Has anyone disembarked the Magic since drydock?

[Tass]

Did you happen to notice any issues on the pool deck? I've read the AquaLab splash pad area can be hit or miss with what's working? Hoping that won't be the case as that would be a great area for my DW and I to take our toddler.

We did not use the pool, but I did notice that everything seemed to be working in the AquaLab splash area whenever we walked by.

 

[TooBoyz4us]

Has anyone read anything with recent reports on the Magic? I am hoping since the posts have pretty much stopped that the issues have been fixed? We sail in 2 weeks.

 

[lwilliam]

@TN_mom5 ’s experience was not like ours. Which shows the inconsistency, possibly pockets of problem locations. There were definitely issues which affected cruisers - significantly.

We were Deck 2 Forward, having been reassigned from a reportedly routinely noisy cabin on a Deck 2 Aft. We might have found our sweet spot for cabins. It seemed a surprise to our steward that our cabin did not have keys or CC gifts. (We were notified of the change the one full day before boarding).

I had a dreaded crew door across the hall, which did not keep being slammed and was often propped open (you could feel heat from that area). That ship gets hot in its guts. (I wonder if it was having aircon problems, too?)

Our thermostat was set on the lowest setting - and never again touched (I would adjust it last April on a Magic cruise to the Bahamas). I needed more than the comforter to stay warm enough while sleeping. (But imagine my sister was on the warm side). I made sure we closed the curtains during the day to block out heat. (A tip to future cruisers). This was an oceanview.

As for mold and smells, I wonder how much the flooding on Deck 8 is a cause - and wasn’t properly cleaned before laying new carpeting?

We had to figure out a plan for getting our food more quickly at dinner. We were first seating, two adults, who weren’t prepared for a long meal. The tables around us had children and got adult drinks. If we could get to our table and place our order, we were able to eat and be done. Otherwise, it was a long wait. And we are not prepared to do late dining. We had the most attentive Head Server I can remember in 20 cruises. I think our assistant server was overwhelmed. Our server was up to par.

As a Coke drinker, I was surprised (shocked, perhaps) to see the Pool Deck machines taped off. But they left Cabanas open for soda machine access. I don’t know if it was all night. But I did not have to go without. They ran out of English muffins in Cabanas by the end of the cruise - but seemed to serve them on disembarkation morning in the MDR. I guess they miscalculated the amount of Benedicts that we would eaten.

At least they had Mickey waffles and toppings all week. And CHURRO Mickey waffles one morning. My first ones. Yum! They put them by some Mexican breakfast items - NOT where the waffles usually are.

I never used the pools, it saw a few kids getting to have private time under the Funnel Vision movie one night (Private because no one else joined them.) With attentive lifeguards. I was tempted to join them.

My long-term memory of issues (for us):

It started at the port. When you reached the front of the line outside, they let you in to a cool, massive - and EMPTY area set up with queues. There were workers waiting for guests to get checked in. This was over an hour since the first PAT time. It made no sense.

My sister was loading the washer. For whatever reason, a worker stepped in to help her (she doesn’t need help). She had swiped her card - and he swiped it again, removing two of her washer credits. She went to guest services to have it credited back to the proper # of credits used. GS worker did not credit a washer - she credited dryerS (they are specific credits). The machine in the laundry room has an option to credit you, but it wouldn’t work. In the end, all credits were used, but each interaction was frustrating.

No keys at the room when all around had theirs. No CC gifts. No problem. But GS services said there were no more gifts, then they would arrive in a few hours, then by 9 pm. Then I stepped in - they were promised by the following day - and they did. (I am not a hard-noser). But why say you don’t have enough? You know it’s a full ship, with X number of CC members. (I think it was the same GS worker in all situations).

And then alcohol pick-up at the end of the cruise. Left my sister in line. Forty minutes later, breakfast had been served and she was still waiting for them to find people’s items. They did not follow a system that should have been established years ago. Reports are some people’s items were never found. There’s a mess.

I’ll probably forget the excellent Palo server and experience (it is up to pre-Covid food and service quality). I was able to get ice cream and drinks, pizza and a funnel vision late-night movie (with beautiful weather). Fun fireworks on Pirate Night. Movies in a theater. Adult Trivia in O’Gill’s. (I may not know music from the 2000>, but it was great seeing the enthusiastic turnout of younger people to enjoy music of their lifetime). On an 8-night cruise, they managed to offer a variety of categories, with no repeated question sets, several times each day by many of the entertainment staff - and only One Disney-focused session (those are tough).

