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Note - this page contains multiple reviews.
Name: Richard E. Cross
Email: rcross@digital.net
Age: 67
Occupation: Retired
NumberOfCruises: 12
TravelAgent: No
Ship: Disney-Magic
SailingDate: July 30, 1998 (Inaugural)
Itinerary: Nassau, Castaway Cay
FoodDiningRoom: 95
CruiseDirector:
CabinComfort: 95
FoodRoomService:
CruiseStaff: 89
CabinAmenities: 90
FoodLidoDeck: 85
DiningRoomService: 95
CabinQuietness: 98
FoodMidnightBuffets:
CabinSteward: 85
ShoreExcVariety: 87
FoodVariety: 90
DeckService:
ShoreExcValue:
GoodForHoneymoon:
CasinoStaff:
PrivateIsland: 98
GoodForFamilies: 95
LoungeService: 95
TenderService:
GoodForSeniors: 65
BeautySalonStaff:
EntertainmentLounges: 85
WheelchairAccess:
ExerciseFacilities: 86
EntertShowLounge: 93
OverallPortsofCall: 90
BeautySalon:
EntertainmentPoolside: 65
CruiseActivities: 60
Casino:
AirSeaProgram:
MedicalFacilities:
ShipCleanliness: 95
EmbarkDisembark: 85
DiscoNightclubs:
DeckSpace: 90
Stabilization: 96
ShopsOnBoard: 86
SpaceRatio: 88
OverallCruiseValue: 87
Submit: Submit Review
Date: 04 Aug 1998
Time: 10:14:40
Remote Name: 208.14.41.89
Remote User:
Comments
Disney may know a lot about Hotels and Theme Parks but they still have some things to
learn about operating a Cruise Ship. First even though we had
prepared all paperwork in advance we were forced to stand in line for over an hour to
check in. After boarding this beautiful ship no one escorted us to
our cabin. Disney had stated that our Cabin Hostess would assist in planning our daily
itinerary,ie; which dining room, when, which show, etc. We never
saw our Cabin Hostess until late the next day. Our luggage did not arrive at our cabin
until after we had eaten dinner at the early (6) seating. Luckily we
had dinner in Parrot Cay which was informal. If the dinner had been in Lumier's our more
formal clothes were unavailable. The cabin was spacious and
well laid out and quiet and the decor was pleasant. The bathroom was very small despite
having a tub. There were almost no daily planned activities for
adults. My wife is a dancer and enjoys the Line Dancing lessons (although she is usually
better than the instructors) howevr the lessons were at 5:30 PM
and we ate at 6. The 3 restaurant concept is nice and Animators' Palate is a real treat.
The instructions received in our "Personal Navigator" instructed
us to call for reservations in their 4th restaurant "Palo" between 5 and 6 PM,
however at about 4 PM they announced on the PA system that all
reservations at Palo for the entire 4 nights had been reserved. It seems Disney and other
passengers have a problem with the rules of the game. The 4
shows were good except for "Hercules the Musical". Castaway Cay is excellent,
very beautiful with lots of beaches and activities. It was impossible to
reach the front desk or housekeeping by phone as they never answered. Getting ice in the
room seemed to be a major problem for them. The
photography (my wife and I are both photographers) was the best quality and quantity of
any ship we on which we have sailed. They used 35mm and
Digital.The digital photos could be accessed via a CRT by scanning your World Card and
could be ordered in a selection of frames for delivery to your
room. The digital color and sharpness were incerdible. The Disney Magic is a nice ship and
I'm sure that they will correct their problems although there
was no excuse for many of them. My impression is that a Disney Cruise is fine for families
with children if they can afford it. However old folks like me will
enjoy other ships more.
