Just got off the reimagined Magic, and had a fantastic cruise! It was the second Disney Cruise for our family (me, my wife, and our 2 yr old daughter). We were on the Wonder last year for a 4 nt out of Miami.
Day 1: Embarkation - Port Canaveral
Beautiful day at Port Canaveral. 70 degrees and sunny. We boarded at 11:30 and soon became very aware that our daughter hadn't had a nap and this was about the time. As we boarded she saw Minnie out of the corner of her eye and proceeded to have a giant meltdown. Our embarkation photo is one for the album.
Got on the ship and headed to Deck 9 for some food and drinks. After a snack my daughter was having the time of her life. We enjoyed the abundant sunshine until 1:30 when our stateroom was ready, then headed to Deck 7 to get our daughter some nap time. She finally went down around 2:15. Phew!
The staterooms on the "new" Magic are really well done. They looked practically brand new. Love the raised bed, padded headboard, and new bed set. Overall, still very similar to the Wonder, but better and newer. We also met our stateroom hostess, Tina, at this time. She was great! Kept our room in immaculate shape and stocked with very creative towel animals.
At 3:50 we reluctantly woke up our 2 yr old for the 4 pm lifeboat drill. Groggy and overwhelmed, she again had a meltdown at lifeboat drill. On other cruise lines I might have felt extremely stressed and embarrassed...on DCL everyone looked at us like, "we get it". Just another reason we love DCL!
We watched the sail away from our verandah while we got ready for dinner. First time sailing from Port Canaveral and we loved it. Hit the open ocean and I cracked a huge smile. I always love that part of a cruise...the second it hits you that you're heading to sea for the next 4 nights!
Dinner Night 1:
Our first night was at Carioca's. We met our head server, Jason, and our asst server Filipe. Both were great for the entire cruise. The family we shared our table with for the cruise was actually from Brazil and spoke very little English. As we speak no Portuguese, it was up to Filipe (from Portugal) to translate. Even though we didn't speak the same language, their 3 yr old son and our 2 yr old daughter loved each other. Kids all speak the same language I guess! Wonderful family and loved being with them for the 4 nights.
We loved, LOVED the ceviche at Carioca's, and my wife loved the pork belly. I had the Jose Carioca's trio, and the meat was way over done. Our head server, Cedomir, assured us it would get better after the first night and he was right.
For dessert we had the Three Milk Coconut Cake. Seriously one of the best things I've ever eaten.
We had photos with Minnie after dinner, then watched Villains Tonight, before heading back to the room for some room service, a glass of wine, and the end of night one.
Day 2: Nassau
Nothing against Nassau, but with the weather usually perfect, and nothing we really want to see there, we stay on the ship and use this port as an at sea/ship day.
Weather was sunny any 75. Just a perfect day. Low wind, beautiful. We started the day with a continental breakfast from room service, then I took my daughter to explore the ship while my wife got ready. About 12:30pm we grabbed lunch from Daisy's De-lites, as we would almost every day. Loved their sandwiches, wraps, and changing offerings each day.
Took our daughter to Small World Nursery so she could play and nap from 1-4pm. Trina and Bee were just great with her. While we was at Small World, we enjoyed drinks and got some sun at the Quiet Cove pool. What a great afternoon.
Dinner Night 2:
Lumiere's was our location for night 2. This is our favorite dining location on the Magic. Just enjoy the formal nature and decor. This was also (by far) my beys meal of the cruise.
For appetizer had the iced shrimp and lobster, which was fresh and very tasty. Main entree was lamb chops medium, but I requested them medium rare. They were cooked perfectly and we're top notch overall. For dessert I had the Grand Marnier Soufflé. Great dessert. Would highly recommend.
Pictures with Donald Duck and Daisy Duck after dinner. Didn't attend the show because our daughter was ready for bed.
Day 3: Castaway Cay?
Woke up a couple times during the night to fairly pronounced rocking. Got up at 7:30a and noticed Castaway Cay wasn't in site. Something wasn't right.
At 8am our captain announced due to 35-40 kt winds overnight, he couldn't get into Castaway Cay, and we would spend the day at sea. Castaway Cay would be switched to the next day.
We spent the day shopping, lounging by the pool, and booking our next cruise! Weather was sunny, upper 60s, but breezy and sometimes cool on deck. By the afternoon 3-4pm, the wind had died down and we enjoyed some wonderful sunshine on our verandah.
Dinner Night 3:
Tonight was pirate night! Our daughter had been waiting for this, and couldn't wait to get her costume on. She kept saying, "Aaaaawwwwrrgh!" as we got her ready.
