My Time Aboard The DCL Magic Part 1

Earlier this month I was lucky enough to sail on a 5 night Canadian and New England Halloween on the High Seas Disney Magic cruise that left from NYC and visited Bar Harbor ME as well as St John (Bay of Fundy) before heading back to our home port in NYC. I was extremely excited to explore this classic ship let alone attend a marketing forum hosted by Disney itself.

One of the neat things DCL does when you board the ship is announce your family as you board, for example as in my case, "Please welcome The Cabell Family". You enter into a beautiful foyer that is home to a Halloween tree that eerily evolves through out your cruise, a piano, and of course a gold statue of our beloved Captain Mickey. I really felt this special touch makes the entrance so much more personalized unlike many other cruise lines as to where you just enter.

I was blessed to be assigned an Oceanview Balcony cabin which was very spacious for being on this cruise all by myself. You will find a video tour of my actual cabin above. One of the neatest things about this stateroom is the split bathroom. One room holds the toilet and a sink and the other room holds the bathtub/shower and another sink with a pretty large counter top. This option is such a lifesaver for those traveling with families. Gives you extra room and my favorite is that there is a bathtub! Many of the other ships do not offer a bathtub. My cabin had two twin beds connected as a Queen with extremely comfy bedding. The cabin had a decent sized living room with a sofa that converted into a bed with a privacy divider if you were traveling with other guests, as well as a nice vanity area with a large mirror. Each stateroom also has a flat-screen TV, in-room safe, hair dryer, phone with voicemail, and individual climate control. 

The first night of the cruise I ate at Palo, an adults only fine dining restaurant featuring Northern Italian cuisine on Aft Deck 10. Palo is a $25 surcharge per person but is well worth the extra money. We ate in a private room in the back of the restaurant and watched New York City sail away as the beautiful backdrop of the night making this an elegant dinner beyond words. Occasionally while we ate, a beautiful violinist would stop in and serenade us, it felt like I was in a dream! I ended the dining experience with a delicious chocolate tart that was lactose free (and you would never know it!)

The pool area on the Magic is just awesome for families, far better than many of the ships out there today. They offer different water areas for families of all ages. The AquaLab, is a water themed playground for kids to stay active, Goofy’s Pool is the perfect family pool area that offers deck chairs for relaxing and a jumbo television screen, Nephew’s Splash Zone is where kids under the ages of 3 can splash around, and lastly (my favorite) the Quiet Cove Pool which is an area for adults ages 18 years and older. It was the first week in October and there were tons of people enjoying the pool. All pools are heated and warm enough to enjoy even in the chilly Fall temps if you are brave enough to get out in the cold at some point! 

The buffet on the ship "Cabanas" is extremely clean and always stocked with tons of great food of all different choices. There is more than enough room to grab a seat at all times and they also have a large seating area outside for when it's nice out. I traveled along with women who had lactose issues as well as gluten intolerance problems and every morning a chef was able to create something for each of the women to eat that would fit their diet that they would also enjoy. This was a much nicer buffet area than many of the other ships I have seen and no one was running into each other even at it's busiest times. 

Stay Tuned for Part 2 of My Time Aboard the DCL Magic