Disney Magic 3/17-20/2016 Review

[BryceRun]

I have posted this in the review sections as well, a little long I realize.

 

Please find my review of the Disney Magic March 17 – 20, 2016

Cruising background:

RCL Monarch of the Seas – 2000, 6 nights, 18yrs old, Parents & Grandparents

Carnival Fascination – 2005, 4 nights, girlfriend (now wife)

Carnival Liberty – 2007, 8 nights, wife (honeymoon)

NCL Sky – 2014, 4 nights, wife

DCL Magic – 2016, 3 nights, wife, daughters (6.5 & 4.5yrs), parents

I would like to state I have a love / hate attitude towards cruising. I love the disconnectivity with real life, the service, the fine table dining (expectation of), and entertainment options. I dislike large selfish crowds, feeling nickeled and dimed, and the decline in the quality of non-upcharge dining to name a few things. (I understand I have not sailed on the newest or highest end ships.) My opinion after my honeymoon which was 7 ports in 8 nights was for me Caribbean cruises are relaxation and getting a little flavor of a location but understanding due to capacity of large ships and time constraints very difficult to have a non-commercial experience. I now enjoy sea days / ship activities, private island days, and staying on board at ports like Nassau. See my review of the NCL Sky, http://www.cruisecritic.com/memberreviews/memberreview.cfm?EntryID=249747

 

We are a DVC Disney Family who lives in Florida so both with kids and without kids visit Disney multiple times per year.

 

Day 1 – First sailing out of Canaveral and living in Tampa it was an easy direct drive. I credit combination of the Port and Disney but embarkation was very easy and quick, we were on board within 20-25 mins of parking. Prepay parking is great, one less thing to worry about going home.

 

First impressions were amazing at the classiness and up keep of the ship; the family announcement as you entered was a big hit and a nice touch. Straight to Carioca's for lunch which was disappointing to learn it was a buffet but it was nice to have table service for first drinks of the vacation. As a family who does not care for buffets we were pleasantly surprised by the quality of the food.

 

After lunch got tickets for Princess Gathering and Frozen meet and greet (10:15 & 11:45 next day), glad we did as the next day we noticed disappointed families who didn’t get tickets. Checked out Oceaneer kid’s area and was amazed at the size, activities, and staff. Had trouble puling kids off the Toy Story slide but the promise of the pool moved them along. Rest of day before dinner was, pool, muster, pool / sail away views and a few drinks.

 

First night we ate in Lumiere’s and right off the bat our servers were great, very friendly and amazing with the kids. More details of food below but dinner was excellent. As my wife and father ran off to bingo my mother and I decided to let the kids try Oceaneer while we grabbed a drink before the evening show. Unfortunately it was not “free play” and the girls didn’t like the activity which caused reluctance to return to Oceaneer.

 

The show “Tangled” was crowded so if you’re a large group get there early, we were held up by Bingo and my father and I were not able to join the rest of the family. Following the show, which my girls loved, we found live music singing great dance songs where the girls exerted the rest of their energy dancing with my wife and asked to go back the next two nights. My wife and I said good night to the girls (who were staying in my parent’s stateroom) and went to O’Gills which being St. Paddy’s day had a nice little Irish themed snack buffet. I really wanted to attend the Snuggly Duckling take over but didn’t make it, oh well. After 11pm we found the ship and club areas very quiet, we checked out some other bar areas, the upper deck and called it a night.

 

Staterooms – We were all very impressed with the staterooms. My parents with the kids were in an Oceanview (Cat. 9) and my wife and I were across the hall in a category 10 (our first inside room experience). The staterooms felt large, the split bath is great, the soft close cabinets and draws are amazing as well as the amount of storage, they felt clean and well cared for. Our room steward was super friendly (almost too chatty haha) and he did a great job. On my previous cruises I think at most I exchanged a “good morning/evening” with my steward. The conversion of the bunk beds each day was really cool and he even made the bunks with princess sheets for the girls.

 

Day 2 – We all headed to Lumiere’s for breakfast and unfortunately this was our most unenjoyable experience of the cruise. The service was slow and inattentive, it took well over an hour and with kids excited about the day, a wife anxious to get to the gym, and my father who just wanted the cinnamon rolls to keep coming it was unpleasant. This was not reflective of our overall cruise service and the waiter did apologize at the end unprovoked, the restaurant did get busy but still.

