Cruising the Caribbean with Mickey and the Gang on the Disney Magic
Can two women leave their husbands at home, go on a Caribbean cruise, and have a good time? Sure. Been there, done that. Can these same two women have a good time on the Disney Magic, a ship without a casino that is best-known for catering to families and children? Before I cruised on the Disney Magic, which sometimes has 1000 kids onboard, I would have said that I wasn't so sure. However, after a week on the Disney Magic, my answer would now be a resounding YES! Disney hasn't forgotten the importance of keeping parents and those traveling without kids wined, dined, and entertained.
We were met at the Orlando airport with our carry-on luggage in hand by a bus decorated on the outside to look just like the Disney ship, including portholes. We were assured by the Disney staff member that our luggage had been taken directly to the ship via truck. Boarding the bus, we were off for the 45-minute ride to Port Canaveral.
Port Canaveral is a good choice as an embarkation port for Disney. It is the port closest to Disney World, which makes combining a cruise with a theme park land vacation an easy option. Check-in was simple and quick. Before we knew it, we were onboard the Disney Magic and on our way to our veranda cabin.
Our veranda cabin on deck 7 was very nice, with plenty of storage and an interesting bathroom set up. One bath had a sink and toilet, and the other bath had a sink and tub/shower. It was nice to have two sinks, but the two bath rooms are tiny and you still only have one toilet.
We went to the busy buffet for lunch, and our bags arrived at the cabin before the mandatory lifeboat drill at 4 pm. The ship sailed at 5 pm, and we had a loud, high-energy deck party with all the characters and the bubbly staff leading everyone in all the usual fun sail away songs - YMCA, hot-hot-hot, etc. The cruise was off to a rowdy start, and excitement (and streamers) filled the air.
Our first night onboard we went to the 6:15 show since we had late seating dinner. The show was very good (as expected), with a preview of the variety and production shows ahead. They had about a dozen singers/dancers on a large stage, and the seats in the theater rocked and were very comfortable. Dinner was at 8:30 in Animator's Palate, one of the three dining rooms on the Disney Magic. The room is done all in black and white, but the drawings on the wall changed to color during the meal. Very cute.
Our waiters were both from South America. They were friendly, competent, and loved working for Disney. We really liked moving with our table mates and waiters to the three different dining rooms. It gave us a "change of scenery" each evening.
Our first full day on the ship was a sea day. We slept in a little before going to "breakfast with the characters" at Parrot Cay, the second of the main dining rooms. Whereas Animator's Palate had black/white/modern decor, Parrot Cay is very colorful and looks Caribbean. Breakfast was very good, and our table mates used my camera to take our photos with all the characters, since each one visited every table for photos.
We used the rest of the day to explore the ship, which is lovely on the inside. I especially liked the art deco look of Beat Street and the large portholes adorning the ship. After lunch, we went to an excellent wine tasting and played bingo, the only gambling onboard. We also found time to read our books and relax.
When not reading or exploring, I took time to peruse the "Personal Navigator", Disney's daily cruise program. The schedule reminded me of a newspaper TV guide. The day is split into 15-minute increments, with events listed from 8:30 am until midnight. The schedule shows events for five age groups of kids, families, and adults. Movies and character appearances (time and place) are listed separately. It's a full schedule every day!
Our second night on the ship we had reservations at Palo, the $15 per person alternative restaurant that is located on deck 10. We had drinks before dinner in the Sessions piano bar, and loved our dinner at Palo. The service was excellent, and we both loved our dinner selection. We even splurged on a bottle of wine.
Our second sea day was warmer as we continued to sail south. Many of our fellow passengers congregated by the three swimming pools on deck 9. We headed back to Palo for a very hearty brunch, filled with all sorts of yummy breakfast and lunch selections. Since we enjoyed the wine tasting and bingo the day before, we tried both again. We loved the wine, but still no luck at bingo.
We went to the 6:15 show, entitled "The Golden Mickeys", which was excellent. It was an awards-style show honoring several of Disney's animated features. I loved seeing clips of the old movies combined with the live singing and dancing.
Formal night dinner was at Lumiere's, which has a "Beauty and the Beast" theme. After Palo's, it was our favorite restaurant.