Standard Pirates in the Caribbean menu. Not my favorite, but the shrimp and scallops are always fine. Got our pictures with Pirate Mickey before dinner and Pirate Minnie after.
Having taken a 4 hr nap during the afternoon, our daughter was awake for the Pirates party at 9:45pm, and loved the characters dancing and fireworks. She conked out shortly after that.
Day 4: Castaway Cay!
Continental breakfast again, as we pulled into Castaway Cay. Sunny, not a cloud in the sky, gentle breeze. The captain made a great decision.
My wife needed some time to get ready, so I took my daughter to Castaway Cay around 9:30a. We got pictures with Pluto, Minnie, Goofy, and Mickey. My daughter couldn't stop smiling.
My wife met us around 11am. We took a short walk on the beach, then had dinner at Cookie's. This is one of my favorite lunches. Just love the grilled food and the island setting. Feels right.
By 12:30 our daughter was getting tired, so we took her to Small World and headed back to CC. We rented one of the Trikes/Aquacycles and enjoyed the blue waters and sunny skies.
After returning our trike, we headed to Serenity Bay for a couple drinks and some relaxing beach time. Overall, just a great day at CC.
Dinner Night 4:
Our last night was at Animator's Palate. Definitely a nicely upgraded space from Wonder.
Had the Seared Red Snapper, which was very good. Dessert was the no sugar added Mango Mousse. Wasn't expecting much, but it was great!
No pictures tonight. Back to the room for packing. This is always my least favorite part of the cruise. My wife finished up shopping, while I packed with the live show playing on the TV.
After packing I headed up to the pool deck for a final Longboard Lager in my DCL mug. I strolled the deserted deck while a cool breeze blew. Great cruise, but I always hate that last night, knowing it's over!
Day 5: Port Canaveral
Stepped off the ship at 8:30am to overcast skies, windy, and low 50s. Back to reality.
It was a great cruise, and the new Magic looks fantastic. We booked on board for a 2015 7 nt Eastern Caribbean Cruise on the Fantasy. Almost booked the Magic again for the 7 nt Western, but wanted to sail on the Fantasy, and prices were practically identical.
Met some great people on board as usual. Disney does it right, and I can't say enough about how hard working the entire Magic staff is.
Until 2015--see y'all real soon!
Day 1: Embarkation - Port Canaveral
Beautiful day at Port Canaveral. 70 degrees and sunny. We boarded at 11:30 and soon became very aware that our daughter hadn't had a nap and this was about the time. As we boarded she saw Minnie out of the corner of her eye and proceeded to have a giant meltdown. Our embarkation photo is one for the album.
Got on the ship and headed to Deck 9 for some food and drinks. After a snack my daughter was having the time of her life. We enjoyed the abundant sunshine until 1:30 when our stateroom was ready, then headed to Deck 7 to get our daughter some nap time. She finally went down around 2:15. Phew!
The staterooms on the "new" Magic are really well done. They looked practically brand new. Love the raised bed, padded headboard, and new bed set. Overall, still very similar to the Wonder, but better and newer. We also met our stateroom hostess, Tina, at this time. She was great! Kept our room in immaculate shape and stocked with very creative towel animals.
At 3:50 we reluctantly woke up our 2 yr old for the 4 pm lifeboat drill. Groggy and overwhelmed, she again had a meltdown at lifeboat drill. On other cruise lines I might have felt extremely stressed and embarrassed...on DCL everyone looked at us like, "we get it". Just another reason we love DCL!
We watched the sail away from our verandah while we got ready for dinner. First time sailing from Port Canaveral and we loved it. Hit the open ocean and I cracked a huge smile. I always love that part of a cruise...the second it hits you that you're heading to sea for the next 4 nights!
Dinner Night 1:
Our first night was at Carioca's. We met our head server, Jason, and our asst server Filipe. Both were great for the entire cruise. The family we shared our table with for the cruise was actually from Brazil and spoke very little English. As we speak no Portuguese, it was up to Filipe (from Portugal) to translate. Even though we didn't speak the same language, their 3 yr old son and our 2 yr old daughter loved each other. Kids all speak the same language I guess! Wonderful family and loved being with them for the 4 nights.
We loved, LOVED the ceviche at Carioca's, and my wife loved the pork belly. I had the Jose Carioca's trio, and the meat was way over done. Our head server, Cedomir, assured us it would get better after the first night and he was right.