 

Grabbed the autograph books and my 6 year old made sure she was wearing “proper clothes for meeting princess” which consisted of a pretty day dress, her matching cardigan, and sequenced mickey ears with a veil from our last Disney World trip. The Princess Gathering was very organized and the cast members were again fantastic with the children. My daughter takes this very “seriously” and the actresses were prefect. We had about an hour and half before Frozen and it worked out Minnie and Mickey were one floor up who my 4 year old wanted to see. We saw Mickey and Minnie with about 35 mins until Frozen. Perfect, get kids to the restroom, wife had joined us from gym at this point, got my father up from his little nap, I grabbed a beer, and we all headed off to meet Elsa, Anna, and Olaf. Elsa and crew were in Animator’s Palate and it was a pretty setting and again organized. My 4 year old lost her mind when she saw Olaf, my parents had to get a picture with Elsa and Anna too, and my wife joined our daughters for a picture with Olaf.

 

“Yes girls it’s pool time,” went to pool and to my mom said, “keep an eye on them the two of us want to go do tile coaster at O’Gills.” Returned to the pool where we found them having fun and ready for lunch. The grill food (Boiler Bites) by “Goofy’s” pool was surprisingly good and to the quality of quick service food at Disney World without a long line. Soon after there was a vomit situation in Goofy’s pool (not my kids) which closed the pool for 3 hours!!! Annoying but this is why there is confidence in Disney to keep things clean, healthy, and safe.

 

I brought the girls to towel making, I’m not sure what they made but it didn’t look like a monkey. After that went up to cookie making in Oceaneer (not drop off but a family activity) the cast members were entertaining. We went back to the staterooms to meet up with mommy and grandparents and get in non-pool clothes. My wife and father ran off to bingo and I brought the kids to “Pirate Arts and Crafts” while my mom enjoyed walking the ship. Fun little Pirate Mickey cut outs folded into finger puppets (my favorite souvenir) and it was in a bar!

 

Dinner at Animator’s Palate was fantastic, both the service and the food, and by this point we are really impressed for Disney’s oldest ship and not doing up charge dining, see food review below. Attended Pirate party which was a lot of fun, I didn’t think it would be a big deal but fireworks at sea were very cool. Watched Twice Charmed (as a family) which everyone enjoyed and I was truly impressed by the quality of cast members. A little lounge dancing with mommy, kisses good night, and off to eventually finding our way into Keys, the piano bar specializing in craft cocktails. This night there was a violinist and she was super talented. We sat and drink there longer then intended but a true highlight.

 

Activities – I was impressed by the number of quality activities for children, families, and adults. Didn’t attend nearly as many as I wanted, maybe next time the kids will want to live in Oceaneer. Found myself buried in the navigator app selecting favorites.

 

Day 3- Got up (a little hung over, oops) to meet my Dad and run the Castaway Cay 5k, I’m an avid runner and was looking forward to this, it was a pretty course, a great way to see any island, and since only 150 or so people ran finish second which was fun. It was my Dad’s first “race” and he had both knees replaced less than three years ago, I went back and encouraged him to the finish. This was a major highlight for him and the picture of his smile when being handed his medal proves it!

 

The island exceeded my expectations, between the infrastructure and typical Disney thoughtfulness. We are all from Florida so the water was chilly, I swam out to Pelican’s Plunge with the girls, super fun and they liked it but after once were done. I was a little disappointed as there was no line, but hey I was cold too. They enjoyed the splash pad area, lunch was good and the food was FAR better than NCL’s island food and RCL’s island (where my parents had been 2xs in the last 5 years), girls spent rest of day playing in the sand at water edge and adults took turns watching / playing with them.

 

Back on the ship got the girls hair washed settled to relax with a movie (great TV selections) while my parents got ready for dinner, my wife went to the rain forest room to enjoy and start getting ready. I wanted a dip in the pool and went up to the adult only area. I purposely walked through the rest of the (very noisy) pool deck and walking into the adult only area was like a whole new ship. I brought a couple of my pre-purchased beers (see drinking comments below) and recharged for the evening!

