This is our first Disney experience and first cruise with your 3 year old daughter. It was a 5 day Bahamian cruise with one Marvel day at sea. CHECK IN: we were picked up easily in baggage check by a Disney agent holding a sign with our name. She quickly got our bags and whisked us away to the Four Seasons Miami in a very comfortable SUV. The transportation (Disney) to the cruise ship was not so easy. We were in a huge bus and had to wait for everyone to get on. When we got to the port, it was very crowded and we were not sure where to go. There was a very long line although we were in concierge level. We are not familiar with cruising so we expected a private check in. But, maybe that's not how concierge cruises go? ROOM: Our room was absolutely gorgeous with a long balcony (not deep though). It was a one bedroom suite with two bathrooms and two showers. The bed and pillows were very comfortable. The rocking of the ship made it very easy to sleep. Our room was kept tidy and we had special treats every night by Ferdie. He was great and very friendly and eager to please. The mini bar was convenient as we always had sparkling water and other drinks available. Concierge made sure we had the drinks we specifically wanted. We put the baby in a crib and she fit nicely next to our room and we still had our own space. CONCIERGE: I cannot imagine what this first experience would have been like without the concierge team: Emanuela, Kamesha and Amanda and help from staff, Hikmet, Nicholas and Jermain. We needed a lot of "hand holding" as we had not had any cruise experience on a ship this big. I expressed my concerns to Emanuela the first day and although I was a bit tired and frustrated after a long day of travel and some confusion, she was very, very patient and understanding and put me at ease and guided me through everything I needed to know. Every day, one of the team members would go through the itinerary with me and I greatly appreciated it. Kamesha and Amanda made Jacqueline my 3 year old feel very welcome and comfortable. They were able to get her the non dairy milk that I had requested and also the sparkling mineral water. We were able to get a last minute reservation at Palo which was absolutely incredible. FOOD: We ate at Lumiere's, Animator's Palate, and Rapunzel's Table. Our servers were Munir, Steve and Gerardo. Gerardo is very good at magic tricks and kept Jacqueline entertained. The dinner was great and food was very good with lots of choices. I only eat seafood but always found something I liked. On the Disney Magic, dinner is not just food, it's a show, a whole production. This was the first time, 5 days in a row our daughter sat at dinner and did not want to watch the ipad. The first night, she was very tired and crying though..Munir was so sympathetic and ran to get her a stuffed puppy. It cheered her up right away. Steve was always there to help us make great choices on dishes and he quickly learned our likes and dislikes. PALO: Palo is the adults only italian restaurant. It is a must do. Mehmet was our server and he had me almost in tears laughing. Dinner was so great. We had the Osso Bucco and the Dover Sole. CABANAS: this is the buffet option which we chose for breakfast and most lunches. It is excellent with a wide variety of choices and something different every day. The staff is excellent. Alexandru was so caring one morning when my daughter insisted on strawberry ice cream. He went out of his way to get it for her. Bee was so helpful and helped me carry my plate as I had my daughter in both arms. CASTAWAY CAY: This is Disney's private island and it is absolutely spectacular. It is so beautiful and serene. We stayed in cabana 14 and this is a perfect location right across from the washrooms. The beach was calm with no waves and white sand. the water was crystal clear. It is almost like a dream. The only place more beautiful than this was our trip to Bora Bora. I do have to mention that some of the staff i.e. the driver of the train and one of the golf cart drivers were not representative of Disney standard. not friendly. not helpful. short. gruff. SHOWS: We were only able to stay up for one show which was Dreams. This was the first time she ever watched a show from beginning to end with no coaxing. She was completely enthralled with her eyes glued to the stage. CHARACTERS: The character meet and greets come with long lines but I realized that this is going to be unavoidable on a cruise..lines....lines to get out...lines to get on the ship, lines to see characters, lines to go to eat. lines. but, it was worth the wait for the memories. Jacqueline had several unforgettable memories. On two separate occasions, she ran into Ariel and Sophia. They were both so endearing and played with her and held her hand and walked around the ship with her for quite a while. It really made her trip. These are memories she will keep with her. We took videos. OCEANEER'S CLUB: This is the part I was the most disappointed in. Although, it turned out