate Night​

We were eager to enjoy the Quiet Cove, so we changed into our bathing suits and headed upstairs, where the adults-only pool area was mid/forward Deck 9.

This is not my photo, this is Disney’s, but wanted to share to give some context to the area:

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You can see that the actual pool itself is not that big – the light blue rectangle is where the actual 10 ft water is, and that wide dark blue “border” around it is a shallow edge that’s perfect for sitting or sunbathing in the water. I would always see one woman sitting there, reading a book, drink in hand, which was the perfect vibe. Personally, I liked to get in the pool and swim up to the edge to chill there.

I found that the Quiet Cove was crowded at all times. Not unpleasant, just not able to find a sun lounger and sometimes it was competitive to get a little piece of the “edge” to cling to. Those two whirlpools were great for meeting new guests. Most of the time, mom & I would climb in and be the only guests there for a few minutes, then another couple would join us and we’d have fun getting to know them and hearing their stories.

Again, the vibes are very good at the Quiet Cove pool – just expect some crowding, especially since this area on the Magic is so small.

We had a lot of fun here for an hour or so, just chilling in the water, getting a tan, talking to other adults. Dad got a drink of the day at some point.

It got to a certain point in the mid-afternoon and I decided to dry off and visit Senses. This is the Spa on board – they offer a lot of services here, but they’re very expensive and there is a lot of pressure to add-on or upgrade things during your appointment. What I was really there for was the Rainforest Room, a relaxation chamber that you can book week-long access to on your cruise.

I booked this ahead of time, which is easy to do from the DCL App when your booking window for activities opens up. For me, I believe this was 60 or 75 days before embarkation day as a first time cruiser? It was $99 for a weeklong pass to the Rainforest Room, but I’ve seen it get as expensive as $199+ on other sailings depending on the length of the sailing and the boat.

When I checked into the Rainforest Room for the first time, they took my KTTW card and put a sticker of the Senses logo on it. They explained that every time I wanted to use the Rainforest Room, I’d hand them my KTTW and they’d hand me a little white key card that granted me access to the room. They gave me a complimentary robe and flip flops to borrow, then after a quick tour of the locker room & Rainforest Room, it was time for me to relax.

I don’t have any photos in here, as my phone was in a locker, but you can reference this Youtube Video to tour the rainforest room.

She is teeny tiny on the Magic, which everyone warned me about. A handful of people on TikTok discouraged me from getting a Rainforest Room pass for the simple fact that the Magic has the smallest and “least impressive” Rainforest Room, with only 5 heated stone loungers, 2 saunas, and 3 aromatherapy showers. Other ships have a lot more bells and whistles – more aromatherapy showers, more elevated sauna options, additional whirlpool tubs reserved exclusively for Rainforest Room patrons.

The 3 aromatherapy showers on the Magic were “Rain Shower,” “Tropical Thunder,” and “Cold Fog.” These are open-faced showers with different therapeutic features to them, each with a different water pressure, temperatures, and essential oil/scents. Each one is theoretically supposed to offer a different experience meant to invigorate, cleanse, refresh, or relax you. Personally, I couldn’t even smell the “aromas” (skill issue, I guess), and I thought “Rain Shower” and “Tropical Thunder” were nearly identical, with “Cold Fog” being the most different as the water was… you guessed it, cold. I did prefer the “Cold Fog” one to the other two, it was invigorating and refreshing after toasting by the pool all day and cold water showers are great for your heart, skin, hair, and overall health so that one had my seal of approval. But these were my least favorite part of the Rainforest Room. They were pleasant to experience, and I’d enjoy them every day just because I could, but I found the experience of “showering” while others were relaxing on a lounger a few feet away quite awkward, and I hated having to dry off in my bathing suit again after I had just finished getting semi-dry from a morning at the pool. Maybe another go at these on a different ship with more enhanced options will give me a different perspective.

I loved both saunas. One of them is a Mild Steam Room and the other is an Aromatic Steam Room. The Aromatic one was quite intense and I kind of had to build up some “stamina” there throughout the week before I could spend more than 2 or 3 minutes there. It was drier than the Mild Steam Room, but while the aroma was pleasant and relaxing, it was difficult to breathe. The Mild Steam Room was excellent, even though the steam seemed more intense in here at first glance, it was much easier to breathe. Both were relaxing and I felt great after stepping into them, but the Aromatic Steam Room needed some getting-used-to. If you prefer a more dry sauna, no worries – the women’s locker room has one for you, and I’m sure the men’s locker room has one as well.

But my favorite element of the Rainforest Room was the heated stone & tile lounger chairs. In fact, they may have been my favorite part of the cruise. There’s nothing you need to do but lay back in your cozy waffle bathrobe and let the gentle heat from the chair warm you up and lull you into the most relaxing nap of your life. I never wanted to get up. It was depressing when I had to. If anyone has 16 grand lying around, I’d like to borrow it to finance one for my home.

So is she the biggest and best Rainforest Room in the fleet? No, certainly not. But she gets the job done – she provides a quiet, restful place to take a nap and cleanse yourself before heading back to the excitement in the outside world.

