Trip Log Day 1: 3-Night Bahamian Cruise on Disney Magic – Port Canaveral

Trip log, day one. Port Canaveral.
3-Night Bahamian Cruise from Port Canaveral 
February 18, 2016
Day 1 – Personal Navigator

Disney Magic Day 1 Map Port Canaveral 20160218

I joked that we took a wrong turn and ended up at Port Canaveral, but we had been looking forward to this cruise for quite some time. The reason being, this would be our first opportunity to see Tangled: The Musical. Plus, the 3-Night itinerary was on our favorite ship, the Disney Magic and even better – had a day at sea instead of Nassau.Disney Magic Selfie Port Canaveral

We arrived to the port earlier than usual and were directed to the curb side luggage drop off rather than driving into the gate and around to the side of the terminal. We pre-paid for parking online and easily found a spot to park. The security line was quick and check-in was a breeze. It was still too early to board, which was good because Isabelle wanted to make Derek Burgan jealous (yes The Derek Burgan from the world famous Saturday Six articles over on TouringPlans.com) by making some pressed Disney Cruise Line pennies.

Upon boarding, we headed to Carioca’s for our embarkation lunch.José Carioca Mural Carioca's Embarkation Lunch

This is also our first time back on the Disney Magic following her recent dry dock. The first new place to check out was the relocated tween space, EDGE. Edge took over the arcade on deck 9.Edge Entrance

The space is much improved over the dungeon that was the EDGE in the previous deck 2 location. Disney Magic EDGE

The decor is great and is a great next step from the design of the Oceaneer Lab.
Disney Magic EDGE Disney Magic EDGE Disney Magic EDGE Disney Magic EDGE

The Edge has a selection of video games available for play on Nintendo Wii, Nintendo Wii U and Xbox.Disney Magic EDGE Video Game ListDisney Magic EDGEWhile the space is really set up for video game play, there is a seating area in the back with an oversized Connect Four and other board games available for kids to enjoy.
Disney Magic EDGE Disney Magic EDGE

The next new space is Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique located on deck 10 forward.Disney Magic Bibbiddi Bobbiddi Boutique Deck Location Disney Magic Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique Door Disney Magic Bibbiddi Bobbiddi Boutique

Moving along the upper deck to the forward funnel on deck 10 for the Concierge Lounge. Disney Magic Concierge Lounge Entrance

The Concierge Lounge overlooks the Quiet Cove with an adjacent private covered outside seating area.
Disney Magic Concierge Sundeck Around back there is an exterior entrance to the seating area for easier access to the upper decks.Disney Magic Concierge Sundeck Side Entrance Disney Magic Concierge Sundeck

After walking around for a while, it was time to head back to the stateroom to unpack our suitcase and head down to the muster drill. I ended up walking around a bit more before the sail away party which we streamed live via Periscope. When I get home, I’ll upload the video and embed below.

Disney Magic AuqaLab

Tonight’s dinner was in Carioca’s. Since the re-imagination of the Disney Magic, Carioca’s has become our favorite rotational menu. The dinner begins with banana bread and a mango-mint mojo.

Carioca's Banana Bread Mango Dip

Emily ordered the Cuban Salad with watercress, avocado, pineapple and “toasted cuban bread’ with a cider vinegar dressing. The salad was fresh & delicious; a nice meld of flavors. However, it was a real disappointment that the “toasted cuban bread” was just bulk croutons available everywhere else on the ship. Not sure who they think they are kidding with this, but they need to either use toasted cuban bread or change the menu to reflect the salad comes with rock hard croutons. Needless to say, she left those behind.Carioca's Cuban Salad

The Havana style black bean soup has been a favorite of mine, but the recipe seems to have been tweaked and was much thinner. The flavor was good, but I much preferred the thicker consistency from previous dinners.
Carioca's Black Bean Soup

Isabelle loves the Small Corn Tortillas from the vegetarian menu. Except for tonight, the corn tortillas were much less than desirable and Isabelle opted just to eat the fixings with a spoon. We all tried the tortillas and something was off. According to Isabelle, the tortillas “were terrible and dry”. Emily described them as paste.

Carioca's Small Corn Tortillas

After two misses, Carioca’s hit a grand slam with the Pan Seared Sea Bass served with fava bean and pea risotto, sliced fennel and dill-chive riesling wine sauce. The sea bass was excellently prepared and the accompanying risotto was quite flavorful! Looking forward to this dish again in the future!
Carioca's Sea Bass

For dessert, I tried something new to me, the De la Costa Cheese Flan. I enjoyed it and would order again.

Carioca's Flan

It was time for TANGLED!!! Following dinner we headed over to O’Gills… err it is currently under new management, so we followed the signs to The Snuggly Duckling!

Snuggly Ducking This Way After HoursO'Gills Under New Management

The Snuggly Duckling Schedule

The entire O’Gills venue receives a Snuggly Duckling overlay on the nights of Tangled The Musical including the menu… seriously, the actual menu was altered for the night. I’ll upload this when we get home.

The Snuggly Duckling O'Gills Menu Takeover

Snuggly Duckling Slug A Thug Banner

We enjoyed a couple rounds of THUGO, a Tangled take on Bingo. The game was enjoyable and almost everyone one at least once and a good percentage of the teams won both rounds. Not sure if this was just a fluke, or the result of many duplicate THUGO boards. Regardless, a lot of DCL key chains and luggage tags were handed out.
Snuggly Duckling THUGO

The Snuggly Ducking takeover family time was capped off with a piano sing-a-long. All in all, The Snuggly Duckling takeover of O’Gills was a great idea and frankly, I would love to see a permanent takeover.