well on the last try. We tried 3 times to get our daughter to go to the club, but she just would not go the first two times. The first time was not a good first impression. When we walked in, the girl at the check in was not very friendly or welcoming and seemed like she just didn't want to be there and had already had too long of a day and just wanted us to go away. I asked if I could walk my daughter in and this was not allowed. I came by 20 minutes after i dropped her off and she was wandering around by herself. The second time we tried, she cried again. The third time, luckily, we met Sophy. She was very helpful, patient and understanding. She let me walk Jacqueline around and get her acquainted. She requested for someone to come to her to help her get comfortable and we got Nic. She asked Jacqueline if she wanted to do face painting and she quickly went to her. That's all it took. I wish we had met Sophy and Nic on the first day. Other friends have said that their kids did not want to leave kids club, but our experience was totally the opposite. I did not see the big hype here. Hopefully, we have a better experience on our next cruise. CHECK OUT: We had to get on a big bus again. I sat in the back because they fill the bus up so that there are absolutely no seats empty. I had motion sickness. My only suggestion would be to have an option for private transportation. I really enjoyed the bags checked through from ship to destination. That was very helpful. We will definitely try this again. We will stick to the one bedroom suite. It is a perfect location in midship room 8022. It is one floor below all the action at the pool and just below concierge lounge. Read Less

This is not a vacation...there's a lot of planning and stress each day to try and force memories. To see all the characters you will spend most of your cruise standing in line. Tickets to see popular characters sell out fast, and even with a ticket you will stand in line for an hour or could even still miss out. You will not get to see/meet all the Marvel characters on Marvel day...it's a huge mess of running around on a crowded boat trying to find the characters or stand in 1-2 hour long lines to try and meet Captain America, Thor, or Captain Marvel. Everything is Marvel thu including random announcements on the speakers but it's heard to hear. If you are handicapped or have dietary restrictions...avoid this ship! Elevators are tiny and slow. We used the narrow stairs the whole time...the stairways are small and covered with kids laying across the floors. The kids pool and water area was broken and closed most of the cruise (including sea day) and their family pool fits like 5 people. Plus, the pool is hard to get into. The tiny pool is unlike anything I've seen and makes no sense. Most of the ship doesn't make sense, poorly laid out and impractical. There's also chairs around the pool, not loungers. The adult pool is normal and twice the size of the family pool but you will see kids walking thru often cause the adult area is in between elevators/stairs and activities...instead of being isolated at the front like on most cruise ships. The soda isn't really "free", only at dinner Service and at the only drink station on the boat located on the top deck in the back. Yes even if you just want a water, you have to go to the top back deck. I literally was dehydrated and starving the whole cruise. Food is horrible...like out of a freezer and microwaved. I had hair in my food, shells on seafood, and food was often raw. The servers definetly need better training. Service each meal was rediculously slow. We waited 10 minutes after seating each meal just to get water and bread. And orders were often wrong. Also, their are very limited food options. If you miss breakfast at 8am in the dinning room, your screwed. There's no food options until 11:30. Dinning rooms are only open for an hour for breakfast and lunch. Room service literally consists of like 3 options: salad, tomato soup and cheese burger. It's not real room service like on any other cruise. Not enough bathrooms. There's one 2 stall bathroom that's hard to get to in between 2 dining rooms, and it flooded during dinner. Seriously, how do you not have bathrooms next to restaurants? Oh and the pool deck had one single stall bathroom inside by the elevators which was hard for kids to get to. The pirate show is not as cool as it was on the Dream. No Jack Sparrow. It's kinda lame actually. The shows put my kids to sleep or we left from boredom. The diner show at Animators Palate and Rapunzales restaurant were amazing...but that's the only entertainment we enjoyed. The characters try to interact but my kids just didn't want to stand in long lines all day, very boring. And the pool and weird hot tubes were impossible to enjoy. The ship is small, overcrowded, filled with unsupervised whiny children running every where and snobby adults fighting to get spots in line or block the view for kids at shows. The deck shows are very hard to see