PHOTO REVIEW FROM DCL NEWBIE! Just off the Disney Magic.

[Bostonjetset]

Hi fellow cruisers. I just returned from the Magic's 4-night cruise from San Juan to Fort Lauderdale via The Bahamas, with stops at Lookout Cay and Nassau. I usually post reviews in a diary style format so you can read my thoughts as I wrote them during the trip. I have also posted this Cruise Critic but I know this board is more frequented by Disney people so though I'd share it here as well.


BACKGROUND:

I sailed on this trip with my husband. I am 42 and he is 57; we have no children. We have been many on many cruises but neither of us have sailed with Disney before. I'm more of a "Disney guy" than he is but he enjoyed Disneyland when we went a couple years back. We have been to San Juan before on a land trip many years ago and to Nassau on our first cruise back in 2008. I was also in Nassau last year on a friends' cruise. We booked this primarily to try out Lookout Cay and of course DCL.


Please feel free to ask questions or make comments and I will reply. At the end of the daily entries I will post my final thoughts.

 

[Bostonjetset]

Day 1: San Juan, Puerto Rico [3/30/2025 8.58pm]



We flew into San Juan a day before our cruise to play it safe since and since we haven't been here since 2010. It's quite surprising how expensive all the hotels are so we picked a place called SJ Suites. I now know why it was so cheap! Our room doesn't even have a window! At least it's moderately clean and in a great location on Fortaleza Street in Old San Juan. It's just a place to sleep for one night I guess.



We ended up having an early dinner at Barrachina, the birthplace of the piña colada, after walking around the old town and taking some photos. I got mofongo and it was MUCH better than the last time we were in San Juan.



Room: $125

Dinner $84 [1 appetizer, 2 entrees, 2 soft drinks, tax, and tip]

 

[Bostonjetset]

Day 2: Disney Magic [3/31/2025 10.56pm]

Finally on our first Disney cruise aboard the beautiful Disney Magic! She truly is a lovely ship and so well kept up for one that is 27 years old. There is one slight issue with a ceiling leak in the atrium though so the grand staircase and central atrium is closed off all day. That meant we had to board on a lower deck and did not get the famous Disney welcome announcement. Other than that things are as normal. Our interior stateroom is a great size, especially compared to newer ships on other lines; we have a full sized sofa which is nice. The only real negative so far has been the old style muster drill with everyone gathering at their stations and waiting around. Most other cruise lines have moved to a much easier digital version where you watch on your own and then just go scan your card.

The show tonight, Tangled: The Musical, was excellent!! This was probably the best show cruise ship production I've ever seen along with SIX back when NCL was still doing Broadway touring productions. This was truly professional caliber with a full ensemble; there were 18 performers on stage at one point. At least we know one reason Disney charges what they do.

Dinner at Animator's Palate was very good, especially the pasta "purses" with truffle sauce. We were sat with a lesbian couple, another gay male couple, and 2 guys traveling together who may or may not have been a couple. Someone at DCL really pays attention to the table assignments to make sure people click.

 

[Bostonjetset]

Day 3: Disney Magic at Sea [4/1/2025 10.55pm]

Today was a day at sea so we pretty much just relaxed. We had a leisurely sit-down breakfast in Lumiere's and then spent some time in the hot tubs in the adults-only "Quiet Cove" pool area. This ship actually enforces the adults-only spaces which is great! After lunch I got a delicious lavender latte at Cove Cafe and spent some time catching up on reading my book.

The show tonight was "Twice Charmed", a reimagining of Cinderella. Again, it was great. They really put a lot of effort, and probably money, into the performances.

Tonight's dinner was at Rapunzel's Royal Table and it was fabulous. There was a Rapunzel themed dinner show whilst we at, with many German-inspired dishes. Rapunzel went around to every table to take pictures and several of the "Snuggly Duckling" thugs made the rounds as well. It was a really fun time. We had the same stablemates and servers as last night; all of Table 71 rotates through each dining room together.

 

[Bostonjetset]

Day 4: Disney's Lookout Cay at Lighthouse Point, Bahamas [4/2/2025 10.57pm]

Lookout Cay at Lighthouse Point is probably the nicest private cruiseline island/area I've visited; maybe tied with Holland America's Half Moon Cay. However, Lookout Cay has the edge of not needing tenders! It's really a beautiful island and Disney did a great job building the structures to blend with the landscape and showcase some Bahamian flair. The Serenity Bay adults' beach was stunning with turquoise water and powdery sand. There were tons of umbrellas to use though one cast member made us put them down because it was "too windy". I've never heard of such a thing and there is NO natural shade so many of us were no pleased. They finally let us open some of the rear part of the beach behind the dunes. The BBQ lunch was great and there were no flies!