I expect them to have issues after Drydock and on Maiden Voyages - not because they SHOULD, but because they DO have a history of it. Not only them, cruise lines in general. After spending a Billion dollars on a new ship, they want to get it out sailing, recouping their expense. And we cruisers jump onboard.

We, personally, got a great rate and our experience was worth it (knowing that Disney is expensive). But if I had paid Verandah prices with the issues those in some of the most expensive rooms encountered, I would have been very sad. Well, no A/C at any price would have turned me off for a long time.

You are not kidding, we were on same sailing….everything you said is true.

 

[respoc]

Long-time lurker, first-time responder...

We sailed the Disney Magic last week. I was worried about all the reports of the ship after dry dock, and I know that all of people are curious about the latest report of the ship and the cruise.

Embarkation - Even though we had a late morning PAT, we were able to go into the building and get checked-in early. Nobody asked for our PAT and we were able to wait inside before the first group boarded.

Ship Condition: I was worried about the air conditioning. My group and I did not have any complaints of the air conditioning. We also did not notice any bad smells from the ship. Our room was in deck 6. There were a couple of places that you could tell the ship's age, but nothing that would be distracting. Yes, the Magic sign under the Mickey Mouse statue is definitely fixed. The ice cream machine is working and self-service.

25th Anniversary: We were on a 5 day itinerary. We got to see the 25th anniversary fireworks on day 3 (Grand Cayman) and the pirate fireworks on day 4 (Day at Sea). No, there was no pirate night buffet offered. We got our new lanyards on the first day; we agree that we prefer the old Castaway Cay lanyards. We got the special print of Mickey in our room on day 3. The first night, the gift shops were packed with people getting things. I remember seeing the spirit jersey and the special pin. I think I saw the special mugs at the place where you can get popcorn near the Walt Disney Theatre. And I think there were the mini-backpacks too.

In conclusion, I think the initial problems that the Disney Magic had right after dry dock have been mostly resolved. The service was wonderful and our group had a fabulous time. I hope all that will sail afterwards will have a fabulous time as well.

 

[Calantha]

In conclusion, I think the initial problems that the Disney Magic had right after dry dock have been mostly resolved. The service was wonderful and our group had a fabulous time. I hope all that will sail afterwards will have a fabulous time as well.

That's great to hear.

 

[Cheburashka]

Long-time lurker, first-time responder...

We sailed the Disney Magic last week. I was worried about all the reports of the ship after dry dock, and I know that all of people are curious about the latest report of the ship and the cruise.

Embarkation - Even though we had a late morning PAT, we were able to go into the building and get checked-in early. Nobody asked for our PAT and we were able to wait inside before the first group boarded.

Ship Condition: I was worried about the air conditioning. My group and I did not have any complaints of the air conditioning. We also did not notice any bad smells from the ship. Our room was in deck 6. There were a couple of places that you could tell the ship's age, but nothing that would be distracting. Yes, the Magic sign under the Mickey Mouse statue is definitely fixed. The ice cream machine is working and self-service.

25th Anniversary: We were on a 5 day itinerary. We got to see the 25th anniversary fireworks on day 3 (Grand Cayman) and the pirate fireworks on day 4 (Day at Sea). No, there was no pirate night buffet offered. We got our new lanyards on the first day; we agree that we prefer the old Castaway Cay lanyards. We got the special print of Mickey in our room on day 3. The first night, the gift shops were packed with people getting things. I remember seeing the spirit jersey and the special pin. I think I saw the special mugs at the place where you can get popcorn near the Walt Disney Theatre. And I think there were the mini-backpacks too.

In conclusion, I think the initial problems that the Disney Magic had right after dry dock have been mostly resolved. The service was wonderful and our group had a fabulous time. I hope all that will sail afterwards will have a fabulous time as well.

Thank you so much! I'm sailing the Magic on Monday, so this is a very welcome report.

 

[Cassamenia]

Thank you for the report @respoc ! I don't sail for 35 days (who's counting?) My daughter has saved up for over a year and wants to do a "shopping spree" on the first day. She doesn't want 25th anniversary things, mostly Rapunzel toys and cute clothes. I wonder if it will still be crazy in a month. Maybe I could push her off a day. I don't want to fight crowds.
Regarding your late PAT, did you cruise out of Miami? This is our first Disney cruise and we are cruising out of Miami. I was just wondering if they were lax about your PAT because it was Miami or if it was a one off.

 

[respoc]

We sailed from Miami. I've sailed from Port Canaveral and San Diego in the past and this was the first time I was not asked about my PAT. However, when I disembarked, I did see signs with various PATs. I don't know if it was because my PAT was right before 12 and was considered a later PAT.