with so many adults pushing to the front and not enough deck space. If your kids not on your shoulders, they won't be able to see anything. The Marvel deck show is cool if your lucky enough to see it. Definetly not nearly worth the price or headaches. My kids also got sick for most the cruise. They have been on 8 cruises and this was the first time ever getting sick. Guest services was not helpful, dining rooms were slow, room service was useless. Not a single person tried to help my sick kids, couldn't even get clean sheets and the beds down for my kids to rest after calling all day for assistance. Needless to say we will stick with Royal Caribbean and Carnival cruises. There's too many restrictions, rules, and procedures...not enough options, flexibility and not relaxing. You can't just go and enjoy. Oh and our excursion was cancelled the day of with little other options or things to do. Read Less

This was our first Disney cruise and I was so nervous about the amount of money it cost. However, I get the whole Disney cruise thing now. If you have kids it’s the thing to do! The daily entertainment was great. The nightly shows were amazing! Broadway quality. Food was, for the most part good. We found the dining room service to be a bit uneven. Great one night, poor another. We did really enjoy the different themed dining rooms. Castaway Cay was one of the best parts of the cruise. By far the best cruise ship private island I have been to. A few minor complaints: 1) If you want pics with characters be prepared to stand in line. Especially on Marvel day. 2) the kids club is not a technology free zone. The kids are encouraged to play with video games and iPads. I found this very disappointing for Disney. 3) The dining rooms are loud! If your child (or spouse) is sensitive to noise bring hearing protection. Overall a great experience and we will probably do it again. Read Less

We wanted our grand kids to be immersed in Disney, meet their characters, and experience a first cruise with this atmosphere. Upon signing up, and of course it is expensive, many limitations (cancellation, per Disney, is not lenient) , it was essentially impossible, from the get go, to obtain tickets for the kids to see characters at 'meet and greet' (aka, a total overkill to obtain profit ). Wife tried within hours of availability, and many were sold out. To begin with, in my opinion, the characters should be mingling with the kids, freely available, and every effort should be made to make sure every kid can see every character they desire, at some time. One character, Dr. Strange (appropriate) was greeting kids at an impromptu meet (they did have these) , and we were in line, 4 of us left, - he up and just left - never even looked at us. Unbelievable. The food was good, better at the buffet on Deck 9 really, as much of the food in the dining rooms was disappointing really. Tough steaks, lobster that did not even taste like lobster, and just many dishes that were not the quality it used to be. Most of the staff were very, very kind and helpful. If you have an issue however, don't expect it to be addressed well. You'll get all kinds of apologies, typical, and of course the wish for a 'magical day', but not much is done. Sorry, sorry, sorry. We saw a lot of throwing up, and one of our grand kids got it too, last day thankfully. They do try to prevent it, and I personally think something needs to change with how buffets are done -as many people, kids and adults, contaminate the food one way or the other - I don't know the solution, but it absolutely happens frequently. Overall, we had a good time, good cruise. I wish they would skip Grand Cayman, the visit is so short, what can you do ,especially with little kids, and their private island, Castaway Cay, is wonderful. I wish they would just take us there, spend two days or whatever they can there. Far better. That was a good stop. It is expensive, the shows were very good, but again, most things are very competitive to see or get, and so many things you have to get tickets for, sign up in advance - not for me. We have cruised many times over the years, and this seems to be the trend - but I don't like it. I like to be able to go to whatever show, event, as I can. Disney just seems to be becoming more and more commercial, business and profit oriented , and the 'magic' is becoming harder and harder to fine. Read Less

Great trip. Loved the marvel day at sea! Worth the extra money for the marvel. Lots of characters to see. Although lines were long if you plan right you can be near front and they give you plenty of time to visit. Let you take your own pictures. Marvel show was excellent. Kids club was really nice we loved it had two areas which were both large with many activities. Dining was a fun concept they really get to know your likes and dislikes by a day or two. Some of the regular shows were not that exciting to us but overall excellent experience! Would have liked to bring my own larger cup for soda but no biggie. So many movies to watch in the theater or in room all for free, yay. Really didn’t spend much extra on the trip but I could see that many people got a lot of extra such as stuff animals, pins ect. If taking kids it be a good idea to get something before hand to surprise them on the trip so you don’t spend the extra on the boat. Read Less