Name: Anna Skamarakas
Email: jims@msn.com
Age: 33
Occupation: Stay at Home Mom
NumberOfCruises: 1
TravelAgent: No
Ship: Disney-Magic
SailingDate: July 30th, 1998
Itinerary: 5 day Maiden Boyage to Nassau and Castaway Cay
FoodDiningRoom: 90
CruiseDirector: 0
CabinComfort: 90
FoodRoomService: 50
CruiseStaff: 95
CabinAmenities: 90
FoodLidoDeck: 50
DiningRoomService: 95
CabinQuietness: 80
FoodMidnightBuffets:
CabinSteward: 80
ShoreExcVariety: 50
FoodVariety: 75
DeckService: 0
ShoreExcValue: 50
GoodForHoneymoon: 75
CasinoStaff:
PrivateIsland: 95
GoodForFamilies: 80
LoungeService: 25
TenderService:
GoodForSeniors: 65
BeautySalonStaff:
EntertainmentLounges: 80
WheelchairAccess: 25
ExerciseFacilities:
EntertShowLounge: 85
OverallPortsofCall: 80
BeautySalon:
EntertainmentPoolside:
CruiseActivities: 70
Casino:
AirSeaProgram:
MedicalFacilities: 90
ShipCleanliness: 90
EmbarkDisembark: 20
DiscoNightclubs: 85
DeckSpace: 90
Stabilization: 95
ShopsOnBoard: 80
SpaceRatio: 90
OverallCruiseValue: 50
Submit: Submit Review
Date: 04 Aug 1998
Time: 22:11:39
Remote Name: 153.35.28.178
Remote User:
Comments
We had high expectations, as this was our first cruise and the maiden voyage for a company
that is reknowned for customer service. The ship was
beautiful, very nostalgic and very clean. Our stateroom would have comfortably accomodated
a family of four or five. It had a beautiful verandah, which
we thought was quite unique. There was no midnight buffet, something we had been told not
to miss by friends who had been on cruises before. Instead,
at around 11:45 PM, snacks were passed through the lounges on trays by waiters - one pass
per room. That was very disappointing.
There are four
dining rooms, one of which is for adults only and requires reservations and a $5 service
charge. Within the first hour of boarding, this restaurant was
completely booked, leaving ourselves and many other guests disappointed again. The other
dining rooms were all lovely, and the food was delicious
(although the waiters themselves apologized a few times for the small portions). The ice
cream parlor was open only for about 2 hours in the afternoon,
as was the hot dog/hamburger stand. You could get pizza until 1 AM, but the room service
menu was extremely limited. Children are well taken care of
with the Oceaneer's Club. They have planned activities for children over the age of 3. Our
6 year old daughter loved it.
Adults, however, had little to do
during the day other than read, hang out at the pool, or watch television. The ship board
movie theatre showed two movies daily, both of which were
animated Disney features or one Disney cartoon and one second run movie. There was a
nightclub area called Beat Street, which offered a jazz club,
country and western music, and a comedy club. There were only two shops on board, aside
from the counter where you could buy liquor and cigars.
Both shops were lovely, but the wait time to check out with purchases exceeded an hour
and a half. Our handicapped mother was also on board. She
had great difficulty getting on and off the ship, and without the aid of a wheel chair,
she tired easily going to and from areas of the ship. With a wheel
chair, it was extremely tight fitting into the elevators and hallways. Disney has a number
of bugs to work out, not the least of which are checking the
plumbing and air conditioning systems. There were a number of stateroom bathrooms not
working, and several of the rest rooms in the common areas
were closed from the first day on. Also, we had to pour butter into our rolls one night
because there was no air conditioning in the dining room, and it
took 3 of the 5 days for our stateroom air conditioner to work properly.
