woody64
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Feb 15, 2003
- Messages
- 619
Hello, this is a quickish note on my observations from our 4 night Magic cruise that we returned from last week. My observations are strickly that, mine. I am not right, I am not wrong, I am just me. This was our 7th cruise and 4th on the Magic. We chose this itinerary because we were staying with and traveling with friends and we both wanted to only stop at CC and LHP. This is our first trip to LHP. Both couples are 55+ and traveling without kids.
Embarkation - We drove with friends from Fort Myers Beach to Port Everglades (about 2 hrs). Dropoff and parking were very easy. We had 11:30 PAT and we were there just about on time. We were quickly through checkin and security and onboard a little after noon. We were boarding group 6. We always love getting our name announced and boarding the ship. The Magic looked as grand as ever and we were happy to be back onboard for our first time since 2014.
Food/Dining - We are not foodies and found the food to be good to very good. My DW has a much smaller threshhold for food she likes so struggled at times with selection. I thought all the food was very good. I love trying different things and never had anything I wouldn't try again. We ate at Cabanas for breakfast and lunch (when onboard) but also snacked on some pizza or chicken fingers on the pool deck. Of course, we had at least one ice cream cone every day. We really liked RRT and even took a picture with Rapunzel when she visited our table. Our rotation was L, AP, AP (Pirate night), RLL. Our service team was just ok. Our Server was great and really hustling. Our Asst. Server was not so good. Some nights we saw him maybe twice all dinner. We are all low maintenance so we made it work. The BBQ's were very good on the beach and enjoyed the ribs. No flies to be found on either island.
Cabin/Cabin Steward - Our cabin was great and exactly what we are used to. We were in 6548 with a balcony mid-ship on the starboard side. I like this side because you face CC when docked backwards. Our cabin steward was great even though we barely saw him. We bought the cooler/water package and he quickly filled up the cooler with ice when we asked before we got off the ship to enjoy the beaches. The room was always spotless and we had fun towel animals. A very minor disappointment was getting another blue sling bag but it worked.
Entertainment - The entertainment was great, and again, exactly what we have come to expect. We enjoyed multiple rounds of trivia (need to brush up on 80's, 90's, and 2000's music) and other shows in Fathoms. Ben (England) was the host for everything and he did a great job bringing some fun and energy. We enjoyed Twice Charmed and Tangled. We skipped Disney Dreams as we have seen it a few times. A VERY nice surprise was the showing of the new MCU movie Thunderbolts Thursday. It released to the world on Friday but we were able to watch it multiple times during our day at sea. It's great and highly recommend. I enjoyed a drink at almost every bar/lounge (in the name of research) and enjoyed them all. We especially enjoyed O'Gill's and servers Oksana (Ukraine) and Mikaela (Argentina). They always brought us snack mix and let us know when they were bringing out the hot snacks around 10:45 pm every night. On Thursday we did the Liquor and Chocolate tasting which was really fun and good! I do feel bad for the adult entertainment staff as we stopped by Fathoms around 11:00 pm on Thursday for the 80's dance party and the only people in there were the bartenders and the DJ. We are DVC members so picked up our free gifts everyday from the DVC desk.
Castaway Cay - We always love going to this island. We docked nice and early and were given the all clear around 8:30 am. We were off the ship around 9:00 and took the tram to the first stop. We did a quick look at the shops and then decided to walk the 5K. Even though we are 61, we are active but have never done this. We decided now was the time, flip flops, cooler full of ice and water, beach towels and all. It was a nice walk and being early not hot. On our second loop off the airstrip we climbed the tower and took some pictures. This was our first time here and cool to see. We finished our 5K in 55 minutes and picked up our medals. Then it was a shuttle to Serenity Bay and chilling sitting in a chair with a book and feet in the water. The afternoon was much of the same but included a Konk Kooler (HIGHLY recommend). We just love this place with the gentle water although it was mating season for the sea gulls so there was some interesting behavior we were subjected to.
Lookout Cay at Lighthouse Point - this was our first time here and the reason for this itinerary. We were off fairly early and made the walk along the pier. As we had done the 5K the day before, we had no problems with this walk. It seems about the distance from the ship to the family beach at CC. We did some shopping and then boarded the tram to the beach area. We walked around taking pictures and finally made our way to the adult portion of the beach. It was windy so no umbrellas were allowed to be up. We loved the waves and the beautiful colors of the water here. We sat in the sun all day, enjoying another Konk Kooler in the afternoon. I ended up walking from the adult section through the family beach all the way to the end of the beach to the rock formations (about a mile). From the beach I could see the lighthouse above the cliff. It was cool to see and I love walking on the beach. We loved this beach as well as it is a different feel and can't wait to visit again.
Debarkation - We chose to walk off with our luggage as we had driven and parked. We did not eat breakfast onboard that day. We were downstairs about 7:30 and the doors were open and people allowed off about 7:40. We were quickly on our way to the car and back across FL to Fort Myers Beach. Supper easy and fast.
