Cass, Rob & Kira - Our MAGICal Christmas Cruise 2023

[Timon]

Part 2

I headed back to the room just as Rob was getting back. I guess he had followed Skip to deck 9 and Skip ended up watching a movie on deck.

We ended up having an extra light string so Rob put it around the little railing next to our door. Now it was REALLY easy to find our door from afar.

Those tree lights on the railings were from our very first Christmas cruise in 2016.

Rob had a very full tummy and ended up having a nap. I had eaten the perfect amount of food and felt like I needed to go for a walk and get moving so I left my hubby to snooze on the comfy bed while I went exploring.

I finally got some nice pics of the tree and the gingerbread house and the gorgeously decorated Atrium.



I understand why they changed it but I really miss the Chihuly glass sculpture that once hung here.

This one was super cute because you could see into the house and they made good use of it.

A few familiar faces.

And look at this, it looks like the old stateroom tv screen! This screen changed into a fireplace later on too.

It's hard to capture in one photo just how pretty the Atrium is.

I continued to explore down deck 3 forward.

Ummm, why is there no gorgeous dripping circular chandelier here like on the Wonder? It looks so naked!

Let's pop into Fathoms...

We left via the back exit of Fathoms to explore O'Gill's Pub but it was closed for a private event. So let's carry on, shall we?

Back up to deck 4 forward.

And since it's not very busy, let's go have a better look at the two main shops.

Speaking of Magic Bands, Rob did go to GS today to get his band linked so he could use it to open our stateroom door. He said it was convenient but to me, I don't like wearing things on my wrist, even my slim Fitbit often bothers me, so Kira and I both stuck with just our cards for the rest of the cruise and never did get our bands linked.

Rob and I sailed on Princess in October and we loved their Medallion technology. We had purchased lightweight bands that held the actual medallion (not as big and bulky as the MB+'s) and that was fantastic! The door would unlock as you approach and when you went to order a drink or anything else, they could see who you were and what, if any, drink or specialty package you had and even called you by your name.

The new towel animal stuffies. Not sure if these are super cute or kind of weird.

I will often buy the "free with purchase" item but it was a duffle bag and I have enough Disney Cruise Line bags, thanks! I was hoping it was a Christmas-y blanket like they've offered in the past.

If you forgot to pack any of the essentials, you can find many items in the shop. It will cost you an arm and possibly a leg but they got 'em.

I loved all of the Christmas décor around the ship.

I am at my 35 image limit so I will have to continue in the next post.

Stay tuned for something I have never ever seen before on a cruise ship! And it was pretty dang cool!

 

[jimenyfan]

I love your trip reports!

 

[bcwife76]

Oh the ship is so pretty all decorated for Christmas

 

[Karin1984]

Srdjan! Good to see he is still on the Magic. One of the best servers ever!

 

[Darkrobe]

I don't know about you, but I liked the kids Pirate shirt more than any of the adult stuff. They need new clothing designers.

 

[CarolynFH]

I’m enjoying this detailed report so much! DH and I embark on the Magic in a week and a half, so it’s really helpful to see all the photos. AND we had already booked Palo dinner for one night, then today I was able to book Palo brunch for another day, and after reading your report DH said we need to keep both!

 

[JenLovesMM]

Wow the ship is really a beauty all decorated. In some pics, it felt like you had the entire ship to yourself!!

Quite the teaser at the end, if it's something you have never seen, for sure I will never guess!

 

[Timon]

Part 3

Let's continue on in the shops...

I have never been a huge fan of the Disney Loungefly bags, I'm more of a plain jane type when it comes to my taste in Disney merch (hence my plain black Mickey Magic Band+) so when I saw this plain black Mickey one, I was definitely tempted to buy my first one! I never did though. Did I also tell you that I'm cheap? Okay, well I'm not cheap but I am thrifty and I have a hard time spending money on myself.

This was the blanket, which was cute but it was really thin and I think the print was one-sided so I never bought that either.

I have this print on my bedroom wall but with four ships instead of five. They will have to add another ship soon.

We did end up buying this Christmas shirt, more on that later.