Tangled The Musical Banner Walt Disney Theatre

The Walt Disney Theatre was *packed* for Tangled The Musical and the show did not disappoint. The only criticism I’d give is to not encourage the audience to cheer and make a lot of noise when they see their favorite character. This took away from the performance, especially when Rapunzel first appeared on stage and the crowd noise overtook her vocals.

Tangled The Musical Title ScreenAfter the show it was time for bed… Well, for the smarter people in my family. I on the other hand, thought it would be a great idea to go see the 10:30 PM showing of The Finest Hours.

Quick Movie Review: The Finest Hours

The Finest Hours Buena Vista Theatre

In October, while sailing aboard the Disney Dream I saw a preview for The Finest Hours. At first, I thought, this is going to play on a cruise ship; that’s going to go over really well. Then, I remembered we had this cruise booked and said to myself, this is going to be great – I can watch this on the Magic while the ship is (hopefully) rocking.

The Finest Hours is based on a true story, which I did find interesting. I did not know the outcome of the events until after seeing the film. However, I felt the overall character development was weak and I was not hooked into caring for the leads. I was getting tired and considered packing it in, but I found one character’s story to keep me awake. I wanted to see where the engineer, played by Casey Afleck, from the tanker that was torn in half ended up at the end of the film. In a way, I feel the same about The Finest Hours as I do the Titanic. I love the basic story, but I could do without the love story. In the case of the Titanic, I thankful there are countless documentaries. As for The Finest Hours, I think I should have just read the book as I’ve always been told the books are better than the movies.

I’m glad I had the opportunity to see the film, but I do not think I’ll see it again anytime soon.

Complete Trip Log Index

20 Replies to “Trip Log Day 1: 3-Night Bahamian Cruise on Disney Magic – Port Canaveral”

  1. Kevin

    Sounds like a great first day, Scott. I sailed on the Magic just 2 1/2 weeks ago and the Snuggly Duckling was one of the many highlights. Looking forward to Day 2, as I’m sure you are 🙂

    Reply
  2. Larry

    Thanks for the photos for Edge, they were hard to find on the internet. I like how the old Edge wasn’t as open, so you couldn’t see everyone at the same time, but everything was getting outdated, so it was good for a change.

    Reply
  3. Brianne

    We were just on the Magic about a week ago and I got the same sea bass for dinner. I agree! Absolutely amazing! However, I also had the same dish on the Dream at Enchanted Garden in 2014…

    Reply
  4. Jim nderhill

    Thanks for the great detail. We are taking this cruise in March. Our first on the Magic. We have enjoyed many on the Dream.

    Reply
  5. Nancy

    Great photos! We will be on the Wonder next year and my oldest goes to the Edge…I hope the Edge on the Wonder gets the same type of makeover.

    Reply
  6. TerryCohea

    Thanks for your blog! Our son and his family are on board, so it is nice to see what they are also enjoying. Terry Cohea

    Reply
  7. Jennifer Pyrock

    Getting ready to sail the Magic with this itinerary in a couple of weeks. Love your photos and can’t wait to read more! It’s been several years since we’ve sailed the Magic…can’t wait!!

    Reply
  8. Brandi

    Thank you for the information about the fireworks. My niece didn’t get to see them last year because it was so late. We leave this Thursday for our first time on Disney Magic and really appreciate all the photos! Can’t wait to read about Day 2.

    Reply
  9. Dawn

    Tangled: cheering for your favorite characters must be something they added. We were on the Magic in December and I don’t remember that. I would find it annoying. I agree, though, on the idea of a permanent Snuggly Duckling!

    Reply
  10. Nancy

    We will be on this same sailing at the end of March. Looking foward to the rest of your report as well as the Navigators! 🙂

    Reply
  11. Tiffany

    I am super curious, why is the Magic your favorite ship? I have only been on the Wonder and have a May 1st trip on the Magic planned. I am looking forward to Tangled, but the way they price the ships, it seems like the Fantasy or the Dream would be a favorite? I would love to see a post on why you love the Magic.

    Reply
    1. Scott Sanders Post author

      Tiffany, you are not the first to ask me this question. I think it is time to put my feelings into words. I created a draft post: What is my favorite Disney Cruise ship and why is it the Disney Magic? Honestly, I am not sure when I will get around to completing it, but I will eventually.

      Reply
    2. Amy

      I am sailing the Magic for the first time, have sailed all the other ships. I am one who loves the Fantasy and my least favorite is the Wonder, so really looking forward to going on the Magic in a few weeks to see if I fall in love with it. Hard for me to believe it could be as magical as the Fantasy in my eyes. Thanks for the great trip report and The Navigators!! We leave in 2 weeks.

      Reply
  12. David Oakland

    Hey Scott,
    Thanks so much for the picture updates of the renovated areas, we haven’t been on the Magic since 2012, I was definitely curious to see the upgrades after the last dry dock. Thanks for sharing and like Tiffany above, I too am curious as to why you prefer the Magic over the others… Thanks

    Reply
  13. Koa Louie

    Hi Scott,

    Been a lurker on your site for a couple years and have enjoyed it. Was very pleasantly surprised to check it out today after getting home to California and finding your blog entries for the same cruise we just returned from! Just our second DCL cruise and our first from Port Canaveral. We had a different dining rotation than you but many of the same experiences, including the 5K and the odd (repeated over the following nights’ shows) entreaties to cheer for characters. Thanks for posting – fun to relive it again.

    Reply
  14. Stacy

    Interesting that they figured out how to do Snuggly Duckling but not the Cantina for Star Wars Day at Sea.

    Reply

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