Review of March 10 2007 Magic 7 day Western Cruise

[amax41]

ok always start with something positive...... hmmmm.... nice ship!

and also many other lines many other cruises....this is the first Disney.

Actually I give Disney kudos in this area, I've been on 1-2 yr old ships on other lines that look 20 yrs old....Magic looks new...even the "fake wood decking" LOL

Room side worked....it was 4 of us (14 yr old boy and 7 yr old boy) They weren't crazy about the bunk beds but they managed. I was uncomfortable all week. Our bed was lumpy, worn, and completely uncomfortable.

When not a bed the fold out was terrible - busted spring feeling.

Toilet? my knees are recovering ...and so is my head. They really messed up on this design!

Room was kept up well, I'm impressed...as I always test the stewards. (yea you gotta earn that tip!)

The activities for the 7 yr old were great....we barely saw him. I applaude this...however it would be nice if disney allowed these guys to see all the characters they are missing on deck. They did get to see a couple but they were not allowed to approach them. As I commented to a crew member....we are on this ship because of the kids - if you don't cater fully to them you will eventually lose.

Speaking of kids.... character breakfast - times need to be changed. we had late seating dinner - sucks but we'll get to the why later. So we had late seating character breakfast - you tell a 7 yr old eating machine that he has breakfast that late..... I did get it changed (thank you staff) however .... nevermind I'll say that later too....

Teen activities - or 14 yr old wants to try Carnival or RCCL.... he said Disney was "gay" ...obviously a new "technical term" for teenagers meaning crappy, boring, etc. We did go check out some stuff....yes he is right...the teens need more than the "lamo" stuff they have.

Adult activities....ok the bar was ok...took a while to find the "right" bartender but we did...that recovered an completely empty boring schedule. (Hey disney....we like to have fun too....1 or 2 pool games for a week is BORING!)

ok - I've seen it much here...Food. Here's my qualifications - I love eating, Italian, 18 years of restaurant experience, and yes I can run the kitchen...

The food was so-so. I was expecting decent food or better like WDW....guess these guys don't believe in learning from experience. I was actually served bad lobster 3 times before I told them quit trying.

The first night they couldn't get the meat temp correct.....(how hard is medium rare????) that took 5 times.

Service - SLOW...... worst was a 23 minute wait for a glass of iced tea.

Attitude...well I busted that one down...quit reading scripts guys. if you tell me the best dish is XYZ when you give me then menu.....and later I tell you its FDH...AND YOU AGREE!!!!!! come on!

now the private island - BEST PRIVATE ISLAND of all cruise lines!!! my hat is off to Disney for this one

Bottom line -

Bar - 8
Room - 6
Steward - 10
Waitstaff - 6
Food - 4
Ship - 9
Programs - Child - 8
Programs - Teen - 5
Private Island - 10
Overall - 7

Would I do this again.... yes I have to..maybe...we want to see what DCL does with the new ships first ...damn kid is bugging me like crazy LOL

but I can say it was the most expensive babysitter I've ever had.

PS....Dear Captain....cruising balls out and crawling 50 miles out of port for 5 hours is rediculous...... (yea I was watching...nothing else to do at 4am when your bed sucks)

 

[PlaidJ]

I've been lurking on the site for months now, since just before our first Disney Cruise last Fall. This posting prompted me to go ahead and register.

My wife and I were on this same cruise and encountered none of the upsets that you seemed to have. But that's not why I wanted to post, it was a couple of things you said that did:

The cruise, just like most things in life, is as good as you make it. No one is going to drag you out to do things. We're both adults and we both enjoyed our time immensely. Very little of it felt empty or filled with nothing. When we had nothing else to do, we went out of our room and found something to do.

The food was excellent for the most part and our server, Stoyan, was above par. When he told us what he suggested for each meal it seemed that he had actually tasted it, regardless of he did or not. I actually occasionally felt guilty when I didn't order his suggestion. Our server at Palo, Miami, was just as excellent.

Like I said above, our Service was excellent and we hardly had a wait for anything. If there was a wait, we barely noticed with the conversation at our table. And when things were backing up, our Head Server was always there lending a hand.