The only other thing I bought was a teal-coloured shirt and Rob bought a Christmas mug that matches the t-shirt print that you can see on the shelves.

All done in the shops, one quick pic in the hallway in between them though. Does anyone remember (and miss!) the old gorgeous marble floors? The new carpet is quite gorgeous but that classic floor was just stunning!

I walked on deck 4, back towards the aft and caught one last pic of the pretty tree.

And I tried to get a photo of all the beautiful features in the Atrium in one shot.

I walked past D-Lounge as they were playing a family version of Magic Quest, which looked and sounded like a lot of fun. If you've never seen or participated in these, please do! The adult one is especially hilarious.

Fancy Schmancy jewelry has taken over most of the old photo gallery. This is where you would go to get your free charm of the day. They are really cheaply made and the ones I have collected on previous cruises have mostly broken within one wearing so I didn't bother to do it on this cruise.

As I entered this area, I looked out through the windows and saw a pinkish-orange looking bird. Well, I had to investigate because it was super far away and I could still see the vivid colour!

It took me far too long to realize that this was a freaking FLAMINGO!!!!

It was flying quite a ways away at first so it was hard to tell. It would come closer to the ship, disappear to the other side and then fly way out again and again.

I ended up stalking this flamingo for over an hour, I was just in awe!

Now, I knew flamingoes could fly even though I have never personally seen it happen because every single flamingo I have ever seen was in a zoo-type setting and their wings are trimmed so that they cannot fly away. But I didn't know they could fly fly.

I mean, we were in the middle of the Gulf of Mexico, nowhere near land at this point. A few Cast Members were also stalking it with me, also in awe. At one point an officer came out to watch and I said "That's a flamingo, right?" and he replied "It sure looks like it!" Obviously this was not a common sight and honestly, I have never heard of anyone seeing a flamingo while on a ship.

I did Google it later and while they do, indeed, fly, they don't do it often. They prefer to stay in warm, shallow waters where the fish are abundant. They tend to only fly great distances when they are migrating and since most of them prefer to live in very warm areas, they don't do it very often. When they do migrate, they will do it in a large group called a flamboyance or even as an entire colony.

This sucker was a lone ranger that seemed to enjoy flying and floating on the breeze, sometimes flying very close down to the water looking for food, I assume. He spent most of his time flying way above the water, going back and fourth on each side of the ship and then eventually disappearing into the horizon. He was still there and if you knew what to look for, you could spot him quite far out.

Look at that!

Just LOOK AT THAT!!

Look at his legs!! Is that not one of the coolest things ever!!!???

What a majestic creature!

And I don't even like birds!

I got some great shots but only video can do this justice! It took me many tries to get good video but I think I managed to get a few good ones. Here's my favourite:

Make sure to watch in 4K!

Okay, after tearing myself away from that dang flamingo, I returned to my journey of exploring the ship's places I hadn't seen on this cruise yet.

Quite Cove Pool during the daytime.

The Aquadunk.

I have done this before but Rob and Kira hadn't had the pleasure. Unfortunately, they put it off too long and the final day was way too cold so they still have not had the pleasure.

I was going to go explore more but I was still a little in shock at my flamingo sighting and I needed to share it with Rob. If you're married to your best friend then you will understand. It didn't happen until you share it with them.


Unfortunately for me, he was still asleep.

I would have told Jen but she was also napping. Damn nappers!

Kira was at Vibe so I couldn't tell her about it either!

I quietly crawled in next to Rob and did the next best thing. I posted it on social media.

He woke up about 30 minutes later and I shared my cool experience with him. He was sad that he missed it. I was sad that he missed it too. I wonder how many people on our ship were lucky enough to see it. Not many probably.

I popped out onto the verandah and spotted some weather coming. He decided to take advantage of the view and warm weather and grabbed his book and read for awhile.

I think I watched a movie on the stateroom tv and checked my mail and did some surfing. Not too long later, the rain came and a beautiful rainbow followed.

Kira even texted me from Vibe telling me about the rainbow and that she could see it from inside Vibe.

Okay, well that's a wrap for this chapter. I feel like after the flamingo, it's all just downhill from here.

Not much can top a freaking flying flamingo!