 

Of course the girls fell asleep and because of having to be woken up my 4 year old had a meltdown at dinner. Our servers were great and got her to settle down and everyone just rolled with it, it’s Disney. Wife and Dad ran off to play final bingo, we finished dessert, my mom joined bingo, and I brought the girls (now calm and lovely again) to pick out their “prize” from our trip. My 6yr old got the plush Captain Mickey (very cute) and my 4yr got this Olaf pillow thing (I encouraged the Captain Mickey pillow but it’s her prize).

 

The final show “Wishes” was remarkable; the talent in some of those actors and actresses is amazing. My girls were jaws dropped the whole time, I did laugh out loud not at the show but the fact the Olaf scene got the loudest applause and whoops. All these talented cast members singing and dancing and the puppet gets the loudest reaction, kids. Dancing at the lounge with mommy, kisses goodnight, luggage out, and off to Keys. The piano singer was very talented and this time the waiter really pushed their craft cocktails. At table side he made my wife this chilled champagne drink with orange rind and mint leaf and myself the smoothest Manhattan ever.

 

Day 4- Disney doesn’t mess around we were off the ship by 8:30 since our breakfast time was at 7am. Yes, it’s a ploy to get you out of your stateroom but it was very nice to have a formal breakfast with your dinner servers. Customs was much much nicer and easier than my past experiences at Ft. Lauderdale and Miami. My three ladies slept in the car and we were back home by 11:30am.

 

Dining – We walked away very impressed with the dining experience. My wife and I enjoy fine dining and when at Disney the two of us (no kids) dine at the likes of California Grille and the Yachtsman. On NCL (I know it was the older Sky) we found Main Dining unappealing and, after purchasing the unlimited package, ate at the specialty restaurants every evening which were adequate for the expectation at best. Not even worth it to compare our Carnival Dinning experience, including the two specialty restaurants. I can honestly say if I would have been charged “signature dinning” prices for dinner upon the Magic I would have left dinner satisfied.

 

I can’t say enough about our servers!! They learned the kids and the fact my Dad was the pickiest eater of us all, haha. The dining room rotation was neat and Animator’s Palate was the highlight. We found the dinner times awkward, 5:45 seemed early and we were 10-20mins late every evening (rude I know) but 8:30 would have been too late with the kids. Furthermore, even if dinner was at 8:30 we still would have to be ready for the show at 5:45 which you can’t be late for if you want a seat.

 

Drink prices – First I was disappointed DCL does not have a drink package, my wife and I would have really liked that and we really felt value in the Ultimate Beverage Package on NCL. We are drinkers on vacation but by no means sloppy drunks and it’s easy to get your value (on NCL needed 7-9 drinks/day) when having a mimosa at breakfast, occasional drink throughout the day, and then ending day late night in the piano lounge.

 

I found drinking on DCL to be reasonable (cruise / vacation prices reasonable) more so than individual drinks on NCL or Carnival (going back 8 years). We purchased the 4 bottle wine package for dinner it works out to be ~$30 per bottle, you can’t get a bottle of wine at any restaurant for $30. I also prepurchased (upon embarking) two buckets of beer, one with the cooler and one without, at a discount and even including the price of the cooler it worked out to about $5 per 16oz bottle, again not bad for a cruise or resort bar plus I have the fun cooler as a souvenir! I also purchased the beer mugs but in the end we didn’t utilize them enough to get our value since we had the bottles and wanting to drink cocktails. They are nice glass mugs we brought home though and the “token” system is very convenient.

 

My wife and I are not soda drinkers and would never pay for a soda package but it was very nice to be able to order the kids Shirley Temples and my Dad a diet coke without being charged $3.00 per.

 

Overall – I see the value in the greater cost of DCL for sure!! We never once felt like we were on “the old” or “the small” ship which was kept up very beautifully with great detail. The kids’ programs are really astounding and after seeing them it’s incredible there is no additional charge to use them. The amount of quality activities for all ages is significant and the character meet and greets were incredible. The quality of the entertainment was top notch from the musical performers, singers, and musicians. Missing was adult themed comedy and piano sing-a-longs, but it’s Disney. As stated in greater detail, found dining to be fantastic and the staterooms to be very pleasant and superior to past experiences with other lines. Castaway Cay was incredible and my Dad and I had a pretty indebt discussion comparing Castaway Cay to NCL and RCL’s Stirup Cays.