After two sea days, the Disney Magic arrived in Frederiksted, St. Croix. We did a half-day excursion that toured three sites in the West End of the island -- Whim Estate Plantation, Cruzan Rum Factory, and the St. George Botanical Garden.
The rum distillery had an almost sickening sweet smell of molasses, and was filled with bubbling vats of fermenting molasses. St. Croix doesn't grow its own sugar for the molasses any more, it is imported from Central America. The rum is shipped to the USA in huge containers for bottling. The Whim Estate was an interesting look at the island's past history, and the botanical garden was beautiful, except for many trees down from hurricane Omar's passing in October 2008.
Photos from St. Croix Shore ExcursionMore »
This evening was the "Pirates in the Caribbean Party", and the waiters, along with the staff and many of the guests, were all attired in appropriate pirate dress. After dinner, we had a fun deck party that climaxed with Mickey "saving the day" by zip lining from the stack down to the pool deck to fend off Captain Hook. Following the music, dancing, and snacks on deck, we had a fireworks show. Another fun evening.
The Disney Magic arrived in busy St. Thomas in the early morning. We had an early wake up call - 6:00 am - for our 7:15 am boat ride to St. John. This was my first exposure to the clever wake-up call. It was Mickey's voice, telling me to get up and enjoy the day. Very fun, but would get irritating after about a week.
We thoroughly enjoyed the boat ride and tour of St. John. Very lovely and I got some great photos of St. John. The boat ride was about 45 minutes each way - they picked us up at the dock at Havensight Mall - and the tour was about 3 hours.
We got back to the ship at 1:30 and had a hamburger and fries for lunch. In the afternoon, we did some shopping in Charlotte Amalie before coming back to the ship for a well-deserved nap.More »
•Disney Magic - Pickup at the Orlando Airport
The first thing I noticed about Disney was the exceptional organization skills they use to make cruise travel easier. We added our Disney Magic bar-coded luggage tags at home, checked our bags at the airport in Atlanta, and didn't see them again until on the ship in Port Canaveral that afternoon. Disney picked them up from the plane, and they never came through the regular baggage claim.We were met at the Orlando airport with our carry-on luggage in hand by a bus decorated on the outside to look just like the Disney ship, including portholes. We were assured by the Disney staff member that our luggage had been taken directly to the ship via truck. Boarding the bus, we were off for the 45-minute ride to Port Canaveral.
•Disney Magic - Embarkation in Port Canaveral
On the way to the ship at Port Canaveral, we were entertained by a cute video of Mickey and the gang getting ready to cruise with Disney. They told us about the check-in process and some of the things we would do and see on the ship during the week. This video was a great idea; it mesmerized the kids and made the time pass by quickly. I think even the adults were more attentive to the Disney characters than to just a "regular" person.Port Canaveral is a good choice as an embarkation port for Disney. It is the port closest to Disney World, which makes combining a cruise with a theme park land vacation an easy option. Check-in was simple and quick. Before we knew it, we were onboard the Disney Magic and on our way to our veranda cabin.
•Disney Magic - Sailaway from Port Canaveral
Our veranda cabin on deck 7 was very nice, with plenty of storage and an interesting bathroom set up. One bath had a sink and toilet, and the other bath had a sink and tub/shower. It was nice to have two sinks, but the two bath rooms are tiny and you still only have one toilet.
We went to the busy buffet for lunch, and our bags arrived at the cabin before the mandatory lifeboat drill at 4 pm. The ship sailed at 5 pm, and we had a loud, high-energy deck party with all the characters and the bubbly staff leading everyone in all the usual fun sail away songs - YMCA, hot-hot-hot, etc. The cruise was off to a rowdy start, and excitement (and streamers) filled the air.
•First Night on the Disney Magic
Our first night onboard we went to the 6:15 show since we had late seating dinner. The show was very good (as expected), with a preview of the variety and production shows ahead. They had about a dozen singers/dancers on a large stage, and the seats in the theater rocked and were very comfortable. Dinner was at 8:30 in Animator's Palate, one of the three dining rooms on the Disney Magic. The room is done all in black and white, but the drawings on the wall changed to color during the meal. Very cute.
Our waiters were both from South America. They were friendly, competent, and loved working for Disney. We really liked moving with our table mates and waiters to the three different dining rooms. It gave us a "change of scenery" each evening.