I have cruised with Disney once before, and that experience was a 10 out of 10. But now, 5 years later its a very different experience. We took our cruise during an interesting time, during our trip DCL was hosting some Disney bloggers and those bloggers soured this trip for us. My fiance and I wouldn't normally take a Disney cruise as a solo get away, but due to inheriting some DVC points after a family members pass we were in a use them or lose this situation so the DVC agent noted our soon to expire points would cover a Disney Cruise, we booked and this was the only one available. I want to start with our embarkation, we left from Miami. I know the common complaint about DCL is the staff during embarkation and disembarkation. For us, our embarkation process was pleasant.. I am originally from Miami so I didn't need to explore the area. We ended up being in boarding group 3, so at that point the staff were all in pretty good moods. The check in process on the other hand is a whole other story. Upon checking it our room wasn't ready yet (1:30pm is the time rooms are usually ready), which was fine, aside from the fact the only way to kill time was to eat, we were told we to come back to the check in desk around 1:00 for our room assignment as there was some system errors. This is where the big issue came, at 1:00 we went for our room assignment. We booked for a Veranda room, well apparently thats what Disney PR had put the bloggers in and they had actually overbooked our room, therefore because it was a corporate room we lost the right to stay. We were placed in an interior instead. Look, I am not trying to complain, AT ALL, but when you pay and reserve a room and then get moved and placed in a substantially cheaper one because the bloggers come first, you're bound to be angry. Needless to say this didn't go over well with us and I was heated. After speaking with a manager I was told that they could move us to an Oceanview and comp us for a meal at Palo. I was fine with that as aside from the balcony the rooms are similar. After our debacle we attempted to settle in to our room, unfortunately we didn't end up getting our luggage until 9pm. One of the biggest drawbacks is on this ship almost all the dinner spots were character dining, which isn't always what you want to do. According to some staff the Tangled dining experience is more of a show and is more enjoyable. The food is a grade above Walt Disney World food but not as good as Disneyland food. The flavors are bland and the food is just unmemorable. During our first full day we were at sea, and this was the highlight of the whole cruise, the spa. We purchased the the Couples Choice package and we are still raving about it. Its the perfect escapism on this cruise. If you do this you will be pleased. I have learned that I can receive similar treatments at the spa in Grand Floridian. Now for the part of this review that showcases why this is my final Disney Cruise. I understand its Disney, but there NEEDS to be more adult only options. On our final night we dined at Palo. Palo is wonderful, the staff is lovely and the food was the best on the ship. But the atmosphere is what killed it for us. Upon reserving a table we were told through the Disney travel agent it was upscale where "elevated business casual is required", obviously that isn't the case anymore. My fiance was in slacks, a button down and dress shoes, and I was in a maxi dress and heels. The table next to us were in shorts and sweatshirts. I just think that is ridiculous. This also shows why I was desperate for some more adult only activities because Palo had screaming children and rambunctious kids. For the size and capacity of the ship the pools are just so small and the lounge areas are tightly packed. Normal events and experiences on the ship where either closed or limited as the blogger hosting took precedent. At one point the ship advertised a show in the theatre but when we arrived we were told "the show was cancelled due to the blogger event as they were having an education seminar. I wish DCL would really promote some child free activities. As for the day at Grand Cayman, its not the best destination to be honest, we went to seven mile beach which was great but getting from the ship to the island is about 45 minutes long. The excursions were pretty standard offerings. Nothing new or innovative. Castaway Cay is a great little thing, for us, the adults only beach made it great. As for the staff and service, there is reason these cast member don't work directly in the parks. That's all I have to say. Read Less

