AndiWe just disembarked from the Disney Magic Cruise Ship on a six night Western Caribbean itinerary. This was Patrick and I’s first Disney cruise, actually very first cruise ever! And yes, it was just us with no kids! We are HUGE Disney lovers and big kids at heart, so we thought why not? Here’s our experience on the Disney Magic Cruise Ship.
Embarkation Day on the Disney Magic Cruise
We embarked out of the Galveston Port.
Disney has made the embarkation process super easy! I completed our check in process 30 days prior at midnight to get an early port arrival time. We were able to get a port arrival time of 11:30 am. We arrived at the port around 11:15 parked, unloaded luggage and were in line by 11:35. The line was somewhat fast. We maybe waited 10 minutes at one point to actually board the ship.
Spoiler Alert – Upon entering the ship, they call your family name and welcome you on the ship. Pluto and the crew were all clapping and welcoming us. Disney really knows how to make you feel welcome!
After boarding the Disney Magic ship, we were able to explore the ship, eat or swim until our room was ready at 1:30 pm. My original plan was to swim, but unfortunately we were in a winter storm and it was too cold for me to be in the water. A few brave kids didn’t mind the cold temps and swam!
We sat down for lunch in Rapunzel’s Royal Table and then dropped off our bags when our room was ready. After that, we did a quick tour of the ship with the crew. The tour did help us learn where everything is faster.
Around 4:00, we had to do the mandatory Muster drill. We were pretty cold since, we left our jackets in the room. Next time I’ll know that it takes longer than 10 minutes, lol.
The Sail A Wave Party was at 4:30pm to celebrate leaving the port. Of course all the Disney characters were there! We chilled in our room for a little bit and changed for dinner.
Embarkation Evening on Disney Magic Cruise
Disney Cruises offer a Broadway style musical or some kind of variety act each night. This night we saw a ventriloquist. I’ll be honest, this show did not interest us. We find ventriloquism kinda cheesy. However, we were pleasantly surprised and enjoyed the show.
Between the show and dinner, we stopped at Keys an adult only piano bar lounge for a drink. The music was great and it was a very quiet and relaxing place away from kids.
On our way to dinner, I did see many of the characters out signing autographs and taking pictures. They had on their sailor outfits!
Our first dinner was in Animator’s Palette. Our assigned table included two other couples that were sans kids as well. Disney Cruise Line does rotational dining during their dinners. They have two set dinner times, 5:45pm and 8:15 pm. We were assigned the 8:15 dinner seating every night. Click here for a complete guide to dining on the Disney Magic.
After dinner, we went to Fathoms for an 80’s music trivia event. Fathoms is another adult only lounge after 9:00pm.
Day 1 was a success!
Day 2: Day At Sea on the Magic
We started our first day at sea with breakfast at Cabana’s the main cruise buffet. There was a HUGE variety of food options.
After breakfast, we walked off a few calories on Deck 4. Deck 4 has a walking track around the entire ship. During the walk, we ran into Chip & Dale! They were just strolling around and goofing off.
Lunch was at Rapunzel’s Royal Table again. We were lucky and got a seat by the window this time.
I’m a kid at heart, so we waited in line for a picture with Captain America. I ended up in a few lines for pictures with the characters this trip!
Most of the day, we just chilled. Compared to yesterday, the weather was perfect! I took full advantage and laid out by the pool for a couple hours. The adults only pool is much quieter than the other pools, so it’s easier to relax.
Tonight was semi formal night, so we choose to dress a little nicer. The characters were out in their tuxes and formal dresses! I tried to get as many pictures as possible, but the lines were long unfortunately.
Tangled The Musical was the show tonight. We LOVED it! They had a guest star, Gail Bennett that played Mother Gothel. She was fantastic!
We had dinner at Rapunzel’s Royal Table which went perfectly with the show. In fact, during dinner they have a mini show with Rapunzel and friends.