Name: Nick Cummings
Email: cummings@xnet.com
Age: 15
Occupation: Student
NumberOfCruises: 5
TravelAgent: No
Ship: Disney-Magic
SailingDate: Aug 98 (2nd sailing)
Itinerary: To Nassau and Castaway Cay
FoodDiningRoom: 89
CruiseDirector:
CabinComfort: 100
FoodRoomService:
CruiseStaff: 85
CabinAmenities: 95
FoodLidoDeck: 88
DiningRoomService: 94
CabinQuietness: 100
FoodMidnightBuffets: 75
CabinSteward: 93
ShoreExcVariety:
FoodVariety: 80
DeckService: 97
ShoreExcValue:
GoodForHoneymoon:
CasinoStaff:
PrivateIsland: 95
GoodForFamilies: 100
LoungeService:
TenderService: 92
GoodForSeniors:
BeautySalonStaff:
EntertainmentLounges:
WheelchairAccess:
ExerciseFacilities:
EntertShowLounge:
OverallPortsofCall:
BeautySalon:
EntertainmentPoolside:
CruiseActivities: 98
Casino:
AirSeaProgram:
MedicalFacilities:
ShipCleanliness: 97
EmbarkDisembark: 99
DiscoNightclubs:
DeckSpace: 93
Stabilization: 90
ShopsOnBoard:
SpaceRatio: 99
OverallCruiseValue: 98
Submit: Submit Review
Date: 21 Aug 1998
Time: 02:45:27
Remote Name: 199.245.229.186
Remote User:
Comments
This was my favorite cruise I have ever been on. This is probably a different review than
you have gotten in the past, because I am 15. If you have a kid
from the ages 13-17, you have to choose this ship. I personally believe 15 is the best age
for this ship. I never saw the little kid areas, but I heard they
were really cool. I am sure it would be really good for little ones too.
Now the good stuff.
For Teens They have a coffee shop style club for teens 13-17 to hang out in. They have
Playstation, (a video game if you don't know) a big screen TV,
Juke box with 40 cd's in it, places where you can listen to some of the hottest music
cd's. There is a bartender who will get you any non-alcoholic
beverage you wish. I had a great time with her. We made our own drinks and named them
after me. Then there is the counselor. He was really cool and
he played games with us. The best part about the whole thing was parents are not allowed
in there. They actually kick parents out of the club. I thought
that was great, because I am never allowed in the adult areas. Why should adults be aloud
in the teen area? All the counselors/bartender where
extremely nice.
Dinner Our waiter and busboy were extremely nice. They would get me anything I wanted.
They were quite funny. One night I was about an hour late for
dinner and they were saying things like what girl is it. One thing that I will say is they
were very unexperienced at their job. Which is not surprising for the
second cruise.
Room All I have to say is huge!
Ports I never got off the ship in Nassau because I was having so much fun on the ship.
Castaway Cay was really cool.
Other positives I thought it was really cool that the arcade was open 24 hours a day. That
was good for my friends and me. Another good thing at night
was the baseketball court. That is something that I think should be on every ship. Another
positive is that I never felt like there were that many people on
the ship. At the shows, (I did not go to any) my mom said that there were plenty of empty
seats. The teen club never had too many people.
One big negative There is no midnight buffet. My mom and dad said there was some
appetizers in the lounges on the third and fourth floors, but I was
always at the teen club. I also wish the teen club were open a little later. But I guess
the people need sleep.
Overall the cruise was awesome, but there were some opening day flaws that you get with
any ships first week.