 

[NAB]

That is so cool! The video was the best so jealous…lol Definitely a flamingo .

We were on the Fantasy first week of Dec. Interesting to see what was different in the stores. There was an aqua colour spirit wear Christmas sweater that flew off the shelves. My daughter got one.

 

[juniorbugman]

Let's continue on in the shops...

When this picture first loaded I thought the boards were having issues with your pictures again and I was going to have to wait for all your pictures to load. It took me a while to figure it out. Good shot.

The only other thing I bought was a teal-coloured shirt and Rob bought a Christmas mug that matches the t-shirt print that you can see on the shelves.

I would have been one of those people who bought that shirt. I too am like you and wouldn't have bought the bag - I too am frugal but I am a sucker for a nice looking shirt or some socks.

Look at that!

Just LOOK AT THAT!!

Look at his legs!! Is that not one of the coolest things ever!!!???

What a majestic creature!

And I don't even like birds!

OMG that is soo cool. And you are correct that it looks so different all spread out like that instead of standing on one foot.

I quietly crawled in next to Rob and did the next best thing. I posted it on social media.

I thought you were going to say that you either woke him up or you just whispered to him just so you could say you told him.

Okay, well that's a wrap for this chapter. I feel like after the flamingo, it's all just downhill from here.

Not much can top a freaking flying flamingo!

Nope not much can but I am sure that you will surprise us with more excitement.

 

[bcwife76]

Wow, what a cool and unique experience with that flamingo!! Very neat

 

[JenLovesMM]

A flamingo! WHAT!! I also knew they could fly, but not like that. Very cool experience for you!

All that followed by a full rainbow, makes for a very unique cruise day for sure.

 

[MommaKetch]

Make sure to watch in 4K!

Thank you for the tip and for sharing a video. That was wild, and so amazing you got to witness it!

 

[disneyandcandles]

Hi Cass! This might seem silly to say.

I first came across your trip reports back in 2022 when you posted about your Alaska trip with your family. I lived vicariously through your report because I was dying to go on another Disney cruise and I also loved how you laid out the whole story of your vacation - it feels like I am right there with you!
In the two years since then I have suffered significant personal losses and gone through some tough times. I recently found a Disney cruise that I could actually afford so I came back to Disboards to get back into the Disney cruise spirit and I found this new, ongoing review. It weirdly feels like coming full circle for me. I am so happy for you guys that you get to make memories like this. Thank you so much for writing reports so that other randos like me can follow along. I wish you all the best.

 

[KenyaSierra]

Part 2

I booked us one night at the Hilton Galveston Island, which some of you may remember from our first two Christmas cruises. Back then they had double beds, which just didn't work for us. I loved the hotel, the staff, the location, the pools and the rooms but Rob and I just cannot fit in a double bed so I vowed I wouldn't return until they had queen-sized beds. Well, guess whaaaaat?

When I was looking at hotel options, I noticed that they now had queen beds, so that's where we went! The price was great too and Jen decided to book there as well but they flew in the night before us so they were already settled in at the hotel.

I texted Jen that we would be there in just a few short minutes!

We noticed that the surf was really rough tonight!

A few short minutes later, we pulled into the valet parking, unbeknownst to us. We didn't notice the valet sign until much later, whoops! We did get a parking pass that we put in the vehicle but thankfully we didn't have any issue parking there overnight.

Jen and Claire were in the lobby waiting for us. I wish someone was recording our meet up because it was hilarious! We were all very happy to see each other (and quite vocal about it too LOL) and then Kira and Claire noticed each other's fancy nails and put them together and started waving their fingers around.

I heard them all laughing but I missed seeing it because I had headed straight over to the front desk to get us our keys (I had done the mobile check-in online already but wanted physical keys) so I made them recreate it while Rob got video of it. I got a screenshot of that video for your viewing pleasure.

The awesome thing about doing mobile check-in for Hilton is that you get to choose your own room so once Jen had chosen her room, I went and chose the one right across from hers.

They helped us to our room with our luggage and Jen had warned us that the "queen" beds weren't exactly true queen beds and then when she saw our beds, she said she ours looked bigger than hers and she quite hilariously starting measuring the beds with her arms and her body. It was so funny!

