Disney Makes the most out of an old, small ship.
Disney Magic Cruise Review
Contributor Level:
First Mate
Cruises: 4-6 cruises
Reviews: 7
Helpful Votes: 88
7 Night Southern Caribbean (San Juan Roundtrip)
Sail date: April 20, 2024
Ship: Disney Magic
Cabin type: Inside
Cabin number: 2015
Traveled as: Family (older children)
Reviewed: 6 months ago
Review summary
The Disney Magic is an old ship that’s obviously limited on space, things to do, and dining, but the ship’s been taken great care of, and DCL makes the most out of the space it has. The ship is packed with Disney magic and this trip makes me really want to try DCL’s newer offerings and see how far they’ve come, and if I were traveling with young kids, I would not hesitate to take them aboard.Embarkation
There was definitely some confusion with this sailing. About a week prior to embarkation, DCL informed all passengers that boarding would all be delayed 1 hour from the scheduled boarding time. Disney fans being Disney fans, this was promptly ignored, and it felt like the entire guest list was already waiting outside the terminal by noon. DCL, also, didn’t adhere to their own email, and started boarding right as originally planned. It was also out of San Juan’s pan American terminal, which is very rundown.
Ship experiences
Food and Dining
For the most part, dinners are served at the three rotational dining venues, animator’s palette, Rapunzel’s Royal Table, and Lumiere’s. Cabanas was closed during dinner time on our sailing, with the other options being quick service like daisy’s delites, Pinnochio’s pizzeria, or Duck-In Diner; and the one specialty restaurant Palo. The main dining room food was main dining room food. When possible, I always like to elevate the experience to specialty dining, but with only a single restaurant onboard, options were limited. The rotational dining was nothing special at all, and unfortunately that was dinner 6 of the 7 nights onboard. Palo was good and a nice change of pace midway through the cruise ship.
I found the quick service food to be good quick snacks, but was a little puzzled by the hours Cabana’s kept. As mentioned above, it was always closed for dinner, and lunch service ended every day at 2:00pm. It would have been nice if that were open a few hours extra, especially on port days when people are getting back on the ship and might want to get a quick lunch that’s not just chicken tenders.
The food was overall good, there just wasn’t anything special or memorable.
Onboard Activities
The Disney Magic is definitely starting to show its age, with how small it is, and how few options are offered onboard. Prior to this sailing, the smallest ship I’d sailed on was RCI’s Freedom of the Seas, which is nearly double the size of the Disney Magic.
The Magic just doesn’t have enough room for a bunch of fun extras, and felt very middle of the road, containing everything that’s default on a cruise ship. There was a pool deck. A promenade, an atrium, a theater, kid’s centers and a few lounges. I would really like to try one of Disney’s newer ships that just have a lot more room to play with.
The space that the ship did have, however, was used very well. I particularly liked the adult’s only pool, and the onboard Buena Vista theater.
Entertainment
Disney shows do things no other cruise line will do. From fireworks shows, to pyrotechnics, and productions with original songs, no one can put on a show like Disney can.
The guest Broadway star, Gale Bennet was phenomenal. Twice charmed was incredible, along with Tangled and Dreams. DCL knows all about showmanship, production value, and rewarding payoffs, and the entertainment alone is enough to try Disney ships over and over again.
Service and Staff
I thought the crew members did a wonderful job. Our servers took the time to do little things like get to know you, do magic tricks at the table, or origami. The staff really felt like they cared about making sure your trip was an excellent experience.
Ship Quality
The ship design and layout is definitely starting to feel a little bit dated. There are spots where the floor would sag or move around, which is to be expected with a ship so old.
I was impressed by how well the ship has been maintained and how clean it was, but it’s still a 25 year old ship, and isn’t comparable to what’s being done a quarter of a century later.
Cabin / Stateroom
This was definitely the most spacious interior cabin I’ve ever stayed in. It never felt cramped. The cabin was very well maintained. I think the only obvious signs of wear I could find was plumbing in the shower that was a little loose and sprayed sideways, or baseboards that had been previously broken and reattached.
I also would like to say, I absolutely loved the on demand library. Time spent in the cabin was much more enjoyable when I had dozens of movies to pick from instead of watching something like Shipping Julia on royal’s ships.
Ship tip
If you want to get to a deck party, get there early. If you’re half an hour out, and think about going, you’re already too late. The deck parties get very crowded.
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Ports of call
Dominica was the biggest surprise for me. This was one of the most naturally beautiful places I’ve ever been, with enormous scale, and lush rainforests. Dominica’s very little known. They don’t even have an international airport yet, but I have to imagine this will become a bucket list destination once their tourism industry gets off the ground. Dominica was so unbelievably beautiful.
Everything I’d read about Curacao prior to this visit talked about how taking the floating bridge into town was a must do. The area was very beautiful, but the island was so stunning I really felt like I missed out on seeing the rest of it. I’m convinced I need to go back to see more of Curacao, because walking around Willemstad just didn’t feel like enough.
Aruba is Arizona with beach access. The island is absolutely gorgeous, and I loved how unique it was being a desert surrounded by pristine blue Caribbean waters.
Disembarkation
The disembarkation procedure was very smooth. I liked how they baked breakfast into the process, and used that to give one last meal, but also control departure times. My luggage was waiting for me, and I had no complaints with disembarkation.