Disney Magic Review
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My family got back from our First Disney cruise last week. we started in Orlando and drove the relatively easy drive in about 4 hours to Miami. This was the first cruise we have taken our kids (6 &4). It was everything I hoped for our first cruise with kids!! Embarkation was a breeze! The thing that took the longest was finding someone to check in our luggage. It was quite chaotic outside but smooth sailing once inside! Announcing each family by name was a very nice touch!
We went up to Cariocas and ate lunch shortly after boarding, it was a buffet for embarkation day, but table service the rest of the cruise. By the time we finished, our room was ready. We walked down to level 2 and were pleasantly surprised by the size of our stateroom. After checking out our room, we headed to the kids club. AMAZING!! I have a son with a bleeding disorder, and was worried about how this would be handled. All kids receive bands and get a "lock" to help keep it on. Kids with any sort of special considerations get a red lock and others get black. The red lock alerts staff to a special consideration and prompts them to look in the computer to see what needs to be done. The band scans them in or out (you also have to give a password) and can also give their location in the kids club.
Throughout the entire cruise we never felt like there was "nothing to do". There were always fun activities going on or time was spent at the pool, waterslide, hot tub! We attended a cooking activity and super sloppy science during the kids club open house (parents allowed). My kids attended a few activities during kids club lockdown (no parents allowed). I felt very safe leaving my kids with the staff, and they came back with nothing but excellent things to say.
Cabin Review
Deluxe Oceanview Stateroom
We had plenty of room for the 4 of us and never felt cramped. We had the king size bed for myself and husband, fold out sofa for our son and the pull down bed for my daughter. I was worried about her sleeping up there, but there were rails on 3 sides and the wall on the 4th. Once she was up there, all my fears were calmed. She slept with no problems! The divided bathrooms were also very nice! My only complaint in regards to the room, was the noise. Like I said, were were on Deck 2 Aft, just below one of the restaurants. If you were in the room during dinner there was a lot of foot noise coming from above. It was also very loud and shaky when pulling into port. A lot of vibration, and creaking. We have 2 Ipads and use a fan app for sleep noise. It did not help me at all. I ended up taking some Dramamine just to help me sleep. When we go again I would not mind deck 2 at all, but would for sure choose mid ship. We had a large port hole window and that was fantastic! My kiddos loved to sit in it and watch the water! The hair dryer in the bathroom was terrible. A small hairdryer was also provided, but must have been quite old as it didn't blow hot air. The toilet did have an odor, but I don't believe I have ever been on a cruise that didn't have a bathroom odor to some degree. The beds were all comfortable, linens were nice, room temp was fine!