ryanpatricksmom
No more Pixie Poop!
- Joined
- May 18, 2001
You will have to excuse my tardiness... We are building a house and living out of boxes these days!
We sailed on the 7/14 Magic, category three, stateroom 8534. I won't give you a blow by blow at this point but rather just the highlights and a few comments.
The Radisson at Port Canaveral was great. We stayed the night before in order to meet up with my brother and his family. We all had dinner at Kelsey's (yum!). Our room was one of the cleanest and well maintained hotel rooms that I have ever been in. I heartily recommend the hotel, the shuttle, and the Avis next door.
Everything ran very smoothly (except that the Magic arrived two hours late which freaked me out a little in the a.m.).
The boarding process was a breeze. We arrived onboard at about 12:30. We had lunch at Parrot Cay which was pretty good. The concierge was scheduled to meet with suite passengers in Sessions at 1pm. The concierge was nowhere to be found, but someone else filled in and by 1:15 all of my ressies (spa and shore excursions) were scheduled. I had made by Palo's ressies ahead of time.
Now for the suite! I have to say that we felt that suite was well worth the extra expense. The accommodations are very spacious. We took advantage of the whirlpool tub several times. It was also great to have the extra bathroom and storage space. Our son used the murphy bed, which left alot of room in the living area, even when down. The only thing that was a bit disappointing was the layout of the verandah. The verandah is huge, but only lengthwise. There are only upright chairs (and not very comfortable ones), and a small table as furnishings. I had hoped for lounge chairs, and maybe a table suitable for eating.
The special toiletries are nice, but avoid the toothpaste. It is marked with the Disney logo, but I assure you that it is made by the Marquis de Sade. As far as special treatment we received cheese and crackers, fruit, desserts, arcade tickets, and probably a few other small items that I can't recall. On a ship as crowded as the Magic can be, having a suite to call home is a wonderful experience. I will never sail any other way. I know that there were a number of less than positive reports regarding the concierge service, but I must say we were not disappointed. The suites rock!
Dining...We tried a little bit of everything. We were able to order from Lumiere's for breakfast and lunch. We tried each once for the experience. Everything was fine. I usually just ran up to deck nine for pastries and coffee in the morning. We also tried the dining room for breakfast and lunch, one time each. Please don't think me unsociable, but I am not one to eat with strangers. Open seating is just not for us, but the food was okay.
We also gave Pluto's and Topsiders a try for lunch. Pluto's was okay, Topsiders could use improvement. I never had a chance to sample the pizza at Pinocchio's, but my son said that it was good.
We enjoyed the brunch at Palo's a great deal. I would skip the high tea next time. We loved our dinner at Palo's. As far as the rotation dining was concerned, we liked Animator's, skipped Parrot Cay, liked Lumiere's, did not like the Master Chef or the It's a Small World dinner. We liked Tropical night better that we had thought we would. We liked the Captain's gala less than we thought that we would. All in all, everything was okay to good. I felt that we received less than sterling service in the dining room (although it was not for lack of trying), and the choices weren't always the best. I would think that this is probably an area that Disney continues to work on.
The Spa...I tried the Elemis Face and Body Treatment (awesome), a sports massage (upper back, shoulders, feet and ankle), a manicure and a polish change. I attended fitness classes at least once each day. If you can ignore the sales pitch the treatments are great. The fitness classes are good, although the aerobics room is too small.
Common areas....I know it's a cruise ship and not a hotel but the Goofy pool is ridiculously small for the number of families onboard.
I noticed the same type of problem at Castaway Cay. The teen and adult beaches seemed deserted, while the family beach looked like Wildwood, N.J. Believe me, I like time away from the kids myself, but should the adult pool really be the same size as the family pool? Maybe during summer sailings they could redefine the lines at Castaway Cay, and have the adults only pool be limited to certain hours to accommodate the large
number of families.