This was our second sailing on the Magic and the service level continues to be excellent. We were in 2620 which was a bit noisier on port days due to being over one of the entrances to port, although it was not intolerable, I would probably pick a different cabin on 2 next time. We loved the Rapunzel's Royal Table update which was new since our last sailing (although we also loved Carioca's). The Adult Entertainment leader, Matt, was hilarious and made us want to return every evening! Our dining team of Anthony and Stilyan was phenomenal and made us feel special every evening (as well as delivering excellent food!) One change that I didn't love in dining was that they included only 3 of the featured breads every evening (we had 4 people at the table). The servers got us an additional one when asked, but it seems odd that the bundles the kitchen made up would have 4 dinner rolls and 3 special breads. In previous sailings it was all specialty bread and no rolls, which we preferred. We can have dinner rolls anywhere. Again, the servers made it right, but they should not have had to go to the extra effort every night. Our boys, 12 and 14, enjoyed their time in Edge and Vibe and met several friends that they hung out with when not with us. We visited Key West and Castaway Cay. Key West was very accessible, lots of fun things to do in walking distance (we did not book excursions, but explored on our own), and Castaway Cay was beautiful although weather prevented us from doing our booked excursion of parasailing (this can't be done if winds are too high, which seems to be fairly common to be cancelled at this location due to wind, just to manage expectations. If it is cancelled, Disney does not charge you for it at their island...just be aware its probably 50/50 on being able to do it, at least in January when we usually go). Our only issue on the trip this time was that they assigned our kids' photos to the wrong key to the world cards which caused an issue on embarkation (and would have also caused issues on the ship) which ended up causing us a delay getting on the ship. the check-in team really should ask which kid is which instead of assigning them without asking. Read Less

We worried about having a 5 year old and 1 year old in the same room with us, but the overall experience was designed for families like ours! Also, I loved that we walked straight on at the time we were designated. Fastest embarkation I've ever experienced. Cabin: There was a curtain to separate the room for naps and at night. The stateroom had a porthole and the kids beds were placed away from the door/toilets, which was a great when they went to bed, because we could look at the next days activities and use the bathroom etc. The crib was in the room upon arrival, along with a "diaper genie" to keep the smelly stuff under wraps. It seriously was the little things. The stateroom host was a very helpful and happy gentleman. Nursery: We booked the Nursery for the 1 year old every night during dinner and the show. It was amazing. The staff take your diaper bag, will feed the kids traditional snacks or meals, whatever you allow at the time the child is dropped off. They will also feed them your own snacks. If the child is going to be staying in the Nursery past bedtime, the staff will attempt to put them to bed with whatever is needed. They also message you in the nap if the baby is a "little upset" or "upset." Cannot thank them enough. They were amazing. Kids Club (Oceaneers Lab/Club): Our 5 year old loved the kids club and would go there at any spare moment we let him. The staff were very attentive and played with the kids. One time I came to collect him, one counselor was playing "Connect 4" just with him. I'm not sure he gets that type of attention at school, let alone a busy kids club on a cruise. They had various crafts and activities throughout the cruise, as well as shows and iPads or video games. You can't limit their screen time in the club, unless your child has the willpower and ability to self-regulate. :) Food: We went to Palo one night and were not embarrassed to order two mains and two souffles each! If nothing else, CHOCOLATE SOUFFLE! Seriously. Don't second guess. You will love it. The main dining rooms were awesome. We had done the Disney Wonder before and knew we liked the Animators Palate. But, we really enjoyed Rapunzel's! It's a new dining experience and it was awesome. They had a mini show and came to visit the table. Fantastic! Really enjoyed our wait staff. They were great. Entertainment: We are certified Disney-philes, so the shows were amazing. Apart from the timing (we did it late), they were very family friendly and had the kids (and adults) all the way through. Blown away by the talent of the cast, who played multiple roles throughout the cruise. We had the Tangled Show, the Cinderella show and the Finale Princess mash-up. We also did the magician one night, which was entertaining too. We did trivia a few of the days and that was good too. There was a "Toddler time" that I took the 1 year old to, it's kind of like a playgroup. Very informal, but introduced me to the Promenade lounge kids area. It was good. Ports: We missed Key West due to weather and only did Castaway Cay and Nassau. Enjoyed them both and didn't venture out much, except to walk to the Chocolate Factory at Grayclif. Worth the walk, didn't need to taxi or do an excursion there. Gym: Used the gym every day around 6.30am and it was awesome. Not too crowded and all the main stuff you need. All-in-all, we had a wonderful experience and would recommend it to any family considering a Disney cruise!! Read Less

