Fresh off 5 nt Very Merry Magic

[mathed101]

Did any of your group experience Palo brunch or dinner? If so, how was it given the new format and menus?

 

[Frozencleo]

Thank you for the answer! That is crazy about the Air BnB…glad you were able to get rooms!

 

[MomOTwins]

Thank you for the answer! That is crazy about the Air BnB…glad you were able to get rooms!

Its pretty common actually. Owners will list at multiple sites (Vrbo etc). If the room sells for a higher price or for more days, they’ll cancel the cheaper booking same day citing some sudden mechanical issue with the house (like plumbing in your case) to get them off the hook with airbnb for cancelling. People suck.

 

[Fruto76]

Did any of your group experience Palo brunch or dinner? If so, how was it given the new format and menus?

Yes - (not me personally- we booked it and decided to cancel not knowing the the offerings/activities each day on the ship. I decided if I really wanted to I could attempt to book onboard- and found I could have pretty much any day.) but in our group, 2 separate parties did go- One for brunch and the other dinner. Both said it was fantastic- but I should preface, they were first time Disney cruisers so nothing to compare it against, except the MDR.

 

[mathed101]

Yes - (not me personally- we booked it and decided to cancel not knowing the the offerings/activities each day on the ship. I decided if I really wanted to I could attempt to book onboard- and found I could have pretty much any day.) but in our group, 2 separate parties did go- One for brunch and the other dinner. Both said it was fantastic- but I should preface, they were first time Disney cruisers so nothing to compare it against, except the MDR.

Okay, good to know. We have gone before, I have seen the reviews and I just don't know if it is going to be worth it.

 

[squirk]

Happy to answer any questions you might have about the sailing!

have you ever been in a... in a Turkish prison?

And do you like movies about gladiators?

 

[Fruto76]

And do you like movies about gladiators?

Yes, I typically do.

 

[iloveeeyore]

On Rapunzel show night, did the pub turn into the Snuggly Duckling?

What time were all-aboard and sail-away? (I know there's no traditional deck party, I mean what time did you actually sail away?) We have a tasting at 4pm, wondering if that would coincide? If so, we may cancel.

Did you notice where to go to check for availability for tastings that were unavailable on-line? If so, do you know if there was availability?

Do you know if Senses was offering discounts for embarkation day services?

Did you have embarkation lunch at Cababas or restaurant? If Cabanas, did you notice if they offered lamb chops? If restaurant, what did you order and how was it?

Thanks for doing this!

 

[BmarieT]

We were told 800-900 guests and less than 200 kids. Testing was smooth- waiting area was like a busy airport. - got results in 35 mins. Cell signal was terrible inside so I advise all guests traveling download navigator app prior to going in the port building. Some in our party failed on that one. Disembarking was where I felt the most crowded. People gathered all over waiting for luggage color to get called. The customs process was much slower than Port Canaveral, no real reason that I could tell other than there were 2 agents checking passports.

What is the Navigator app? or is that the DCL app?

 

[mighty quack]

What is the Navigator app? or is that the DCL app?

its the DCL app. once connected to the Ship wifi it turns into a completely different app.

 

[ruadisneyfan2]

Were the lounger/deck chairs available to guests on deck 4?

 

[Fruto76]

On Rapunzel show night, did the pub turn into the Snuggly Duckling?

What time were all-aboard and sail-away? (I know there's no traditional deck party, I mean what time did you actually sail away?) We have a tasting at 4pm, wondering if that would coincide? If so, we may cancel.

Did you notice where to go to check for availability for tastings that were unavailable on-line? If so, do you know if there was availability?

Do you know if Senses was offering discounts for embarkation day services?

Did you have embarkation lunch at Cababas or restaurant? If Cabanas, did you notice if they offered lamb chops? If restaurant, what did you order and how was it?

Thanks for doing this!

I didn't visit O'Gills after Tangled - we went before the show and it was not decorated as the Snuggly Duckling.
All Aboard was 4:00 maybe?? we pushed off between 5:00-5:15 according to time stamp on my pics.
I did not try to book anything on embarkation day - so not sure of there was a designated location. GS was able to assist later in the cruise for others in our party.

We ate lunch at Lumierre's on embarkation day- not sure about lamb chops in Cabanas- thinking about it- I actually did not eat lunch in Cabanas at all this sailing. I had empanada, gumbo and a salad for lunch embarkation. Love the gumbo!

 

[Fruto76]

What is the Navigator app? or is that the DCL app?

Yes, it is the DCL navigator app. All the same.

 

[Fruto76]

Were the lounger/deck chairs available to guests on deck 4?

Yes- happy to report there were loungers on deck 4 as well as on the top deck. I think I read a report before our sailing that noted many loungers were stacked or roped off- never encountered that on this sailing.