•Day at Sea on the Disney Magic
Our first full day on the ship was a sea day. We slept in a little before going to "breakfast with the characters" at Parrot Cay, the second of the main dining rooms. Whereas Animator's Palate had black/white/modern decor, Parrot Cay is very colorful and looks Caribbean. Breakfast was very good, and our table mates used my camera to take our photos with all the characters, since each one visited every table for photos.
We used the rest of the day to explore the ship, which is lovely on the inside. I especially liked the art deco look of Beat Street and the large portholes adorning the ship. After lunch, we went to an excellent wine tasting and played bingo, the only gambling onboard. We also found time to read our books and relax.
•End of Day 2 - Dinner at Palo's
When not reading or exploring, I took time to peruse the "Personal Navigator", Disney's daily cruise program. The schedule reminded me of a newspaper TV guide. The day is split into 15-minute increments, with events listed from 8:30 am until midnight. The schedule shows events for five age groups of kids, families, and adults. Movies and character appearances (time and place) are listed separately. It's a full schedule every day!
Our second night on the ship we had reservations at Palo, the $15 per person alternative restaurant that is located on deck 10. We had drinks before dinner in the Sessions piano bar, and loved our dinner at Palo. The service was excellent, and we both loved our dinner selection. We even splurged on a bottle of wine.
•Second Day at Sea - Into the Caribbean
Our second sea day was warmer as we continued to sail south. Many of our fellow passengers congregated by the three swimming pools on deck 9. We headed back to Palo for a very hearty brunch, filled with all sorts of yummy breakfast and lunch selections. Since we enjoyed the wine tasting and bingo the day before, we tried both again. We loved the wine, but still no luck at bingo.
We went to the 6:15 show, entitled "The Golden Mickeys", which was excellent. It was an awards-style show honoring several of Disney's animated features. I loved seeing clips of the old movies combined with the live singing and dancing.
Formal night dinner was at Lumiere's, which has a "Beauty and the Beast" theme. After Palo's, it was our favorite restaurant.
•St. Croix - U.S. Virgin Islands
After two sea days, the Disney Magic arrived in Frederiksted, St. Croix. We did a half-day excursion that toured three sites in the West End of the island -- Whim Estate Plantation, Cruzan Rum Factory, and the St. George Botanical Garden.
The rum distillery had an almost sickening sweet smell of molasses, and was filled with bubbling vats of fermenting molasses. St. Croix doesn't grow its own sugar for the molasses any more, it is imported from Central America. The rum is shipped to the USA in huge containers for bottling. The Whim Estate was an interesting look at the island's past history, and the botanical garden was beautiful, except for many trees down from hurricane Omar's passing in October 2008.
Photos from St. Croix Shore ExcursionMore »
•"Twice Charmed" and the Pirates in the Caribbean Party
Returning to the ship after our day in St. Croix, we enjoyed a relaxing afternoon outside at the adult pool and on our veranda, enjoying the wonderful Caribbean weather. The before dinner show was terrific, an original Disney musical with a twist on the Cinderella story. (Don't worry, they still lived happily ever after in the end.)This evening was the "Pirates in the Caribbean Party", and the waiters, along with the staff and many of the guests, were all attired in appropriate pirate dress. After dinner, we had a fun deck party that climaxed with Mickey "saving the day" by zip lining from the stack down to the pool deck to fend off Captain Hook. Following the music, dancing, and snacks on deck, we had a fireworks show. Another fun evening.
•St. Thomas - U.S. Virgin Islands
The Disney Magic arrived in busy St. Thomas in the early morning. We had an early wake up call - 6:00 am - for our 7:15 am boat ride to St. John. This was my first exposure to the clever wake-up call. It was Mickey's voice, telling me to get up and enjoy the day. Very fun, but would get irritating after about a week.
We thoroughly enjoyed the boat ride and tour of St. John. Very lovely and I got some great photos of St. John. The boat ride was about 45 minutes each way - they picked us up at the dock at Havensight Mall - and the tour was about 3 hours.
We got back to the ship at 1:30 and had a hamburger and fries for lunch. In the afternoon, we did some shopping in Charlotte Amalie before coming back to the ship for a well-deserved nap.More »
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