That's it. It was a great vacation with great friends and very relaxing. Let me know if you have any questions.
Embarkation - We drove with friends from Fort Myers Beach to Port Everglades (about 2 hrs). Dropoff and parking were very easy. We had 11:30 PAT and we were there just about on time. We were quickly through checkin and security and onboard a little after noon. We were boarding group 6. We always love getting our name announced and boarding the ship. The Magic looked as grand as ever and we were happy to be back onboard for our first time since 2014.
Food/Dining - We are not foodies and found the food to be good to very good. My DW has a much smaller threshhold for food she likes so struggled at times with selection. I thought all the food was very good. I love trying different things and never had anything I wouldn't try again. We ate at Cabanas for breakfast and lunch (when onboard) but also snacked on some pizza or chicken fingers on the pool deck. Of course, we had at least one ice cream cone every day. We really liked RRT and even took a picture with Rapunzel when she visited our table. Our rotation was L, AP, AP (Pirate night), RLL. Our service team was just ok. Our Server was great and really hustling. Our Asst. Server was not so good. Some nights we saw him maybe twice all dinner. We are all low maintenance so we made it work. The BBQ's were very good on the beach and enjoyed the ribs. No flies to be found on either island.
Cabin/Cabin Steward - Our cabin was great and exactly what we are used to. We were in 6548 with a balcony mid-ship on the starboard side. I like this side because you face CC when docked backwards. Our cabin steward was great even though we barely saw him. We bought the cooler/water package and he quickly filled up the cooler with ice when we asked before we got off the ship to enjoy the beaches. The room was always spotless and we had fun towel animals. A very minor disappointment was getting another blue sling bag but it worked.
Entertainment - The entertainment was great, and again, exactly what we have come to expect. We enjoyed multiple rounds of trivia (need to brush up on 80's, 90's, and 2000's music) and other shows in Fathoms. Ben (England) was the host for everything and he did a great job bringing some fun and energy. We enjoyed Twice Charmed and Tangled. We skipped Disney Dreams as we have seen it a few times. A VERY nice surprise was the showing of the new MCU movie Thunderbolts Thursday. It released to the world on Friday but we were able to watch it multiple times during our day at sea. It's great and highly recommend. I enjoyed a drink at almost every bar/lounge (in the name of research) and enjoyed them all. We especially enjoyed O'Gill's and servers Oksana (Ukraine) and Mikaela (Argentina). They always brought us snack mix and let us know when they were bringing out the hot snacks around 10:45 pm every night. On Thursday we did the Liquor and Chocolate tasting which was really fun and good! I do feel bad for the adult entertainment staff as we stopped by Fathoms around 11:00 pm on Thursday for the 80's dance party and the only people in there were the bartenders and the DJ. We are DVC members so picked up our free gifts everyday from the DVC desk.
Castaway Cay - We always love going to this island. We docked nice and early and were given the all clear around 8:30 am. We were off the ship around 9:00 and took the tram to the first stop. We did a quick look at the shops and then decided to walk the 5K. Even though we are 61, we are active but have never done this. We decided now was the time, flip flops, cooler full of ice and water, beach towels and all. It was a nice walk and being early not hot. On our second loop off the airstrip we climbed the tower and took some pictures. This was our first time here and cool to see. We finished our 5K in 55 minutes and picked up our medals. Then it was a shuttle to Serenity Bay and chilling sitting in a chair with a book and feet in the water. The afternoon was much of the same but included a Konk Kooler (HIGHLY recommend). We just love this place with the gentle water although it was mating season for the sea gulls so there was some interesting behavior we were subjected to.
Lookout Cay at Lighthouse Point - this was our first time here and the reason for this itinerary. We were off fairly early and made the walk along the pier. As we had done the 5K the day before, we had no problems with this walk. It seems about the distance from the ship to the family beach at CC. We did some shopping and then boarded the tram to the beach area. We walked around taking pictures and finally made our way to the adult portion of the beach. It was windy so no umbrellas were allowed to be up. We loved the waves and the beautiful colors of the water here. We sat in the sun all day, enjoying another Konk Kooler in the afternoon. I ended up walking from the adult section through the family beach all the way to the end of the beach to the rock formations (about a mile). From the beach I could see the lighthouse above the cliff. It was cool to see and I love walking on the beach. We loved this beach as well as it is a different feel and can't wait to visit again.
Debarkation - We chose to walk off with our luggage as we had driven and parked. We did not eat breakfast onboard that day. We were downstairs about 7:30 and the doors were open and people allowed off about 7:40. We were quickly on our way to the car and back across FL to Fort Myers Beach. Supper easy and fast.
That's it. It was a great vacation with great friends and very relaxing. Let me know if you have any questions.
. We love the smaller ships but also enjoy the newer ships as well.