Jen and Claire left us to get settled in and then I took pics of the room.

I love that they have make-up mirrors AND a vanity area! So many hotels don't have either!

They even had two robes in the closet!

Jen had made a stop at Walmart earlier and graciously grabbed us some drinks and batteries, which saved me some time getting them myself so once we grabbed those from her and unpacked a little, we made use of that extra time and headed for the pool and hot tub!

While us ladies enjoyed chatting in the hot tub, Rob actually made a quick run to Walmart for extra batteries as it seemed I had underestimated how many batteries we actually needed. I forgot that I had taken out ALL of the batteries from our Christmas lights so they all needed new ones. The Walmart is super close by so he made it back with plenty of time to enjoy his book by the pool.

Sadly, Skip did not make it to the pool that night as he was already comfortably tucked into bed with his jammies on. I guess we will have to wait until morning to finally meet the infamous Skip.

Jen, Claire and Kira headed back to the rooms around 10:30pm.

Rob and I stayed right until the pool closed at 11pm. I really love this pool! It goes around the pool bar, which has always been closed when we stayed here so it's nice and quiet and fun to go explore.

Since I was so excited and had my hands full when I first saw the lobby and didn't take any pics, I took a few before heading back to our room.

New to us was this neat towel tracker, where you pick up and drop off your pool towels. How clever!

Rob enjoyed the pillows that were on the couch.

We got ready for bed and then we all passed out, exhausted from the long but fun travel day.

Tomorrow we board the Disney Magic and inevitably we will have to meet Skip finally.

Not just matching nails… Kira and Claire are wearing matching plaid!!

 

[rndmr2]

I have been really enjoying following along on your report. I really want to try a Disney cruise. Hopefully someday. The Magic is such a beautiful ship.

That Flamingo sighting was really amazing. Crazy to see one all by itself so far out.

 

[justafigment27]

Excited to log in today and find another Cass and family cruise report!

Also enjoying Jen and family!

My DH and I sailed in 7070 on the Magic on our very first cruise back in 2000! I knew that room number sounded familiar, so I logged into my DCL account. LOL

 

[Timon]

This was here 2nd time at Palo. However, when she was like 14, I think, we had a friend in the one of the Disney Suites and they invited us to eat Palo in their room, so she had her first meal from there before she was old enough to go.

Claire just calls Srdjan "Mr Bedroom eyes". LOL! I wonder where she picked that term up at?

Wouldn't have a clue????

That was such a fantastic meal and he made us feel like celebrities.
He caught me off guard when he asked when we last cruised together and said he was just checking if we would tell the truth.

And Cris..or as I like to call him...Captain Hook...is so much fun! And he even remembered our friend that sailed with us last time too.

Boy did we luck out last year with getting two amazing servers and then once again this cruise!

Love reading the recap so far! (We were on the same Alaskan cruise as your family in 2022 so love being able to live this cruise vicariously through a familiar family ) Question about the dinner menu at Animators - is that a new menu or special for the itinerary/holiday sailing?

Thanks!

All of the menus are the same old except for the Christmas menu. That one is only on xmas and (I think) Thanksgiving sailings. That's also my favourite one!

I love your trip reports!

Thank you so much!

Oh the ship is so pretty all decorated for Christmas

They did a great job! After being on the Viva and seeing a gorgeous Christmas tree almost at every turn, Jen and I both feel like the Magic was missing a few trees.

Srdjan! Good to see he is still on the Magic. One of the best servers ever!

So, you've had the pleasure!

I don't know about you, but I liked the kids Pirate shirt more than any of the adult stuff. They need new clothing designers.

I feel the same way about some of the designs in the parks, cool kids shirts and then not so much for the adults!

I’m enjoying this detailed report so much! DH and I embark on the Magic in a week and a half, so it’s really helpful to see all the photos. AND we had already booked Palo dinner for one night, then today I was able to book Palo brunch for another day, and after reading your report DH said we need to keep both!

Oooh nice! You're going to have a fabulous time!!! Definitely request Srdjan for both, and tell him we say hi!

Wow the ship is really a beauty all decorated. In some pics, it felt like you had the entire ship to yourself!!