Name: Marcia Croteau
Email: croteau@umbc.edu
Age: 46
Occupation: CPA
NumberOfCruises: 1
TravelAgent: No
Ship: Disney-Magic
SailingDate: August 10
Itinerary: Pt Canavaral/Nassau/Castaway Cay
FoodDiningRoom: 90
CruiseDirector:
CabinComfort: 90
FoodRoomService:
CruiseStaff: 90
CabinAmenities: 95
FoodLidoDeck:
DiningRoomService: 85
CabinQuietness: 90
FoodMidnightBuffets: 95
CabinSteward: 95
ShoreExcVariety: 90
FoodVariety: 90
DeckService:
ShoreExcValue: 80
GoodForHoneymoon:
CasinoStaff:
PrivateIsland: 95
GoodForFamilies: 100
LoungeService:
TenderService:
GoodForSeniors:
BeautySalonStaff:
EntertainmentLounges: 80
WheelchairAccess:
ExerciseFacilities: 85
EntertShowLounge: 80
OverallPortsofCall: 80
BeautySalon:
EntertainmentPoolside:
CruiseActivities: 85
Casino:
AirSeaProgram:
MedicalFacilities:
ShipCleanliness: 95
EmbarkDisembark: 95
DiscoNightclubs: 80
DeckSpace: 90
Stabilization: 90
ShopsOnBoard: 90
SpaceRatio: 90
OverallCruiseValue: 90
Submit: Submit Review
Date: 26 Aug 1998
Time: 10:44:10
Remote Name: 130.85.107.152
Remote User:
Comments
Our family of 4 thoroughly enjoyed our magic cruise. We were on the fourth cruise and
expected some glitches, but these were indeed minor. Our
stateroom easily held two adults, two children and all accompanying luggage without
seeming crowded. We enjoyed meeting and getting to know the
various crew members, many who were international and had previous Disney experience at
Epcot or other parks. My 13 year-old enjoyed having the
teen space, Common Grounds. Being on the younger end of the teen spectrum, she did not
hang out there so much as use it as a place to meet some
new friends. She enjoyed the Teen Junkanoo cruise in Nassau and won the limbo contest! My
10 year-old enjoyed the independence of being able to
check himself into and out of the Oceaneers' Lab, where he could hang out or attend
programmed activities. As his parents, we were able to give him
that freedom because of the bar-coded wristband he wore and the beeper we carried which
gave the staff instant access to us in case of an emergency.
My husband and I enjoyed being able to do as much, or as little, as we each wanted. I was
up early, attending the aerobics class and walking a mile
around the deck, while he enjoyed sitting on our veranda watching the sea go by. The
dinners were excellent by any standards and Paulos (adult's only)
was superb. Since our servers moved from restaurant to restaurant with us, we got to know
and enjoy them. My only concern was that dinners were a bit
slow, especially considering the children. This may have been due to timing glitches or
may have been the unexpected treat of fine dining in our fast food
world. The servers were accomodating, bringing the children's meals and desserts quickly
when we told them the children had an activity to attend. We
will definitely cruise Disney again.
Name: Trey Clark
Email: clat1@aerial1.com
Age: 26
Occupation: communications
NumberOfCruises: 1
TravelAgent: No
Ship: Disney-Magic
SailingDate: 9/4 thru 9/7
Itinerary: port canarival, nassua, castaway cay
FoodDiningRoom: 100
CruiseDirector: 100
CabinComfort: 100
FoodRoomService: 100
CruiseStaff: 100
CabinAmenities: 100
FoodLidoDeck: 100
DiningRoomService: 100
CabinQuietness: 100
FoodMidnightBuffets: 1
CabinSteward: 80
ShoreExcVariety: 80
FoodVariety: 100
DeckService: 100
ShoreExcValue: 80
GoodForHoneymoon: 100
CasinoStaff:
PrivateIsland: 100
GoodForFamilies: 100
LoungeService: 100
TenderService:
GoodForSeniors: 50
BeautySalonStaff: 90
EntertainmentLounges: 95
WheelchairAccess: 100
ExerciseFacilities: 100
EntertShowLounge: 95
OverallPortsofCall: 50
BeautySalon: 100
EntertainmentPoolside: 80
CruiseActivities: 95
Casino:
AirSeaProgram: 50
MedicalFacilities:
ShipCleanliness: 100
EmbarkDisembark: 90
DiscoNightclubs: 95
DeckSpace: 90
Stabilization: 100
ShopsOnBoard: 90
SpaceRatio: 100
OverallCruiseValue: 90
Submit: Submit Review
Date: 08 Sep 1998
Time: 15:42:28
Remote Name: 204.189.71.140
Remote User:
Comments
Cruise Report
Cruise Line: Disney Cruise Line
Ship: Disney Magic
Sailing Dates: September 4 through September 7
Vacation Dates: September 3 through September 6th
Cabin # 2603
Deck 2
Day 1
Leaving Tampa
We left our Home in Tampa around 1pm. Made a few brief stops to get gas and lunch at
subway. Our friend Glen had paid for the three of us to go
on the cruise so troy and I decided to treat him to a night at the Lake Buena Vista Resort
and Spa. But we did not tell our friend that we were going
do this. We decided to spend part of the day at the animal kingdom and see Disney’s
newest theme park.