 

When cruising with kids DCL is now my only choice until they are much older teenagers. For my wife and I cruising alone, we would probably first consider DCL but would also consider NCL for the value with the ultimate beverage and ultimate dining packages.

 

6yr old’s highlights, “pool, shows, characters/princesses, and her Captain Mickey.”

Edited March 24, 2016 by BryceRun

[fuinseog]

We were on the same cruise and the same dinner rotation, and I agree with your positive assessment. Food and servers were wonderful. Castaway Cay is definitely nicer than the private islands for RCL and NCL, and I honestly never encountered a rude or unhappy employee for the entirety of our trip. I was most pleasantly surprised, though, that at the character Meet and Greets, you were allowed to use your own camera, and cast members would even take pictures for you. I even heard one say, "Of course we can take a picture with your phone. It's my job!" Did we end up buying pictures? Yes, but it was so nice to not feel like the Meet and Greets were just a money grab. So many lines are nickel and dime-ing (I'm looking at you, Celebrity), it was nice to have a good experience without needing to spend more.

 

Next time (and there will be a next time we cruise Disney), we are hoping for a longer cruise. Three days just wasn't enough!

[KirkNC]

Thanks for your report.

[Ex techie]

A great in depth and thorough report!

Thanks for spending the time to give so much detail and that you had a great cruise on the Magic!

 

ex techie

[ilovewdw]

Awesome report. I agree with you on all counts. We cruise both NCL (for convenience and perks) and DCL. DCL is in a completely different category. We just LOVE it! All of their ships are truly amazing. Happy planning your next one! Did you rebook while onboard?

Edited March 25, 2016 by ilovewdw

[Keith1010]

Thank you for your review.

 

Keith

[BryceRun]

Fuinseog – You are 100% they are great with the photos letting you use your own camera and even taking photos for you. I have to say that even at Disney World the photo people are good about that too. If it isn’t super busy they will take a photo with your camera as well. We are already planning dates for our next family Disney Cruise.

iLovewdw – We didn’t book onboard, they honestly didn’t seem to be offering any great perks. Now, if you purchased additional DVC points they were offering pretty large OBCs.

My wife reminded me how the girls absolutely went nuts when Mickey and Minnie “called them” while we were driving to the port Thursday morning!

Thank you all for reading my review it was a fun way to re-live my cruise.

[davidmbfonz]

Your overall summary and assessment of your cruise on the Magic echo my thoughts perfectly. Disney has a great product in their cruise line, and definitely worth the price. Thanks for the great review!

Edited March 25, 2016 by davidmbfonz

[DaKa2002]

Great report and details. We agree - have sailed on all four ships multiple times and itineraries. DCL is tops, with or without children!

 

Really looking forward to their two new ships and their possibilities...

[Clarea]

Thanks for the feedback.

[ArthurUSCG]

FYI: one of the dinning rooms are open for lunch on the 1st day, so you don't have to eat at the buffet.

[cruisegirl515]

Thank you for the review. I will be cruising on the Magic in a few weeks and we can not wait!!

[BryceRun]

FYI: one of the dinning rooms are open for lunch on the 1st day, so you don't have to eat at the buffet.

 

 

The dining room is still a buffet, in fact the same food as up on deck 9. That's where we ate and although we would have preferred traditional dining it was still nice to have table service for drinks.

[ArthurUSCG]

That's right EG is still a buffet for lunch. But it is not as crazy as Cabana's.

 

Sent from my XT1060 using Tapatalk

[newcruiserfamily]

I'm curious, where did you buy the buckets of beer? did you have to take them to your room or can you have them delivered? we don't sail till this November, we are beer drinkers and a 12pk isn't going to work for my husband and I for 7 days. LOL I looked on the order form but there is no color/bucket offered. Thank you

[ArthurUSCG]

I think you can get them from the bars in the pool area.

 

Sent from my XT1060 using Tapatalk

[BryceRun]

The lounge near the main dining rooms had crew set up selling the beer and water packages including the mugs. I do believe the cost was less then was listed on line as well.