 

[ruadisneyfan2]

Yes- happy to report there were loungers on deck 4 as well as on the top deck. I think I read a report before our sailing that noted many loungers were stacked or roped off- never encountered that on this sailing.

Thank you! Dh will be so happy.

 

[DCLCruiseFan09]

Did any of your group experience Palo brunch or dinner? If so, how was it given the new format and menus?

We were on this same sailing and experienced Palo Brunch on our second sea day. Brunch was good, same format as the Dream/Fantasy without the buffet but they had the buffet options pre plated as "Antipasti".

I will say this, having done the previous brunch w/ buffet on the magic it was enjoyable this time around not having to get up as much but there were definitely not as many options. Our server was phenomenal and the experience was good. Each food item was cooked to perfection without a single miss. I would do brunch at Palo on the Magic again without hesitation.

 

[DCLCruiseFan09]

Some additional thoughts, as we were on the same sailing:

Our PAT was 10:45. We arrived on time and got through testing and on to the ship about 12. Apparently they were having testing issues if you showed up much later. There were people with a 12 Noon PAT who arrived on time and didn't get on board until nearly 3:30 PM! They said there was some issues with the testing provider. I would encourage others to get the earliest PAT available.

Sailing out of Miami was ROUGH. We live in Orlando and there was a cold front just leaving FL that apparently stirred up the water quite a bit. The first night was a wash for the most part. We left in the middle of dinner because we were all feeling so icky. Thankfully the rest of the trip was smooth. We pulled away from the dock at 5:15 and made it out of the channel around 5:30/5:40.

The adult beach on Castaway (Serenity Bay) was destroyed again by the waves leaving that sand wall where the chairs should be closest to the bar/bathrooms/buffet area. The water was also chock full of seaweed. Based on all 4 ships calling on the island, I wouldn't be surprised if it stays like that for a long time.

They were just finishing up the gingerbread house itself while we were leaving the ship but hadn't done any decoration on it yet. The whole atrium smelled of gingerbread as we were getting off the ship. Someone asked one of the pastry chefs building the house and they said it would be done halfway through the next sailing.

We were RRLLA for our dining rotation. The second seating was a ghost town with only about 20 tables total. Pirate night was on the 3rd night. They have made a few changes to the Pirate night menu (they added a delicious Osso Bucco entree) and moved a few things around. Per our server, they updated the menu two weeks prior. Rapunzel's was possibly the biggest change/disappointment from previous sailings on the Magic with the show being so heavily modified, I question why they still did it. There was Flynn, Rapunzel, Hook hand and Attilla and that was it. No live music either. Food quality was the best we had ever seen on board the Magic.

The clubs were decently busy throughout the sailing. At one point during a live piano show in Keys, they were turning people away. All seats were filled in the venue with no social distancing which was totally fine. (Thanks Covid testing!) There was a decent amount of spacing anyway between seats. The most empty of them all was O'Gills. Unless there was trivia going on the pub was a ghost town.

There were plenty of activities on the app (Trivia, family games, etc) throughout the cruise. We didn't participate in much of anything. We spent most of our time at the pool/hot tubs.

We did see Eternals on board which was enjoyable. The movie theater was packed by the time the movie started. I would encourage those who want to see the movie to get there a bit early. There were no snacks/drinks/popcorn available yet sadly outside the theater.

Christmas time offerings were sparse compared to previous Merrytime Sailings we have done. No Show in the atrium. They did have the characters in their christmas attire and they did have carolers in the atrium a few times throughout each day. Otherwise it was just the Christmas decorations pulling double duty throughout the ship. We didn't see gingerbread decorating like past years. They did still have the storytime and meet and greets with Santa and Ms Claus.

No show the first night, we had Twice Charmed (night 2), then Tangled (night 3), Eternals all day (day 4), then Disney Dreams (night 5). Both Twice Charmed and Tangled were phenomenal. Didn't bother with Dreams since we had seen it previously but others in our party went and loved it.

A lot of this has already been covered no doubt. Happy to answer questions if needed also.

 

[ruadisneyfan2]

I woke up at 6:30 and we were completely docked, already. I know the "customs has cleared the boat" announcement came before I left my room which was at 7:45, so my guess is yes- walk off was still right around 7:30am.

Thanks for this. I'm hoping to get picked up at 7:45am for a semi-early flight home. How was the line to go through customs?
At PC in August there was only 1 family ahead of us in line.

 

[ruadisneyfan2]

have you ever been in a... in a Turkish prison?

I am STILL laughing at this!

 

[DCLCruiseFan09]

Thanks for this. I'm hoping to get picked up at 7:45am for a semi-early flight home. How was the line to go through customs?
At PC in August there was only 1 family ahead of us in line.

We ate breakfast and got off the ship at 9. There was only one other family and us at customs. We walked right up to the customs agent who was waiting for us.