Animal Kingdom was great the famous Disney attention to detail was amazing. Everything was
themed. Right down to the fact that they do not
provide straws with drinks (this is done to protect the animals from ingesting them). We
went on a couple of the different rides at the animal
kingdom and Just had a blast! But since this is a cruise report I will skip you the
details. Needless to say the Animal kingdom is an awesome theme
park.
Leaving Orlando
We left Walt Disney World around 10 am. Since we signed up for the "Cruise only"
package we did not have a transfer to worry about. We drove
our own car to the Cruise line terminal. After driving for about an hour and a half we
finally saw the ship.
This is an experience that is very hard to explain and put my finger on. You are driving
on this bridge and you go over a water way, Once you're
on top of the bridge you get your first glance of this HUGE and Glorious ocean liner. She
is HUGE. The ship dwarfs anything you have seen before
(she is the third largest cruise ship afloat).
Everything about her just seems to fit. Nothing is out of place on the looks of this ship.
Even the life boats look like they belong on her. The life
boats are a totally different color than other cruise ship life boats. Under maritime law
life boats are painted an orange color. The Disney Cruise line
got a Waver from this rule and painted them a safety Yellow so that they match the color
scheme of the ship. It’s this attention to detail on the ship
that makes this ship by far the most elegant ship afloat.
Embarking
We arrived at the terminal that Port Canaveral built for the ship around 12 noon. Let me
just say that this is just the beginning of what is in store for
you when you walk across the gang plank. You walk in the entrance to the building and
precede the take an escalator up three stories to the
Terminal’s main room. After spending about 10 minutes for setting up our onboard
charge accounts and getting our "keys to the world". We were
ready to Board the ship. We took a couple of pictures of us with Captain Mickey.
It took about 6 minutes to board the ship. As you walk on and off the ship you hand your
"key to the world" to the ship personnel and they swipe it
in a card reader. This allows them to have a total list of everyone aboard. Anyone going
on to the ship must have a key or id that gets swiped. This
provides for total safety for all passengers while on board.
As we walked on board a crew member met us and showed us where to go. You walk in to the
ships atrium. This is probably the most elegant and
stunning atrium afloat. It has a sweeping marble stair case and four glass elevators. The
entire 4 story atrium is done in marble, polished chrome,
Different types of imported polished wood, and hand woven carpeting. This room sets the
mood for the rest of the ship. A mood of elegance and
attention to the details.
The Cabin
When we arrived in our cabin we found our luggage inside waiting for us already. We did
not want to spend a great deal of money on the cabin so
we opted for the second cheapest cabin class. (category 10, was the deluxe inside cabins
on the 2 deck). This cabin was so nice. And we could
not believe the size....... It was huge. It had a king size bed, a twin bed hidden in the
ceiling, and a sofa bed. During the day we had a sofa that
was larger that a love seat and a king size bed. We had two bathrooms. Each of them had a
sink and shelf space. One of the bathroom had lots of
shelf space to store all your toiletries. Each bathroom had a huge mirror and was done up
in beautiful tile. The bathroom had a tub in it (this tube
was large enough for two people to shower at once! I know we did! We deiced to help the
environment and conserve water!)
The living area had a fridge and make up table. The coffee table in the middle of the room
raised and lowered to make for a dinning table if you
would like to eat in your room. The art in the room was very nice but yet not over stated.
