Disney Cruise on the Magic

BACKGROUND - PERSPECTIVE: To me it is essential to know the perspective or experience of the cruiser to properly 'place' the review. This was our 11th cruise, first with Disney, most with RCI and Princess. We are avg to medium Disney fans (this will be important to note as the review continues)

EMBARKATION: We arrived at 2:30pm and it took about 30 minutes. The actual paperwork process is not as efficient as RCI as we spent about 15 minutes at the counter with the agent and we had all paperwork completed before hand. But a nice facility and easy to navigate. So far my favorite Port terminal

THE SHIP EXTERIOR: The Magic is quite possibly the most beautiful ship I have seen - from the shore. Every time we parked next to another ship it was even more noticeable. For us a 10/10

THE SHIP INTERIOR: Very classic, transatlantic sailing ship feel. The main lobby is small though and gets VERY crowded as the primary spot for Character signings and pictures. The 3 dining rooms (you rotate to a different one each night) are nice and very family oriented although we found them very short in the ceiling maybe only 9-10 feet tall. It felt quite confining. I think this is done for the benefit of the kids - to make them feel comfortable. Take note of this as this is a DEFINITE theme. The public restrooms/areas were IMMACULATE. This ship/cruise line employ's the most aggressive hand cleaning and food service safe policies I have ever encountered. So much so that at first I was a bit put off by it, but soon appreciated it and found it very reassuring. Example: EVERY time you enter any dining room or the buffet, 2-3 staff hand you an alcohol wet wipe. I didn't say the offer you one I say they hand you one! Regularly I saw them prevent guests from entering because they tried to pass this by. All food served in the buffets, midnight and dessert ones too, was ALWAYS served to you by staff. If you attempted to pick up the tongs, you were scorned. Again I have to say this ultimately is very appreciated as I am sure that they know they are dealing with a lot of children and the potential for mishandling is very high. They have a great soda fountain station with maybe 6 sections set up like a convenience store and yet the entire cruise it was 'quarantined' off for access and 2 staff took your order and gave you your drink. This did cause regular 15 minute waits for a soda. The Theatre seemed far too small for me as it is all on one floor with a very subtle sloop. This may also be influenced by the fact that there were a lot of kids in there (are you beginning to get my theme?) This sailing they were full at 2400 guests and 1085 of them were children under 16! This ship has fantastic kids area's and programs with tons to do. But my 8 year old youngest child did not like the volume and rowdiness of the kids and nearly refused to go after the first day or two and he's rowdy dude himself! I think this ship has far too few 'adult public areas'. No card room or library and the internet center is 8 computers crammed in an area about 8' x 12', you could hardly move. The internet package though is awesome at $89 unlimited for the week. General Interior Ship & Amenities we rate a 5/10

THE CABIN: BY FAR THE LARGEST STANDARD CABINS AT SEA! There are 2 bathroom segments in all cabins. One part with sink and toilet and another completely separate with another sink and BATH with shower. Albeit a small tub but a large shower! Very well maintained and tons of storage, comfortable bed, tiny old TV (needs updating), large vanity area and a full size sofa. Loved the cabin and so did all of my clients in every category. We rate the cabin a 10/10

THE FOOD: This actually surprised me as most will rate the food very high with Disney. I wouldn't say it was bad, but it was not anything spectacular either. Most of the chat boards (I realize that they are made up of Disney near fanatics) rave about the dining. I'm sorry but they need to get out more. The soups were almost leftovers reconstituted each night. Example night 2 Tomato Bisque, night 3 Tomato and Basil, night 4 chilled tomato Gazpacho and night 6 was spicy tomato something. Maybe the chef has a tomato fetish, I don't know. My beef was over cooked every time I ordered and even when I sent it back our server would sheepishly return with something I could tell he new still wasn't right. Quality was good, preparation was poor. The buffet was also poor with very limited selection. One afternoon at sea the only 2 entree's on the buffet were roasted lamb and Indian curry. There seemed to be no reasonable sense or variety to the menu's and poor selection. We even thought Palo was just OK. The food quality was good, nothing special, and the service was the same. I have to note that I have a sense as to why they may be considered better than they actually are. On one of the last nights when the waiter reviewed the importance of the comment card (nearly all cruise lines do it) that we would receive he PUSHED HARD for us to check off excellent on not only the service (which was excellent) but also on the food quality, EVEN IF WE DIDN'T REALLY LIKE THE FOOD, they were personally responsible to make sure we did. If we rated his service Excellent but the food good he would be rated overall as GOOD. I have never had a server SELL this issue this hard ever before. They want people to SCORE them high even if we didn't think it was! We rate the Disney Magic food as a 5/10

THE SERVICE: EXCELLENT! Their seemed to be more staff than any other ship I've sailed. They were everywhere and were very friendly and helpful. Probably the best we've experienced. In true Disney Fashion. Onboard self service laundry room was great, kids counselors were awesome. Cruise director was nice but quite 'managed' to be a Disney Product, not a real guy with his own thoughts. Very scripted. We rate it a 10/10

THE ENTERTAINMENT: Very, very good. Fun, clean, sharp. The productions (we saw them all) were orchestrated like a Disney show would be with nice numbers, good music (recorded, no live band) and OK 'singers and dancers'. A fireworks show at the pool deck with more than an hour of nonstop dancing and MTV Disney style for Pirates Night was awesome, with a delicious midnight buffet replete with whole turkey legs. Finished off with a showing on their outdoor superscreen of Pirates Dead Mans Chest. The Magic covers the main pool with a wood deck for all nighttime events. Makes great sense and gives a great floor for the parties on deck.
Personally I prefer Royal over any other, but this was very good and a great variety. I have to say though that we all felt that this cruise line is merciless in Disney Self Promotion! I was so sick of Mickey by the last day that I was ready to go. The finale' show milked again even more that basically Disney is the only way to make dreams come true, over and over and over. It was way too gushy. Now for any big time Disney fans I hope you aren't offended, but Disney really pours it on thick!! We had 6 kids in the group that were 15-17 yrs on this sailing and they complained heavily about the entertainment options on the Magic and I agree. They either had to hang out with much younger teens in the stack and play video games or go see a movie. They were not allowed into the bar where their was a Magician or comedian each night as they were not 18. Disney ID's every kid and even though the shows were PG rated they were not allowed in. These kids would rate the entertainment a 1/10 We rate the entertainment as a whole as 7/10.

Castaway Cay is all it's hyped up to be, beautiful clean, organized great food and fruit at the beach, easily accessible. Awesome port. Go for Castaway and you won't be disappointed. 10/10