For dessert we had the Three Milk Coconut Cake. Seriously one of the best things I've ever eaten.
We had photos with Minnie after dinner, then watched Villains Tonight, before heading back to the room for some room service, a glass of wine, and the end of night one.
Day 2: Nassau
Nothing against Nassau, but with the weather usually perfect, and nothing we really want to see there, we stay on the ship and use this port as an at sea/ship day.
Weather was sunny any 75. Just a perfect day. Low wind, beautiful. We started the day with a continental breakfast from room service, then I took my daughter to explore the ship while my wife got ready. About 12:30pm we grabbed lunch from Daisy's De-lites, as we would almost every day. Loved their sandwiches, wraps, and changing offerings each day.
Took our daughter to Small World Nursery so she could play and nap from 1-4pm. Trina and Bee were just great with her. While we was at Small World, we enjoyed drinks and got some sun at the Quiet Cove pool. What a great afternoon.
Dinner Night 2:
Lumiere's was our location for night 2. This is our favorite dining location on the Magic. Just enjoy the formal nature and decor. This was also (by far) my beys meal of the cruise.
For appetizer had the iced shrimp and lobster, which was fresh and very tasty. Main entree was lamb chops medium, but I requested them medium rare. They were cooked perfectly and we're top notch overall. For dessert I had the Grand Marnier Soufflé. Great dessert. Would highly recommend.
Pictures with Donald Duck and Daisy Duck after dinner. Didn't attend the show because our daughter was ready for bed.
Day 3: Castaway Cay?
Woke up a couple times during the night to fairly pronounced rocking. Got up at 7:30a and noticed Castaway Cay wasn't in site. Something wasn't right.
At 8am our captain announced due to 35-40 kt winds overnight, he couldn't get into Castaway Cay, and we would spend the day at sea. Castaway Cay would be switched to the next day.
We spent the day shopping, lounging by the pool, and booking our next cruise! Weather was sunny, upper 60s, but breezy and sometimes cool on deck. By the afternoon 3-4pm, the wind had died down and we enjoyed some wonderful sunshine on our verandah.
Dinner Night 3:
Tonight was pirate night! Our daughter had been waiting for this, and couldn't wait to get her costume on. She kept saying, "Aaaaawwwwrrgh!" as we got her ready.
Standard Pirates in the Caribbean menu. Not my favorite, but the shrimp and scallops are always fine. Got our pictures with Pirate Mickey before dinner and Pirate Minnie after.
Having taken a 4 hr nap during the afternoon, our daughter was awake for the Pirates party at 9:45pm, and loved the characters dancing and fireworks. She conked out shortly after that.
Day 4: Castaway Cay!
Continental breakfast again, as we pulled into Castaway Cay. Sunny, not a cloud in the sky, gentle breeze. The captain made a great decision.
My wife needed some time to get ready, so I took my daughter to Castaway Cay around 9:30a. We got pictures with Pluto, Minnie, Goofy, and Mickey. My daughter couldn't stop smiling.
My wife met us around 11am. We took a short walk on the beach, then had dinner at Cookie's. This is one of my favorite lunches. Just love the grilled food and the island setting. Feels right.
By 12:30 our daughter was getting tired, so we took her to Small World and headed back to CC. We rented one of the Trikes/Aquacycles and enjoyed the blue waters and sunny skies.
After returning our trike, we headed to Serenity Bay for a couple drinks and some relaxing beach time. Overall, just a great day at CC.
Dinner Night 4:
Our last night was at Animator's Palate. Definitely a nicely upgraded space from Wonder.
Had the Seared Red Snapper, which was very good. Dessert was the no sugar added Mango Mousse. Wasn't expecting much, but it was great!
No pictures tonight. Back to the room for packing. This is always my least favorite part of the cruise. My wife finished up shopping, while I packed with the live show playing on the TV.
After packing I headed up to the pool deck for a final Longboard Lager in my DCL mug. I strolled the deserted deck while a cool breeze blew. Great cruise, but I always hate that last night, knowing it's over!
Day 5: Port Canaveral
Stepped off the ship at 8:30am to overcast skies, windy, and low 50s. Back to reality.
It was a great cruise, and the new Magic looks fantastic. We booked on board for a 2015 7 nt Eastern Caribbean Cruise on the Fantasy. Almost booked the Magic again for the 7 nt Western, but wanted to sail on the Fantasy, and prices were practically identical.
Met some great people on board as usual. Disney does it right, and I can't say enough about how hard working the entire Magic staff is.
Until 2015--see y'all real soon!