We traveled with 5 very large suitcases and a hang-up bag. They all fit very comfortably
under the king size bed for storage. This was very nice
just having them out of the way for the entire cruise.
Lunch
The welcome abroad lunch was in the Topsider buffet at the stern of the ship. Had lots of
shrimp and cheeses about 5 different hot items along
with freshly cooked vegetables. My only complaint with topsider’s was the size of the
drinking glasses. They were very small and I had to get
constant refills. Lucky they had lots of staff that would make sure your glass did not
stay empty for very long.
This is one of the few times that we ran into a lot of kids. As a group of three adults we
were rather concerned about all the Little Rug rats that
should be on board.
The welcome aboard lunch was very good and we enjoyed it. This was only two times that we
ate in the topsides cafe.
We then went back to the cabin and picked up our personal navigator. This is a two-sided
sheet of paper they leave in your cabin to let you know
what is offered as far as activities for the day. At two o’clock the vista spa starts
running a series of tours for the spa. If you would like to reserve
the massage cabanas on the beach of Castaway Cay you must be at the door at 2pm. To be
honest I’m not really sure why anyone would want to
be massaged in a hot humid environment like a beach. But hey we all have our opinions,
likes and dislikes. I would much rather get a good
massage in a nice relaxing, air-conditioned, zero humidity, massage room.
After signing up for a couple’s spa treatment (more on that latter) we then proceeded
to go to Palo’s for reservations for the Adults only
restaurant (they take reservations from 3pm to 5pm). I HIGHLY recommend making these
reservations. The seating is every 30 minutes from 5pm
on.
We made a reservation for the night that we would were supposed to be eating in the
restaurant called Parrot Cay. On the magic you eat in a
different restaurant every night of the cruise. Your wait staff travels with you to each
new restaurant. Unlike most cruises we never had to share a
table with any other people. Looking around the restaurants it seemed that this was the
case with most people. It appeared that the only time you
shared a table was when there was just two people in a party.
Rest of the Day
We then proceeded to go to the Guest services desk on deck 4 and purchased tickets to the
wine tasting and made arrangements for our bridge
tour. When your at guest services if you see a host by the name of Chad PLEASE say hello
for me. This guy is the best. If you pay for your cruise
with an American express card you get to go on a tour of the bridge to see all the neat
knobs and buttons.
The wine tasting was a fun time. It was lead by the Cellar Master of the ship. Was a great
time. Was geared to the very basic wine person. My
knowledge of wine is very advanced and so I was the person answering most of the
questions. If you have a good knowledge of wine I would
recommend skipping this tasting. Other wise it was very enjoyable.
First Night show
We had the 6:15pm show seating. The Magic has a different show every night of the trip and
to say the least they are AWSOME! Leave it to Disney
to bring TRUE Broadway quality shows to the high sea’s. The cast was awesome and the
talent was truly amazing. The shows have everything from
a stage that rises and lowers to lasers and fireworks. You must see the shows they are a
not to be missed. My only request and the only time we
ever had problems with kids was the fact that some parents have not learned how to keep
there kids silent during a show. I’m not talking about the
babies that do no know any better. Parents really should be able to keep a 5 and 8 year
old quiet. If not they should leave the play. The ruin it for
the rest of us. Enough said on that point.
Dinner
We had the 8:30 seating (second seating) for the trip. The first night was at Artists
palate. This is the signature restaurant for Disney cruise lines.
When you walk into the restaurant it is totally black and white with no hints of any
color. And as the night progresses the room begins to fill with
colors and lights. This is one of those things that you have to see to experience.
Our head waiter was a gentleman named Ansel and our assistant server was Kim. Kim was the
greatest she was helpful and bent over backwards
to make us happy. Kim basically worked like crazy to make sure we were happy. She earned
every cent of her tip and we felt very good giving her
double the suggest amount. Why Kim is not a waiter we are not sure she was just the best.