After dinner, we went and hung out at Fathoms again. Tonight was the Match Your Mate show. They picked three different couples from the audience and proceeded to see which pair knew each other the best. This was hilarious!!! I highly recommend participating in this!
Overall, we had a wonderful day at sea!
Day 3: Cozumel
Our first port was Cozumel Mexico. We have never been here, so we chose to do an excursion through Disney.
First of all, this is an easy port to get on and off. There were numerous shops and restaurants on the port. Plus, lots of taxis ready to take you anywhere you wanted to go.
Our excursion included a chocolate factory tour, tequila tasting and the Mayan Bee Sanctuary. We really enjoyed the tour. The only negative I have is that it did not include lunch. However, we had enough time to grab a few tacos after the tour was over. We also shopped a little before getting back on the Magic.
The Disney Dream cruise ship was in port the same time as us. It was very cool seeing them docked next to each other. Right before departing, they had a horn battle. Very cool! And I heard that doesn’t happen very often.
This evening, we watched Twice Charmed another one of their Broadway shows. We enjoyed it, but did like Tangled more. It’s the story of an alternate ending to Cinderella.
Dinner was at Lumiere’s. Followed by more adult fun and drinks at Fathoms. Tonight in Fathoms, we did Magic Quest, an adult scavenger hunt. The most hilarious scavenger hunt I’ve ever seen! Men were wearing women’s shoes and bras, women were wearing guys shoes and shirts. But ssshhh, what happens on the Magic stays on the Magic. The ventriloquist from the first night did an adult show after Magic Quest. Very fun evening.
Day 4: Grand Cayman
Our second port day was at Grand Cayman. This is a tender port which means a boat takes your from the cruise ship to the port. It takes a little bit longer than just being able to walk off.
We booked an excursion through Disney to see Stingray City, snorkel at a reef and sail on a catamaran. I plan on writing a post on this, so stay tuned! Overall, we absolutely LOVED it! Fantastic experience. Probably one of our favorite things the whole cruise was swimming with the stingrays!
One of the negatives of the excursion is that it took up the whole port time. We had no time to eat or walk around Grand Cayman.
Pirate Night on the Disney Magic Cruise
Tonight was Pirate Night!! After getting back on the boat, we hurried to get ready for pirate night. Our excursion was a little late coming back. We ended up missing a few character meet and greets. Which was unfortunate since the characters had their pirate costumes on!
Instead of having a show tonight in the theater, there was the Pirates of the Caribbean party on the upper deck. There was dancing, a pirate takeover, Mickey zip lining in, and fireworks over the ship!
Almost EVERYONE goes all out for Pirate Night. There were very elaborate costumes. We did simple costumes from everyday clothes. They do leave everyone a pirate bandana and the stores sell a few pirate items for people who don’t have anything. And of course, it was not mandatory to dress up, but most people were.
Our dinner tonight was at Animator’s Palate. This was a different experience than our first night. We drew a character before ordering. Later during the meal, they did a video and animated everyone’s character! We all became official animators!
After dinner, we went to bed early! As much as I wanted to participate in the later activities, I needed sleep! Very memorable day!
Day 5: Day at Sea
Our relaxing day at sea, started with breakfast at Lumiere’s. We had a great table by the window.
After breakfast, we did a meet and greet with the princesses. This is something that I signed up for weeks in advance. We met Belle, Tiana, Mulan and Rapunzel.
The seas were pretty rough today. Patrick and I don’t get seasick, but there were quite a few people that did today. My plan was to lay out and enjoy the sun, but unfortunately that was not happening today.
The Disney Cruise Line Naviagator App has a schedule of everything on board for the day and the week. It’s very convenient to see what’s coming up. We used this to find our next activity: Anyone Can Cook Series. A chef taught us how to make Lobster Ravioli. They gave out samples and it was delicious!