And, I agree with you, the lobster wasn't great. But then, I wasn't expecting great. I expected as much when I took into consideration how many they were cooking and the time involved. Perhaps I give them a bit more leeway than you were, but I didn't have a problem with the temperature of my food or the desired doneness. Everything was spot on to what I requested.

I'm also curious as to which port you are referring to. Working in the Maritime industry, I know a lot of things figure into the speed the Captain or Navigator uses. Weather, sea conditions, queues for the port, as well as the usual deadlines and ETAs. I was up most mornings at 5, since I'm use to getting up at that hour, and I spent most of those hours on our veranda, I didn't notice any prolonged stalling.

 

[PlaidJ]

Speaking of which... Does anyone know what caused the terminal to be evacuated on Saturday morning?

 

[Selket]

The terminal evac was mentioned somewhere in another thread I read. I think it might have been due to a suspicious package but not sure if I remember that correctly.

 

[amax41]

I've been lurking on the site for months now, since just before our first Disney Cruise last Fall. This posting prompted me to go ahead and register.


(clipped due to length sorry)

I'm glad my post brought you out. This is about everyone's experience - good or bad.

Just one point - we were not "sitting in the room" at all...we are very active and have had a great amount of activity selection on all our past cruises on just about every line.... we were hoping for a bit more to choose from rather than "baking time".

In speaking to some of the crew I did mention more pool side activities, a casino for the adults, and other things we have experienced on other lines. I also suggested that there are early risers....waiting until 7 or 7:30am for something to eat was a bit much. Basically we felt like the timeframes were geared a bit ... for lack of a better word - small.

Lastly, WDW feeds more people per day than what that ship can hold.... that's all I'll say about that.

To answer your question about the ports, yes I understand the queue, dock times, etc. I think the most obvious was Port Canaveral to Key West and Cayman to Cozumel. We did have to "beat feet" down the Florida Coast due to incoming Atlantic weather... but that was the only part.

 

[NoFussRuss]

The terminal evac was mentioned somewhere in another thread I read. I think it might have been due to a suspicious package but not sure if I remember that correctly.

Here is the thread:
http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1392883

 

[1drifter]

We were are the same cruise. We have cruised Holland America, Celebrity and Crystal before, but this was our 1st Disney cruise. Both my husband and I said we were busier on this cruise than we have been on any other. That is probably because we were with a group of 8 including our 6 and 3 year old grandsons. We spent some time doing things with them that we would not have done if it was just the 2 of us. I got a weekly pass to the rainforest in the spa and thought I might be able to get up there twice a day--but didn't have time for more than one visit a day. I never felt a lack of things to do, and I missed the 1st "art of the theme ship tour" that I wanted to go on because something else was happening at the same time. I was glad they scheduled a second tour.
Having said that, I had thought before the cruise that Disney might be a good choice for us for a Mediterranean cruise because of how highly people spoke of the service, and our past association with WDW. We both agreed though that we would not cruise on Disney without our grandchildren. Family cruising is their strong point, and although it might be right for some adults sailing alone, it would not suit us as well as some other cruise lines. However when our grandchildren are ready to cruise again, we will be happy to join them on Disney.
I enjoyed the food but my husband did not think it was as good as our past cruises on other cruise lines. Topsider Buffet was probably my least favorite area. But when discussing the food, there were people at our own table who disagreed--one loved a dish and another thought it was terrible. So that is pretty subjective. We both agreed that our brunch and dinner at Palo were the best 2 meals for both food and service that we have ever experienced on a cruise ship.
Our servers in the main dining rooms offered excellent service also. Our grandson ate all the banana bread in the bread basket the 1st night at Parrot Cay, so they arranged to have banana bread delivered to Lumière's the next night. When our son had to take a boy back to the cabin before dinner was over, they boxed up a dessert for him to-go, to enjoy on his veranda later. When we told them at breakfast that we would be at Palo Wed. night, they went and got bandannas for us so we would have them for the pirate party. (And they asked if they could use our table for some people from late seating that were unable to get early seating.) When they found out one boy liked cherries & one liked grapes, they were waiting for them at their plate when we arrived each evening. And I guess I am easily impressed--but we were sitting in the dining room at lunch waiting for the rest of the party to arrive, and I said to my husband, "There's Scott now" and the waiter started waving him over. I just thought on the whole they were very attentive.
The evacuation of the terminal happened before we arrived--but the other incident I found interesting we didn't discover until we got to the airport and bought a newspaper. There on the front page, it told about a passenger on Carnival who jumped or fell from the ship about 1 am and was recovered from the water 8 hours later. It said that Disney Magic participated in the search for him. Did you notice anything when you were up during the night? We never even knew it happened.