As for the shops, if you go right after shows, it will be crowded. If you go during shows or during dinner service, it will be much less crowded. Shops don't open until the ship is in international waters; so if you are in port, the shops will be cIosed. I will warn you that I don't recall seeing any Rapunzel merchandise on the ship. There were a lot of DCL branded clothing and toys with a whole Pirates of the Caribbean section. You would think that a ship with a Rapunzel restaurant and a Rapunzel show would have more merchandise that is Rapunzel-themed. There are DCL-branded clothing to choose from - if your daughter is a more common size, I would buy your item as soon you see it.

 

[Clarkson U]

I am glad to hear that many of the issues we experienced on the first sailing right after dry dock seem to be resolving themselves or fixed already. I suspected as much as they were bringing on more staff when we got off to address things. I will stand by my original statement to DCL that this ship was not fully ready for guests on 5/5 and actually needed one more week in dry dock to get it all done. It sounds like over the subsequent sailings, those issues have been fixed and addressed, which is good as we are on that ship out of Miami in about 2 weeks which will give me a real good comparison to our 5/5 sailing.

 

[ArtemisPhoenix]

Has anyone been on in the last couple weeks in concierge? Everyone who is saying that the issues have been resolved seems to be on the lower decks and the complaints of mold smells were all from deck 8. Does anyone know if that issue has been dealt with yet?

 

[shananigans]

I’d love to know the status of concierge rooms as well. We don’t sail for another 102 days - but we are on deck 8 too. Super relieved to hear the other reports on things like ac being positive!

 

[ArtemisPhoenix]

I’d love to know the status of concierge rooms as well. We don’t sail for another 102 days - but we are on deck 8 too. Super relieved to hear the other reports on things like ac being positive!

We must be on right after you! We’re 106 days out.

 

[TooBoyz4us]

I am glad to hear that many of the issues we experienced on the first sailing right after dry dock seem to be resolving themselves or fixed already. I suspected as much as they were bringing on more staff when we got off to address things. I will stand by my original statement to DCL that this ship was not fully ready for guests on 5/5 and actually needed one more week in dry dock to get it all done. It sounds like over the subsequent sailings, those issues have been fixed and addressed, which is good as we are on that ship out of Miami in about 2 weeks which will give me a real good comparison to our 5/5 sailing.

Sounds like we may be sailing the week before you. I am so relieved to hear to that the issues prevailing right after dry dock have most likely been fixed.

 

[RedHead0186]

My daughter has saved up for over a year and wants to do a "shopping spree" on the first day. She doesn't want 25th anniversary things, mostly Rapunzel toys and cute clothes. I wonder if it will still be crazy in a month. Maybe I could push her off a day. I don't want to fight crowds.

FWIW, I was on a Wish inaugural cruise in late April (so well into the inaugural cruises), and the main shop was packed the first night even then (and there was no 25th anniversary merchandise yet). If she's not looking for 25th merch, then I would recommend waiting until later in the cruise. But, if there's a specific item she really wants, then it might be worth fighting the crowds (though again, if she's not going for 'special' merchandise there's less chance it will sell out).

 

[Jsoenning]

100% agree worth fighting the crowds day one or the item you want may be sold out. Hopefully better stock today than just after COVID, but I normally like getting the family matching shirts and sizes for kids and sometimes the large in adults are gone after day one.

 

[rere101399]

Bumping this up to see if there’s any recent more feedback on the Magic, specifically Concierge? And more specifically deck 8? Air conditioning?

 

[Flying Fish]

Bumping this up to see if there’s any recent more feedback on the Magic, specifically Concierge? And more specifically deck 8? Air conditioning?

No air conditioning issues on the ship when we sailed a couple of weeks ago. Concierge lounge is fine. The redone concierge rooms on deck 8 are great and much better than they were. a/c in the room was a cold as always.

 

[shananigans]

Same here! September 18 sailing. Really hoping all the issues are sorted before we sail. It’s our first time to try out Concierge and I know DH will never let me book that level again if there are problems with our room. ‍♀

We sail Sept 15-18 on the Magic - I’ll try to remember to come back here and let you know! We’re in room 8036.

 

[darnheather]

I actually agree with the pp, I was on the Magic last September and while the chandelier was peeling and promenade lounge looked VERY tired, I didn’t feel the ship as a whole felt tired. Not sure what happened between September and pre-dry dock when lots were complaining the ship felt tired.

I was on at Christmas and felt the same way. Ship was still as lovely as ever.