In the afternoon, I took an 18+ Animation class. I learned how to draw Winnie the Pooh. We played Bingo a couple hours later. They have several times to play Bingo during the week. And there were some lucky winners! Unfortunately I wasn’t one of them.
This evening we watched a magician that truly awed us! The things he could do was incredible! In fact, I liked him more than David Copperfield in Las Vegas!
For dinner, we changed it up a bit and went to the adults only dinner, Palo. At an additional cost, I believe it’s completely worth it! By far, the best meal we had all week!
Day 6: Last Day at Sea on the Disney Magic Cruise
For breakfast and lunch, we ate at Cabana’s. This was our first lunch at Cabana’s, because I usually don’t like buffets. However, we found the lunch to have many good options and it was so much faster!
Marvel characters were doing meet and greets this morning. We waited in line for Thor, but decided not to wait for Captain Marvel and Spiderman.
I may or may not have had a nap today 🙂
This afternoon, we did hang out by the pool. I stayed in the hot tub most of the time, since the weather was a little chilly. We did see Goofy come out and greet everyone by the pool. He was in his swim trunks!
We did a Mixology class before the show tonight. The bartender was fantastic and taught us all how to make 5 drinks. He was very informative and funny. We were a bit wobbly after five drinks 🙂
This evening, Disney saved the best show for last! Disney Dreams: An Enchanted Classic was our favorite show! They tied in a few of the popular Disney movies like Lion King, Aladdin, The Little Mermaid, Beauty & The Beast, Frozen, Peter Pan and Cinderella.
Our last dinner was at Lumiere’s. It was becoming bittersweet, since everything was ending.
After dinner, we headed to Fathoms again for some adult entertainment. Well Patrick headed there to save us a seat. I went up to our room and scrambled to pack real quick. I learned last minute that we needed to have our luggage ready to go by 10:00pm! Whoops!
I did make it to Fathoms to see the end of a fun 80’s movie music trivia type game. The room was split into two teams. They were competing against each other with a dance off. After that, the magician from the other night came out an did an adult only show. Again, he was fantastic! I can’t even begin to describe the crazy things he showed us.
Overall, a great day at sea and we’re sad it’s our last night.
Debarkation Morning on the Disney Magic Cruise
Our final morning, we woke up early to finish packing our carry on bags and get ready. We had breakfast at Lumiere’s with our table and waitstaff for the last time.
Disney made debarking super easy. After breakfast, we left the ship, collected our luggage and went through customs. Back to reality 🙁
Our Disney Magic Room
We stayed in room 6572. I loved the location. It was midship, so about half way between everything. We did not hear the rooms next door at all unless we were on the balcony.
We had a veranda which we loved! Patrick was on the balcony most of time.
There was plenty of room for the two of us. A separate sitting area for watching TV and the balcony with two chairs. I know this size of a room can hold up to four, which would make it a bit more cramped.
I loved that there were two sinks to speed the process of getting ready in the mornings and for dinner.
The room was very clean! Our room host was great at keeping it clean and he made towel animals for us each night. Truthfully I’ve been spoiled! I’ll miss the turn down service every night and the chocolates. He made sure we had everything we needed.
Overall Thoughts On The Disney Magic Cruise
Patrick and I had a wonderful time during our first ever cruise. Disney provided plenty of activities during the day and evening that catered to adults and interested us. The shows were amazing! The deck parties were fun for everyone. I loved meeting the characters, however the lines did get long. I could have spent hours in line if I wanted to see every character.
The food was plentiful and for the most part good. I did have a couple meals that were underwhelming, but overall good. The waitstaff was amazing! They remembered our names and brought our favorite drinks every night without being asked.
The pool areas were a little on the small side, especially the hot tubs. There were a couple times it took me awhile to find an empty chair lounger for laying out. The adult pool was nice that it had a bar right there and the servers brought us drinks. There were two fun slides that didn’t seem to have long lines.
Overall, we enjoyed our time and will cruise with Disney again. My goal is to cruise on EVERY Disney ship now!
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