 

[Babs417]

MR amax41 To bad my trip was great. What a waste of money. And you might do it again. Funny. We went with 13 people last yeat and are going back with 19 this year. Maybe try another cruise line

 

[ricka47]

I’ve noted on here before that DCL does not give the same “bang for the buck” that other mainstream cruise lines offer. We’ve been on all the major lines except for Carnival (and never will) and NCL. Celebrity is our favorite line currently.

We sail DCL because of the Florida resident discounts and the nearness of the port. We sailed the Magic last year for seven nights and my biggest surprise was the truly mediocre food. We then sailed the Wonder for 10 nights last September and found the food to be better although nowhere near the quality of Celebrity, HAL, or Princess.

Some say that I must consider the number of people being served and should accept that the food should be nothing but mediocre. Why then is it better on other lines which charge less?

What you get on DCL is the intangible pixie dust that no one else has. What one is willing to pay for that is up to the individual. We will sail the Wonder next month for a short four-night cruise and will be taking our seven-year old granddaughter along. In that situation, the pixie dust may be worth the extra money. (Again, I’m glad for the resident discounts.) But, after this one, it is unlikely that we will be back on DCL for quite awhile.

We are WDW Passholders and tear up when we hear “When You Wish Upon a Star.” But, unlike those who have taken me to task here for criticizing DCL, we are not Disney “apologists.” The bottom-line, dollar for dollar, the quality on DCL does not match what is available on most other mainstream cruise lines.

They do a good job and we have a good time. But, for what they charge, the value is not there as it is at the parks. I pay a lot to go to WDW and feel that we get what we paid for at the parks and the resorts. I don't feel that is the case on DCL. But, they are filling the ships with many who will not try another cruise line and DCL will not change as long as that is the case.

 

[Paigee10]

i read your report and im 17 years old and commenting on your sons description of the teen activities being gay was far from true, im 3 years older and i just got off the 7 day eastern in jan and had the time of my life ive cruised on disney b4 and plan to cruise agian b4 im not able to hang in the teen area, maybe your son didnt make any friends or something but i dont understand how it could be gay for him when they provide numerous of activities for us to do like dodgeball, dances, scavenger hunts or just plain old chillin, it bothers me or maybe hes just to young for that kind of excitement..

 

[disneydance]

great cruise review

 

[YenSid1222]

I am shocked that you couldn't find stuff to do. Frankly, I was not able to do even half of what I wanted due to there just being so much going on all the time...weird. I have never even considered another cruise line because a casino is all they seem to have. If I want a casino, I will go to vegas. Just looking at all of those more "upscale" cruises websites and their information as to what to do on board pretty much makes me think I would have to take a book. Different strokes for different folks. I am taking another 7 day next month...and plan on going back many times so that I can MAYBE do all the stuff I want to. Plus, just watching the shows...the stuff on other cruise lines looks like total crap. I will take Twice Charmed any day of the week over some lounge act.

 

[DeloreanGirl]

i read your report and im 17 years old and commenting on your sons description of the teen activities being gay was far from true, im 3 years older and i just got off the 7 day eastern in jan and had the time of my life ive cruised on disney b4 and plan to cruise agian b4 im not able to hang in the teen area, maybe your son didnt make any friends or something but i dont understand how it could be gay for him when they provide numerous of activities for us to do like dodgeball, dances, scavenger hunts or just plain old chillin, it bothers me or maybe hes just to young for that kind of excitement..

Good job Paigee

 

[Disney owl]

thanks for sharing

 

[candizfan]

I was on the same cruise. We had a wonderful time but it was not "perfect".

I enjoyed the activities and the ports but I had wished the food was better. I found it too "fancy" for my taste and the "light" menu selections were light on taste as well.

I would have killed for some mexican food at some point during the trip.

I made a suggestion that they have a Heart Smart meal on every menu. Hopefully they will on our next trip.

The shows on board were awesome too. Twiced charmed was my favourite.