I didn’t spend a ton of time here on this particular day. I laid on the lounger for a few minutes, did an aromatherapy spa, spent a few minutes in the saunas before heading the locker room and getting changed. I was really just here to get the lay of the land for the rest of the week, as I’d have to shower and get changed back in my stateroom to get ready for the night’s festivities.

Tonight was Pirate Night! Pirate Night is a very special evening on your Bahamas (and I think Caribbean?) sailing with DCL. This is the night where you’ll don your very best Pirate clothes, enjoy a Pirate-themed dinner, and party the night away with all sorts of Pirate-themed activities. There’s Pirate trivia and Pirate-themed crafts, and of course the Fab Five are donning their Pirate attire and ready to take photos with you. You can also meet Captain Hook and Mr. Smee or Jack Sparrow if you’re really in the mood to speak to some scurvy scoundrels. But the main event this evening comes at the very end with a deck party featuring all sorts of live entertainment, including Disney’s famous FIREWORKS AT SEA!

If you forgot to pack your Pirate garb, don’t worry. They’ll have some Pirate-themed accessories for sale at Mickey’s Mainsail, but of course Disney will make sure nobody is ever left out. When you come back to your stateroom on Pirate Night, you’ll find your stateroom host has left bandanas for everyone!

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I showered and got dressed quickly. While I was blow drying my hair, Grace decided to take a nap, so I snuck out to start meeting characters in their Pirate outfits.

Minnie looked really cute but her line was already so long. Mickey would be meeting in the atrium soon, so I just decided to say hi to Cap’n Mickey before everyone saw him and his line exploded.

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I made the embarrassing confession that I had never been a pirate before, and asked if he had any tips on how to be one. Turns out, Mickey thinks it’s really very quite simple – you just have to let out a big “yo-ho!”

Once I was done meeting Mickey, I had a message waiting in the Navigator app from dad saying that he, mom, and Grace were upstairs in line to meet the chipmunks. Obviously! The munks are mom’s favorite, so she wasn’t going to miss an opportunity to give them a squeeze.

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I don’t remember a ton from this Meet & Greet other than it was pretty chaotic. After all, you have four people and two mischievous chipmunks all trying to interact with one another. I think Chip was trying to tell dad & I something about a treasure hunt while Dale was busy with mom & Grace.

Afterwards, we went outside and sat on the decks for a little while, talking to each other. At some point, they called “all aboard” and we got to hear the horn blow as we left Nassau. We watched the island go by as we drifted away, enjoyed watching some other cruises on the route, until finally it was time for us to head into Animator’s Palate for dinner.

Even our dining team was wearing their Pirate best!

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Because this is another special menu, I won’t give a proper “review” of Animator’s Palate until tomorrow, but I was excited that this was where we got to be for this evening. I’m sure all of the restaurants get gussied up for Pirate Night somehow, but you can see that the paintings on the wall, which are usually black and white Disney sketches, had transformed into a Pirate gallery, and the lighting was red and… pirate-y, I guess…

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Plus, two nights of Animator’s Palate meant two nights of getting to use these adorable butter knives.

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The special bread service tonight was “Johnny Cakes” (cornbread. Krusteez cornbread) and some forgettable Mango-like dressing.

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Now, timing for this dinner would be a challenge, as Grace & I had plans at 6:45. When you have a potential conflict with your MDR time, the best thing you can do is inform your server the night before - they will ensure everything goes smoothly and will sometimes even take your order in advance to ensure you can finish your meal on time. So please, do as I say, not as I do, because our server seemed slightly panicked when I told him about this at the beginning of the meal. Although, in my defense – they changed the itinerary on the morning of Embarkation day. Pirate Night is usually on your Castaway Cay day, which would be the next day. Grace & I’s plans were tied to Pirate Night, so we were at the mercy of Disney when they switched things up on us!

For an appetizer, I had the Chilled Mango Soup with Passion Fruit, Ginger, and Coconut.

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Reviews stated that this was “like a mango smoothie,” which is why I chose it. And it was like a mango smoothie! There were some good chunks in there too, though, so maybe not 100% smoothie-like.

Nothing on this menu looked fabulous, TBH, so I just took our server’s recommendation for the entree. I had the Jerk Chicken with Rice & Peas, Fried Plantains, and a Pineapple-Chili Salsa.

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It was Jerk Chicken with Rice & Peas. I guess it was fine, I remember eating as much of it as I could but my mind was occupied elsewhere. We got our entrees later than we thought we would and Grace & I had to get to our appointments.

Regrettably, we didn’t get to eat our desserts this evening. Our Server did his best to accommodate us but the timing just wasn’t in anybody’s favor. I don’t remember what I ordered, but I do remember that he was nice enough to have them sent up to our stateroom for us to enjoy later on in the evening. But I wasn’t really hungry to begin with thanks to Palo and nothing on this menu was particularly exciting. Actually, this Pirate Night menu was the single most complained about dining topic I came across in all the research I did for the cruise. I don’t really have any constructive advice for how to make it better, so I feel bad saying “they should make it better!” but… yeah, it’s not great.

But Grace and I were about to do something really, really fun, so we couldn’t think about dinner for long! Okay, no more teasing. I'll tell you what our plans were in the next update