Quite the teaser at the end, if it's something you have never seen, for sure I will never guess!

I have learned over the years the best times to take pics when everyone else is having fun elsewhere.

Did you guess a flying flamingo???

That is so cool! The video was the best so jealous…lol Definitely a flamingo .

We were on the Fantasy first week of Dec. Interesting to see what was different in the stores. There was an aqua colour spirit wear Christmas sweater that flew off the shelves. My daughter got one.

I can't recall if that was in the store but there was a section with non-Christmas aqua-coloured merch and it did seem popular because it was "good merch"! Both Jen and I bought something from that little collection.

When this picture first loaded I thought the boards were having issues with your pictures again and I was going to have to wait for all your pictures to load. It took me a while to figure it out. Good shot.

Hahaha, I had to go back and check to see what you meant, LOL! It does look weird!

I would have been one of those people who bought that shirt. I too am like you and wouldn't have bought the bag - I too am frugal but I am a sucker for a nice looking shirt or some socks.

Apparently I am a sucker for bags too because I have so many DCL bags! And I have a DL sling bag that I bought and will never use but I loved the design so much (and it was pretty cheap!) so I just had to have it!

OMG that is soo cool. And you are correct that it looks so different all spread out like that instead of standing on one foot.

Right!!!!! Sounds dumb but I didn't even realize they could stretch their necks out all flat like that!

I thought you were going to say that you either woke him up or you just whispered to him just so you could say you told him.

BAHAHAHAHAAHAH!

Now THAT is funny!

Wow, what a cool and unique experience with that flamingo!! Very neat

Something I will remember forever! I wish someone else in my travelling party saw it too though.

A flamingo! WHAT!! I also knew they could fly, but not like that. Very cool experience for you!

All that followed by a full rainbow, makes for a very unique cruise day for sure.

Right??!! Those were exactly my thoughts!

Thank you for the tip and for sharing a video. That was wild, and so amazing you got to witness it!

It was amazing and I had perfect timing for once.

Hi Cass! This might seem silly to say.

I first came across your trip reports back in 2022 when you posted about your Alaska trip with your family. I lived vicariously through your report because I was dying to go on another Disney cruise and I also loved how you laid out the whole story of your vacation - it feels like I am right there with you!
In the two years since then I have suffered significant personal losses and gone through some tough times. I recently found a Disney cruise that I could actually afford so I came back to Disboards to get back into the Disney cruise spirit and I found this new, ongoing review. It weirdly feels like coming full circle for me. I am so happy for you guys that you get to make memories like this. Thank you so much for writing reports so that other randos like me can follow along. I wish you all the best.

Not silly at all! I am so sorry for your losses and tough times!

Life can be hard, I've had major struggles in the last few years and because of them, I have taken every opportunity that came along to travel when I could. Mostly Disney, but also other cruises too because I find joy and happiness and some much-needed peace for my soul when I am at sea.

I hope you find some peace and a little bit of pixie dust when you get to cruise again!

Life is short and hard. Take that little bit of magic when you can!

Not just matching nails… Kira and Claire are wearing matching plaid!!

Oh my dog! You're right!!!

I have been really enjoying following along on your report. I really want to try a Disney cruise. Hopefully someday. The Magic is such a beautiful ship.

That Flamingo sighting was really amazing. Crazy to see one all by itself so far out.

The Wonder is my fave but both her and the Magic are amazing ships! I hope you get on one of them soon!

Excited to log in today and find another Cass and family cruise report!

Also enjoying Jen and family!

My DH and I sailed in 7070 on the Magic on our very first cruise back in 2000! I knew that room number sounded familiar, so I logged into my DCL account. LOL

Yay, glad you're here!

Oh wow, so cool! I'm glad they brought back the ability to see your past sailings, they had gotten rid of that for a bit. It was a great stateroom, right?

 

[Timon]

Part 4

It was now time for Tangled, the Musical. Rob and Kira hadn't seen this one before so we made sure to get to the theatre early to get a decent seat. The doors opened up for non-concierge guests about 30 minutes before so Rob and I headed down at that time and the end of the line was past the shops! We used to get here 15 minutes early and we would get great seats but that doesn't seem to be the case anymore.