The entertainment...We enjoyed Disney Dreams and Hercules. Who Wants to be a Mousketeer was a little disorganized during our show. We saw Atlantis on our sailing. I would have liked to have seen some more first run movies, but the showtimes seemed to conflict with our schedule. The major movie was Pearl Harbor, and who has 3 1/2 hours for a movie on a cruise ship?
The Oceaneer's Lab...Our son did not take to the club. We felt that alot the reason why was because we chose the second dining rotation. He did meet a few friends at the very end of the cruise. I would encourage everyone to get your kids in the clubs early so that they will form friendships from the get go. There is no guarantee that every child will like the clubs, but it may increase your chances! Ryan did however, love the arcade and pin trading. Why do they always like things that cost extra?
In closing... I love Disney! In fact, we are visiting WDW in a few weeks for a long weekend. Nobody tries harder to please everyone than Disney. I know that this is an unpopular opinion, but somehow, the magic that I always feel when I'm at WDW did not translate to the cruise ship. I don't know why really. We all had a good time, even a great time, but I never felt that pixie dust that spreads through me each and every visit to Orlando. Noone was more shocked than I was, but it's true. Part the problem may be that the itinerary on cruise ships really does matter. I sailed Disney thinking that I would be happy with more days at sea, and satisfied, despite the fact that the itinerary would not have been my first or even second choice. I don't think that even Disney can overcome that. It is difficult to be on any crowded ship for an appreciable length of time. We enjoyed St. John, but we stayed on the ship in St. Marteen. Castaway Cay was fun but also very crowded. Had we been offered the Western itinerary, I think that would have been a big plus. I also think that it is difficult to reach every market, and Disney tries very hard. In WDW there is a great deal of space to work with in order to make that happen. Activities catered to adults can easily be accommodated in separate facilities, entire theme parks can offer specialized experiences, children have ROOM. A cruise ship, even one as large as the Disney Magic, has alot of limitations as to just how accommodating they can be. I will happily try again with the western itinerary (or another yet to be determined). I appreciate all of the information that I received on the boards prior to sailing, and would be happy to answer any questions that any of you may have.
We sailed on the 7/14 Magic, category three, stateroom 8534. I won't give you a blow by blow at this point but rather just the highlights and a few comments.
The Radisson at Port Canaveral was great. We stayed the night before in order to meet up with my brother and his family. We all had dinner at Kelsey's (yum!). Our room was one of the cleanest and well maintained hotel rooms that I have ever been in. I heartily recommend the hotel, the shuttle, and the Avis next door.
Everything ran very smoothly (except that the Magic arrived two hours late which freaked me out a little in the a.m.).
The boarding process was a breeze. We arrived onboard at about 12:30. We had lunch at Parrot Cay which was pretty good. The concierge was scheduled to meet with suite passengers in Sessions at 1pm. The concierge was nowhere to be found, but someone else filled in and by 1:15 all of my ressies (spa and shore excursions) were scheduled. I had made by Palo's ressies ahead of time.
Now for the suite! I have to say that we felt that suite was well worth the extra expense. The accommodations are very spacious. We took advantage of the whirlpool tub several times. It was also great to have the extra bathroom and storage space. Our son used the murphy bed, which left alot of room in the living area, even when down. The only thing that was a bit disappointing was the layout of the verandah. The verandah is huge, but only lengthwise. There are only upright chairs (and not very comfortable ones), and a small table as furnishings. I had hoped for lounge chairs, and maybe a table suitable for eating.
The special toiletries are nice, but avoid the toothpaste. It is marked with the Disney logo, but I assure you that it is made by the Marquis de Sade. As far as special treatment we received cheese and crackers, fruit, desserts, arcade tickets, and probably a few other small items that I can't recall. On a ship as crowded as the Magic can be, having a suite to call home is a wonderful experience. I will never sail any other way. I know that there were a number of less than positive reports regarding the concierge service, but I must say we were not disappointed. The suites rock!