My kids spent very little time at the kids clubs. The girls are 8 and 11 and enjoyed the shows and the movies on deck but only went to the kids clubs for a little while. They loved hanging out at the pool whenever they got a chance.

The days were very busy for everyone in my group, including grandma who turned 75.

I only wish that more people had been more friendly on board. I love to talk to people and enjoy meeting people from all over.

I also cannot believe how many Americans seemed offended by the large Canadian population on the ship. We represented about 25% of the guests on board. I heard some very rube comments during the week. I have many American friends that would have been embarassed by the comments.

As for the man over board on The Glory. We know one family that was onboard from the midwest that was on the ship and ended up having less time in port because of the issue and commented on the large number of drunks on the ship.

I also have a man I work with who was on The Glory at the same time and he told me he would never go again because it was like staying at a frat party for 7 days. The young adults were loud and drunk and woke the whole family up most nights between 1-3am. Plus the man overboard had jumped and was drunk at the time, just to top it all off for him.

So, I would gladly pay the price difference so that I don't have to put up with the drunks. That was worth it for me

Happily waiting for the next cruise.

 

[pop5]

I too just got back from the eastern with my five boys. My older two are 15 and 13. They are good looking, popular boys who are both sports fanatics. They had the time of their lives in the stack and are still emailing all the great friends they made. They couldnt wait to hang out with all the other kids as soon as dinner was over. I guess the "gay" group had pretty much fun!!

 

[cheriemek]

Thanks for your review. Everyone's perspective is helpful here.

I was on the Magic in December. It was my first cruise, so I have nothing to compare it to. As a working mom, I'll just say that when ever anyone else makes the meal, I think it is wonderful. I thought the food was good, so did DH and 3 teens.

One of my daughters was 17 turning 18. She wanted to go on a "party cruise". She is a very, very pretty young lady. No way could I have relaxed with her roaming around a party ship. On DCL, I felt comfortable having her walking around with her cousin and sister at 2 am.

I wanted to relax, be fed, not worry about my girls. My needs were met on the DCL. Maybe I paid too much? That I don't know.

 

[Mickey_loves_Minnie]

Thanks for your review. Everyone's perspective is helpful here.

I was on the Magic in December. It was my first cruise, so I have nothing to compare it to. As a working mom, I'll just say that when ever anyone else makes the meal, I think it is wonderful. I thought the food was good, so did DH and 3 teens.

One of my daughters was 17 turning 18. She wanted to go on a "party cruise". She is a very, very pretty young lady. No way could I have relaxed with her roaming around a party ship. On DCL, I felt comfortable having her walking around with her cousin and sister at 2 am.

I wanted to relax, be fed, not worry about my girls. My needs were met on the DCL. Maybe I paid too much? That I don't know.

I'm not sure what you meant by "party cruise" and "party ship", but I have to say, just because it's Disney doesn't mean teenagers are really any safer. There have been incidents reported on Disney ships. Other passengers and crew members don't always have the best of intentions, no matter what line you're on. I don't want people to have a false sense of security just because Mickey's on the boat.

As for the man over board on The Glory. We know one family that was onboard from the midwest that was on the ship and ended up having less time in port because of the issue and commented on the large number of drunks on the ship.

I also have a man I work with who was on The Glory at the same time and he told me he would never go again because it was like staying at a frat party for 7 days. The young adults were loud and drunk and woke the whole family up most nights between 1-3am. Plus the man overboard had jumped and was drunk at the time, just to top it all off for him.

So, I would gladly pay the price difference so that I don't have to put up with the drunks. That was worth it for me

Happily waiting for the next cruise.

Can't comment on the Carnival Glory (only sailed with Celebrity and Princess, and my Wonder cruise hasn't been enjoyed yet), but I dislike it when people categorize other cruise lines as full of drunks. It's one thing to say you love DCL so much and you don't want to cruise on any other lines. (If you have a great time with DCL, why would you want to? And that's great you found such a wonderful vacation experience.) But it's another thing to say all other ships are full of tipsy people. Because it sounds like you feel you have two choices: Disney sobriety or Carnival drunkenness. And that's not the case.



ETA: I'm glad to read a negative review. It's good to have different perspectives; sometimes it seems all the reports are written by the same people! I hope I have a much better experience on the Wonder, but it's good to have expectations tempered a bit.