Late night Entertainment
After dinner we changed clothes and went to the adult nighttime entertainment district
called beat street. This place was wild. We had a great time.
The Bathroom is got to be the nicest bathroom I have ever seen. You will just have to see
it to believe it.
WE decided to sit in the comedy club and take in a show. If you have ever been to the
comedy warehouse at pleasure Island in Walt Disney World
you will feel right at home. The do stand up comedy and they do comedy troop style shows.
My other half was pulled from the audience to
participate. This area was a blast.
Session is the piano/relaxation area of the ship. The have a pianist playing a grad piano
in this lounge along with personal listening stations for
couples. In this room they have huge portholes that are about 5 feet across. So you can
relax while watching the world sail by. This is a very
romantic spot on the ship for couples (NO KIDS ALLOWED).
Next morning Breakfast
We woke up early to see the ship arrive in port at Nassau. The ship is a truly amazing
ship. The ship was designed so that it does not use any tug
boats at all. The ship is able to dock totally under its own power. The ship can even turn
itself around in a 360 degrees. The ship pulled itself in
backwards into the dock at Nassau. We were docked with the Sovereign of the sea’s and
the Big Red Boat. The Magic made both of these ship
look so much smaller. The Big Red Boat looked more like the Old Red Boat when compared to
the Magic.
We had breakfast in the Formal French restaurant called Lumière's. This and Palo are the
two restaurants where gentlemen should wear jackets
for dinner. It is really a shame that some people felt it was okay to come to dinner in a
bathing suit or in jeans and a T-shirt. Seems like a thing of
the times though. Breakfast was very good probably the best waffles I had ever had. The
service was fantastic. They always seemed to know what
I wanted and when.
Nassau
We disembarked the ship from Nassau around 9am. When you leave the ship you hand your
"key to the world" to the crew member and they
swipe the card. This again identifies who you are for safety you will do this again when
you come back aboard the ship.
I have to say this about Nassau ...you can tell they are trying to change things. BUT I
would rather have just stayed on the boat instead of going
ashore. This City is GROSS. The city is trashy and full of litter. We were off the ship
for not more than 10 steps when we had been approached for a
taxi ride. We were constantly asked to buy this and to buy that. But I have to say in the
straw market it was nice the fact that everyone was polite
and very friendly about it. Once you said no thank you, they left you alone.
Next time we go on the cruise we will not even bother to leave the ship in this city.
Lunch
We went back to the ship for Lunch. We ate in the one restaurant we did not have dinner in
(topsider’s is closed for dinner unless you are a kid
signed up in the kids program) called Parrot Cay. Parrot Cay is a Caribbean themed
restaurant. That day we had an all you could stand to eat
buffet. I have to admit that everything (especially the beef tenderloin) was just
fantastic. ( to give you an idea on the way I like my food, I am what
you basically would consider a food snob, I really enjoy eating at fine restaurants and
being waited on hand a foot). Lunch was enjoyable.
Afternoon activities
We went back to the cabin and took a nap until 3pm, at 3:30 we had reservations for the
wine tasting at Palo on deck 9.
After the wine tasting which ended around 4:45 we had a tour of the bridge from 5 until
5:30. The bridge and ship can be only summed up in three
words state of the art. I highly recommend paying with your American Express so that you
can tour the bridge.
Second night entertainment.
The show for the second night was a ply on Hercules. Again it was full of special effects.
You will just have to see it.
Dinner
This night was the night we were to have rotated to the Parrot Cay restaurant. We chose
instead to have dinner at Palo’s . This restaurant is just
superb. The food was great the view was even better. This has to be the best restaurant on
the ship. The open kitchen design and the over look to
the restaurant just make this the greatest on board. The food in northern Italian with a
hint of fusion thrown in for added excitement.
After Dinner
We decided to go with some friends into Nassau for so night time entertainment. We went to
a local bar called Drop off. This is evidently where all
of the different cruise ship staffs go to blow off steam. I would say that 95% of everyone
there worked for the Magic, sovereign or the Big Red
Boat. We had a blast and drank WAY to much.