Dining...We tried a little bit of everything. We were able to order from Lumiere's for breakfast and lunch. We tried each once for the experience. Everything was fine. I usually just ran up to deck nine for pastries and coffee in the morning. We also tried the dining room for breakfast and lunch, one time each. Please don't think me unsociable, but I am not one to eat with strangers. Open seating is just not for us, but the food was okay.
We also gave Pluto's and Topsiders a try for lunch. Pluto's was okay, Topsiders could use improvement. I never had a chance to sample the pizza at Pinocchio's, but my son said that it was good.
We enjoyed the brunch at Palo's a great deal. I would skip the high tea next time. We loved our dinner at Palo's. As far as the rotation dining was concerned, we liked Animator's, skipped Parrot Cay, liked Lumiere's, did not like the Master Chef or the It's a Small World dinner. We liked Tropical night better that we had thought we would. We liked the Captain's gala less than we thought that we would. All in all, everything was okay to good. I felt that we received less than sterling service in the dining room (although it was not for lack of trying), and the choices weren't always the best. I would think that this is probably an area that Disney continues to work on.
The Spa...I tried the Elemis Face and Body Treatment (awesome), a sports massage (upper back, shoulders, feet and ankle), a manicure and a polish change. I attended fitness classes at least once each day. If you can ignore the sales pitch the treatments are great. The fitness classes are good, although the aerobics room is too small.
Common areas....I know it's a cruise ship and not a hotel but the Goofy pool is ridiculously small for the number of families onboard.
I noticed the same type of problem at Castaway Cay. The teen and adult beaches seemed deserted, while the family beach looked like Wildwood, N.J. Believe me, I like time away from the kids myself, but should the adult pool really be the same size as the family pool? Maybe during summer sailings they could redefine the lines at Castaway Cay, and have the adults only pool be limited to certain hours to accommodate the large
number of families.
The entertainment...We enjoyed Disney Dreams and Hercules. Who Wants to be a Mousketeer was a little disorganized during our show. We saw Atlantis on our sailing. I would have liked to have seen some more first run movies, but the showtimes seemed to conflict with our schedule. The major movie was Pearl Harbor, and who has 3 1/2 hours for a movie on a cruise ship?
The Oceaneer's Lab...Our son did not take to the club. We felt that alot the reason why was because we chose the second dining rotation. He did meet a few friends at the very end of the cruise. I would encourage everyone to get your kids in the clubs early so that they will form friendships from the get go. There is no guarantee that every child will like the clubs, but it may increase your chances! Ryan did however, love the arcade and pin trading. Why do they always like things that cost extra?
In closing... I love Disney! In fact, we are visiting WDW in a few weeks for a long weekend. Nobody tries harder to please everyone than Disney. I know that this is an unpopular opinion, but somehow, the magic that I always feel when I'm at WDW did not translate to the cruise ship. I don't know why really. We all had a good time, even a great time, but I never felt that pixie dust that spreads through me each and every visit to Orlando. Noone was more shocked than I was, but it's true. Part the problem may be that the itinerary on cruise ships really does matter. I sailed Disney thinking that I would be happy with more days at sea, and satisfied, despite the fact that the itinerary would not have been my first or even second choice. I don't think that even Disney can overcome that. It is difficult to be on any crowded ship for an appreciable length of time. We enjoyed St. John, but we stayed on the ship in St. Marteen. Castaway Cay was fun but also very crowded. Had we been offered the Western itinerary, I think that would have been a big plus. I also think that it is difficult to reach every market, and Disney tries very hard. In WDW there is a great deal of space to work with in order to make that happen. Activities catered to adults can easily be accommodated in separate facilities, entire theme parks can offer specialized experiences, children have ROOM. A cruise ship, even one as large as the Disney Magic, has alot of limitations as to just how accommodating they can be. I will happily try again with the western itinerary (or another yet to be determined). I appreciate all of the information that I received on the boards prior to sailing, and would be happy to answer any questions that any of you may have.
If people want to take their children on the Disney Magic then they need to realize they have to put up with some inconveniences.