Tonight was pirate night on the ship so we all got bandanas to wear which is a nice touch. And of course the deck party in the evening with fireworks of the ship was lots of fun. Any reason Disney charges what they do I guess.

 

[Bostonjetset]

Day 5: Nassau, Bahamas [4/3/2025 10.57pm]

We decided to treat today as a sea day as Nassau isn't that appealing unless one wants to spend a lot on getting away from downtown. We weren't ashore for about 30 minutes just to get some aloe gel for out sunburns and a mini rum cake for my mom. After lunch DH took a nap and I watched the new live action Snow White movie. It was better than I expected but I still didn't love the CGI dwarves. It was nice to see a movie that's still in theaters though.

Dinner tonight was in Lumiere's and it was the best menu of the trip. Escargot, fried brie, wonderful French onion soup, and crispy roast duck. Dessert was tarte Tatin.

This cruise has been really enjoyable and I'd love to cruise with Disney again in the future. That said, I think Disney is perfect for a 4-5 night Bahamas or Caribbean itinerary; perhaps a Mexican Riviera one would be good too. I love them for a trip where the ship experience is extra important. I don't think I'd pick them for Europe though because they cost 2x-3x more than other lines and in Europe the ports are more important to me than the ship. I DO want to sail the Disney Treasure one day though!

 

[jalapeno_pretzel]

Great review! I love your pictures of Lookout Cay especially (as I haven't been there yet)! That fry bread at Rapunzel's is great. We loved our recent stop at PR on Treasure, we may need to go back for longer.

 

[Bostonjetset]

Great review! I love your pictures of Lookout Cay especially (as I haven't been there yet)! That fry bread at Rapunzel's is great. We loved our recent stop at PR on Treasure, we may need to go back for longer.

Thanks for reading. I’m glad you enjoyed. I loved the dry bread. I wish it came in the frying pan like it was supposed to but our servers were already running late and I think by the time our desserts got done the kitchen must’ve run out. It was delicious though.

One day I’ll sail on the Treasure. Did you love it? Aladdin is my fave so that atrium calls to me. And of course the Aristocats bar AND the Haunted Mansion lounge. So many good areas on that ship.

 

[SnowWhite2]

Love reading your report. I was supposed to be on the Galveston/SJ trip before your journey but had to cancel the day before embarkation. Still dealing with the medical issues of family member. Looking forward to getting to Lookout Cay.

 

[Bostonjetset]

Love reading your report. I was supposed to be on the Galveston/SJ trip before your journey but had to cancel the day before embarkation. Still dealing with the medical issues of family member. Looking forward to getting to Lookout Cay.

Hope everyone is on the mend. And hope you get to Lookout Cay soon as it’s quite lovely.

 

[Erica1016]

We were sat with a lesbian couple, another gay male couple, and 2 guys traveling together who may or may not have been a couple. Someone at DCL really pays attention to the table assignments to make sure people click.

They really do a nice job! We are a child-free couple in our mid-40s and they have seated us with similar couples on every cruise...although on our last cruise, the two other couples were in their 20's. We still all got along great and had a lot of fun. We've kept in touch with several past tablemates.

Today was a day at sea so we pretty much just relaxed. We had a leisurely sit-down breakfast in Lumiere's and then spent some time in the hot tubs in the adults-only "Quiet Cove" pool area. This ship actually enforces the adults-only spaces which is great!

We've sailed on all the ships (with the Treasure coming up next month). If forced to choose, I'd say the Fantasy is my favorite, but I just love the adult pool and hot tub area on the Magic!

I love them for a trip where the ship experience is extra important. I don't think I'd pick them for Europe though because they cost 2x-3x more than other lines and in Europe the ports are more important to me than the ship.

Everyone always asks us where our cruises are going and our answer is almost always, "the ship is the trip!". We get off and putter around a bit, but we're not generally excursion people. There is so much to do and we enjoy the Disney ships so much we don't really care where it's going...so long as it's warm and sunny!

I'm glad you've enjoyed your trip and that the hiccup in the atrium at the start didn't detract from your trip!

 

[Sophie’smom]

Thanks for the trip report - I love the photos of LC - we were there in January, it is so beautiful!