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Pre-cruise we stayed at the Days Inn in Cocoa Beach, Florida two nights before we were to set sail on our cruise. I really enjoyed the area of Port Everglades as it was significantly less populated compared to the Miami/Ft. Lauderdale area. We left our hotel at 10:30am and arrived at Port Canaveral about 10:45am and I dropped off the family while they went to check in and I went to park the car at the port. By the time I had parked the car and returned to the terminal, we were already checked in and we took pictures with Mickey in the terminal and sat around waiting for our category to be called. They started boarded at about 12:00 and by 12:30 we were called to board. A unique thing to the Disney Magic cruise is that when you board, you give your name to them as you board and they announce on the loud speakers: “The Disney Magic welcomes the Tyler family…” with cheers from the crew. We went to the Parrot Cay restaurant and sat for lunch and had a decent lunch. Also, unique to the Disney Magic is rotating dinners so every night you change your restaurant and your waiters move with you. We had three dinners in Parrot Cay, two in Lumineres and two in the Animators Palate. Are head waiter was Mario and he did a great job. Overall service on the Disney Magic was good and comparable to our past Carnival cruises.
The food I would rate at about a 3 out of 5 stars. It was okay but I was disappointed in that there were no 24 hours food places open, most closed at 12am. The layout of the ship is nice with hidden Mickey’s everywhere.
Disney Characters were also often around for pictures, pictures and more pictures. The daily newsletter told where Characters would be and what time. My mother and wife spend over $400 on pictures!!!
We had a family inside state room for all 4 of us. The couch was a pull out bed, there was a pull down twin for our daughter and my wife and I shared the double bed. There was a curtain that pulled down splitting the small room in half for minimal privacy. The bathroom had square tiles that were showing there age. Overall, I felt a little more cramped in this room compared to the Carnival inside state rooms.
Entertainment onboard was decent, a lot of Disney themed princess shows and a couple contract acts (a ventriloquist & a magician).
Our last day was a day at sea and fireworks at night were amazing!!! Another thing unique to Disney.
We got back to Port Canaveral on the 26th of December. Disembarking went smoothly. Post Cruise, We went to a packed Disney World and stayed at the Animal Kingdom lodge.
Overall the cruise was great. It was comparable to passed Carnival cruises (though more costly). The crowd consisted of mostly families and there were lots of kids as expected. Great family vacation!!!
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