Our family recently took a 4-day Bahamas cruise on the Disney Magic out of Port Canaveral, visiting Nassau and Castaway Cay. We booked a pair of connecting Category 5B verandah staterooms – one for my wife and I, and one for our daughters aged 10 and 12. Overall we were very happy with our only Disney experience since my wife and I visited Disneyland in 1976. Separately. I was 10 and she was 8. We were not a couple at that time.

Our previous cruising experience was limited to a 7-day Eastern Caribbean cruise on Norwegian’s Epic in January 2013, and before that, a 1995 Alaskan trip on Holland America’s Statendam. I have to say, I chuckle when I read a review that begins something like “…we have cruised over 50 times and this was the worst ever…” Then I look at their profile and see that this is the only time they’ve bothered to write a review. I guess some people put a lot more effort into complaints than praise.

Leading up to our cruise, the interaction with Disney was excellent – very comprehensive documentation and information – with easy-to-book shore excursions and onboard experiences – and the added bonus that you don’t pay for them until the end of the cruise. Just fold up that account summary they slip under your door on the last morning, and don’t look at it until you get home. Read more