The ship sailed from Nassau around 3 am.
Next morning
The cruise ship arrived around 7am at Castaway Cay. This is by far the greatest island in
all of the Bahamas. Disney really showed their style and
grace with this island. The ship pulls right up to the dock. You do not need to take a
tender to go ashore. You just walk down a few steps. Could not
be any easier. Just goes to show you all it takes are the details to make something
special GREAT.
We brought our own snorkeling gear so we would not have to rent it on the island. The
water was PERFECT that is the only way to describe it. You
could have not have asked for the water to be any clearer. The tropical fish were just
every where.
Lunch
They provide a barbecue lunch on the island. We had Barbecue the other night at Disney
world and decided against it. Plus we wanted to enjoy
the air-conditioner aboard the ship. We went back to Parrot Cay and had a nice sit down 5
course lunch. Again this is a great lunch restaurant . I
highly recommend having lunch in it.
Spa
We had made reservations for a couples spa treatment at the Vista spa for 4:15 in the
afternoon. We went back to the room after lunch and fell
fast asleep. We woke up when our roommate came into the cabin and told us it was 4:30. We
were getting dressed when we got a call from the
spa wondering where we were. We raced up to the spa and signed in. They took us to the
changing areas where we were told to get butt naked
and put on the cotton terry cloth robs they provided us.
They escorted us to the room and explained how to apply the mud and the sea salts. They
then left us to play in the mud. The way it works is that
you bath each other with the spa bath products that they give you (two types of body
washes mint and lavender, then hair shampoo and
conditioner). Once completed you then rub the mud all over you other half and they do the
same to you. You have three different types of mud
(one for face, torso and legs and arms). After rubbing the mud all over your self you go
to the steam room and allow the mud and steam react with
each other. You then go back into the main room and wash off all the mud. You then rub
essential oils that they give you all over each other. After
the oils are applied you then go back into the steam bath and let them soak in. After
about 50 minutes of all this you do a finale shower and are
escorted back to the changing room. This is a great experience and very romantic. I highly
recommend that all couples try this one. It costs 60
dollars for one hour.
Third show
The last show of our cruise was the Tale of the Ghost Ship. Again Disney has created a
AWSOME new show. This show in an original production. It
is not based on any Disney animation feature or Disney movie. You will absolutely Love
this show. As a side note when I find the mother and dad
that let their kid talk and babble for the entire show, I will personally post your name
and address on the Internet so that everyone will know how
rude and inconsiderate you are. Parents please remember to keep your kids silent. If they
can not Take them back to the cabin and get a baby
sitter. Disney provides baby-sitters for a very inexpensive fee. USE THEM!!!
The kids talking during the shows were not huge problems just mere inconveniences.
Dinner
The Third and final Dinner on the ship was at Lumière's. You reach this restaurant on the
fourth deck in the atrium. This is the Most elegant of all
the Ships restaurants. Please make sure you dress up to show the respect that the
restaurant deserves. The food was great and was a full five
course dinner.
Luggage
You have to have your luggage outside your state room at 10 PM they start at the top of
the ship and work there way down removing the luggage.
On deck 2 they had not removed our luggage by 11pm.
Disembarkation went very smooth there is no reason to be worried about it in the least
bit. There was one guy at guest services that was
demanding to know every little detail about disembarkation. I had to look at him and say
"sir there are 2,500 people getting off the ship at that time
don’t you think they would make it simple and easy?" He finally agreed and went
on his way.
Summary
The New Disney Magic is by far the greatest ship afloat today. The beauty and majesty are
just awe inspiring. I highly recommend it to everyone.
We are already planning our second trip. But this time it will be the 5 day four night
trip. I did not want to leave this floating palace. If any one has
any questions please feel free to write me at: bchamertpa@aol.com
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