We Have cruised on all of the popular cruise lines and are Diamond Club members on Royal Caribbean. As a college student, I worked for three summers on Passenger Liners. Having five (5) grandchildren and a fortieth wedding anniversary, we were treated to a Disney Cruise by my daughter and her husband. This was my son-in-law's first cruise. My son and his family were also invited. The cabin, a suite, was very impressive (see below for further details). The Concierge staff was excellent. They couldn't do enough. The Concierge lounge had a very good selection of light foods and drinks. The regular dining rooms were a big disappointment. For the price of this cruise, the dinners were average. The first night, we were unable to cut the steaks. We tried two different types. For some reason, the Lumiere Dining Room had somewhat better food. The service in the dining rooms was very good. The Fee Dining Restaurant, Palo, was superb. The food was delicious and the service was excellent ( they refused a separate gratuity). The Gym had excellent equipment and a very attentive staff. However, whenever I went, it was practically empty. The outside deck (4?) was made of wood and a favorite place to walk or run. My grandchildren loved the Disney characters and shows. My daughter thought that the Musicals were "Broadway Quality." The entertainment was not geared to adults. Disney Cay was the best of the private islands that we have visited. The cabana was very worthwhile. The Barbecue was your usual cruise line fare. I have been visiting Nassau for 50 years. Bay Street needs some improvement. Atlantis has become a "city" and isn't the luxury resort that it used to be. My grandchildren liked the water park there. Key West has become very commercial. Docking at the Naval Base is like being in a separate country. You are not allowed to walk around and they check you when enter on the shuttle. Docking downtown is preferable. The Service was top flight. Despite being 20 years old, the ship was spotless. Embarkation and Disembarkation were very smooth and efficient. My grandchildren loved this cruise: The food, entertainment and the Disney Characters. The oldest's (5) favorite place was the Concierge Lounge. Even the one year old missed the cruise. As a Group, we had a wonderful time (due to the children). We would consider going again; if they improved the food, added entertainment for grown-ups and they moved one of their other ships to Miami. Read Less

Here are 10 Quick Things You need to know 1. This ship is over 20 years old and it shows. From rusty spots on the balconies to musty smells in the rooms, this ship is definitely showing it's age. 2. The dinner food is mediocre. It's served lukewarm because they're serving hundreds of people at once so chances are your food was waiting to be delivered to your table while they got all the dishes ready. 3. The Staff is amazing and they definitely take service to the next level. 4. Bring you're own camera for the character photos. The staff will use your camera and take one with the cruise photographer's camera. Their digital photos cost $250 for 20 photos. At such a ridiculous price it makes no sense to purchase their photos if you have a good camera. In fact this may justify getting a good camera if you want lots of pictures with characters and princesses. 5. If you have a stop at Walt Disney World link your tickets and book your FastPasses 6 months in advance if possible. 6. The character breakfasts and excursions book up early. You need to book those events the minute they become available. 7. You don't need to book character photo experiences because there will be an opportunity to take a photo with almost every character at some point and time as long as your willing to wait in line for 30mins to an hour. 8. Everything is billed to your credit card so no need to bring cash unless you are going to Disney World. Then bring all the cash you can, because that place is expensive. 9. Download the Disney Cruise App before you board. The cruise Wifi is overpriced and slow. They will give you 50MB free if you stop by Guest Services on the first day but that disappears quickly. You can see your 50MB just trickling away on their app even when you aren't doing anything. 10. The pools and hot tubs are small. The first day the family pool was full of kids and parents to the point where you could barely move. At the same time the adult pool had 3 people in it with room for 40 more. Read Less