Kira and Jen's family were on their way and meeting us there. Normally I sit on the right side but there were ASL interpreters on this cruise and that is where they stand. I actually love watching them during these shows as they are quite entertaining but I also knew it would be a distraction and for a few in our party, it would be their first time seeing the entire show.

We grabbed the closest seats possible on the left side and before long, everyone had joined us. It was a PACKED theatre, nary a seat empty in the joint!

I had stopped going to see the shows a long time ago because I have terrible luck and always get seated near someone who is either annoying as heck or sick as a dog. Well, my bad luck continued and I was seated in front of two kids who were both annoying and sick!

They were young and didn't know better so I wasn't upset with them but I gave the parents a few dirty looks but they were completely oblivious or didn't care. They kept kicking my chair, making loud, weird nasally-throaty sounds and were coughing all over the place without covering their mouths.

Although the cast was great and the show is great, it was tough for me not to be distracted by what was going on behind me. If the place wasn't completely packed, I would have moved but the only empty seats I saw were a few single seats spread out.

As requested, I don't take photos during the show but during their curtain call, I always snap a quick one just so I remember the cast.

Not too long later, it was time for dinner at Rapunzel's! This is a first for Rob and Kira as well as for Skip.

This is my favourite restaurant based on the looks. I love purple and of course that colour is found in abundance in this place. I also love the lantern lights, so pretty!

They didn't have the birthday banner hung over the restaurant sign but they were definitely celebrating Rapunzel's birthday tonight. We think that they combine nights here on special sailings due to time constraints.

We were very far from the stage but I have a decent zoom on my camera for pics.

Here's our food...

Kira never likes any of the appetizers so we asked if they could do a Caesar Salad and every night Cris made sure she had one.

The birthday girl made an appearance and took a selfie with Jen.

She stayed for a little chat.

Musicians roamed the restaurant during the appetizers.

Kira ordered the pasta dish but didn't love it. She enjoyed the seafood but left most of the pasta. I think it was because of the pesto, as she loves almost every pasta on the ship.

I ordered the pasta and gave Kira all of my seafood. I loved the pasta.

This was Rob's prime rib, which I normally order but I'm not a big fatty meat kind of girl so I am glad I stuck with the pasta this time.

We got another visitor during our meal.

And then the show began.

So pretty!

Dessert time! I had this last year but the donut was cold and I remember saying that if the donut was warm, this would be a fabulous dish. Guess what? I was right! My donut was warm and it was so much better!

Kira got the cookie's and cream sundae from Animator's, which Cris was awesome enough to run up the stairs and grab for her.

This is her favourite dessert of any cruise so she was thrilled when he brought it out to her.

As this was a new menu for Rob and you all know that he likes to sample things, he ordered the rest of the desserts to try.

Kira headed to Vibe and I went back up to the room to change into my swimsuit.

Waiting for us was the Platinum gift. We had decided to try the fruit this time because last year with Jen, it came with a coconut and Rob was eager to try it but ours came without the coconut. The berries were lovely though!

I don't have any pool pics this evening but the pool was really warm, probably the warmest I have ever had a pool on a Disney cruise! Hot tubs were super busy though and I don't think I got the chance to get in one so I was thankful that the pool was warm that night as I spent the entire hour doing laps in it.

Here's a photo of a view that we got every night on the way to and from the pool, in the forward elevators. I think Mickey was getting a little frisky with his girl.

That's it for this amazing day at sea.

Tune in tomorrow for an exciting and fun-filled adventure in Cozumel.

I'm being sarcastic people, this is Cozumel.

It's hotter than Hades and we've been there a million times.

Stay tuned for our lazy, chilled vibes and yet another day without trivia.

I told you it was all downhill from here.

 

[Ronneeaght]

Rapunzel’s is my favorite restaurant of those I’ve been to across the fleet and that fry bread is my favorite dessert!! It’s always come warm, though. All your posts are making me miss the Magic. The kids want to go back on the Dream for the Aquaduck but since Mama books the cruise maybe the Dream will mysteriously not have any cruises available this year