Trip log, day one. Port Canaveral, Florida.
5-Night Bahamian Cruise on Disney Magic
May 30, 2025

Guests Onboard: 3:45 pm
Personal Navigator – Day 1

Our captain for this cruise is Marko Paas. As for our onboard entertainment, Joel Ryan is our Cruise Director. During this 5-night Bahamian cruise, we will spend one day at sea and are scheduled to visit Nassau along with both of Disney’s private destinations Lookout Cay and Castaway Cay.

The weather forecast includes some rain, but with over 12 hours of daylight, we will have more than enough opportunity to spend time outside enjoying the sea air. As for today, the heavy rain setup early and should move through the area with just some lingering showers here and there in the afternoon. I do not expect any impact today’s sail away deck party.

Kinda got ahead of myself so let me reset. We left home about 10:45 AM anticipating an hour drive, but we encountered heavy showers on 417 and 528 (Beachline) resulting in much slower traffic than normal. As we reached Brevard County and I-95, the rain subsided and we were back to full speed on dry roads on the final push to Port Canaveral.

All in all, the rain slowdown only held us up by 15-20 minutes as we reached Port Canaveral’s Cruise Terminal 8 at Noon. We dropped off luggage curbside then proceeded to the parking garage and were walking to the terminal entrance by 12:10. This was a magical time to arrive as there was very little traffic at this time.

By this time, there were no lines outside, and check-in process was seamless.

We encountered a minor hold up at security where we had an item confiscated by security – an 18-in-1 snowflake tool keychain which has been cruising with us the last few years across multiple cruise lines. Such is life, technically this falls under the subcategory of “hand tools” on Disney Cruise Line’s prohibited items: Power tools, hand tools and toolboxes (except those utilized by vendors providing services).

We were given a receipt and told specifically it would be available for pickup on the table in the terminal, not in the luggage area on the morning we disembark…

After a 5-minute detour, we were back on our way up the escalators to find an impressive sight, a nearly empty terminal!

All boarding groups had been called and any initial backlog of passengers boarded allowing us to proceed directly onboard Disney Magic just before 12:30. 

While it has been relatively smooth sailing, we hit an all stop as we reached deck 9. The elevator lobby was packed like sardines with guests waiting to wash hands and enter Cabanas. On embarkation day, we prefer to find a spot on the pool deck and grab lunch from one of the ship’s quick service windows. We just happened to be outside at the right time as a couple of guys were just leaving a table and it was a good thing as this was the only table at the time that had a vacancy.

Our go-to spot on the Disney Magic for embarkation day lunch is the Duck-In Diner for chicken gyros.

The pool deck is also a convenient spot to start saving on beer with the refillable mug. The pool deck is still using the tall mug as pictured below, but inside they now have the shorter and fatter mug embossed with the cruise line’s logo.

However, unlike the mugs on the Wish and Treasure, the Magic’s name is not printed on the mug. Thankfully, this is not the case as I really didn’t want to collect each ship’s custom beer mug.

This voyage is the sixth DCL Blog Group cruise and we found some of the group on deck 9 also eating lunch. We hung out until close to 1:30PM waiting for our rooms to become available.

We were in a bit of a rush to get to the room so we could watch a SpaceX launch from the verandah and were thankful the rooms were available exactly at 1:30. Sometimes, some stateroom hallways are not immediately available at the posted time.

I also took this opportunity to set up a timelapse for sail away out on our freshly painted balcony.

We can see the launches from our house, but we can only see the flames from the rocket. At Port Canaveral, you can actually see the rocket and hear and feel the rumble as it reverberates the steel superstructure of the ship. 

If seeing a launch is on your wish list, keep an eye on the tentative launch schedule at SpaceFlightNow.com. Just remember this is subject to change and look for the Florida launches from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station or Kennedy Space Center. Plans are in place to launch Starship from the Starship Gigabay out at Kennedy Space Center by the end of the year. That also means, the return of the booster to Cape Canaveral just like they are doing with the Texas launches.

On the way to the room I spotted 1 of our 3 bags, but the launch was our primary goal. After the launch, I walked down the hallway to retrieve the suitcase to start unpacking before meeting up with the group at 2.

The plan was to assemble in Soul Cat Lounge to pass out the schedule of events, pass out gift bags and have some time for everyone to get to know each other.

During this time, we handed out a sheet of paper asking each person to write two fun facts about themselves which will be used later on in the voyage as clues in a guessing game. Huge thanks to Tammy and her team at Storybook Destinations as well as my wife and daughter or all the effort they put into this event.

Afterwards, we headed back to our stateroom to continue unpacking and suitcase 2 of 3 was outside our door. Emily called room service to order a bottle of Processo for our Castaway Club Gift while I walked around the hallways hoping to find my suitcase. No luck. We unpacked the bags we had in the room and tried to settle in as best as possible before we the inconvenient in-person out of date muster drill where no one even pays attention. Our recent experience with self muster drills with Royal Caribbean is truly magical; this is the complete opposite. It is as if Carousel of Progress added another after the final scene where they went back in time and held scene 1 on repeat cruise after cruise. The other cruise lines are allowing guest to check-in at their respective muster stations prior to a set time on embarkation day. In those trips, we’d immediately head to our muster station upon boarding so we could actually start our vacation. I just wish someone from DCL would explain why they choose to revert to in-person following a period of self service. The exodus following the muster drills is a test of patience especially after experiencing how it is done elsewhere. In this scenario, the grass is greener on the other side of the street. If this was spring break and Emily was still using a knee scooter and unable to put weight on her leg. the muster drill would have been (excuse my French) H-E-DOUBLE-HOCKEYSTICKS. Even allowing guests with mobility needs out first doesn’t help because of the jammed packed hallways and elevator lobbies all in a rush to get to the Sail-A-Wave deck party on the upper deck. For those that will say safety first, I say guests will likely pay closer attention when asked watch a mandatory video in the app and finding their assigned muster station on their own. I would write this on the end of cruise survey, but spoiler alert – they do not offer space for free text to share actual feedback.

On a positive note, my suitcase was outside our room when we returned! I’m finding myself in a strange trend as of late and this is not specific to a ship or cruise line where my suitcase seems to take a detour from the rest of the family’s bags once it is dropped off. The first bag to arrive had the screened by a K-9 sticker. Maybe it was screened manually, but there was no letter left to say it was opened and everything looked in order. Regardless, I think it is time to order some AirTags before we head to Europe. So many of you have recommended them, and the 4-pack of AirTags have just been discounted (affiliate link) ahead of Apple’s annual developer conference – perfect timing.

Finally decided to buy some AirTags ahead of our next trip. 4-pack is on sale now on the Amazon. https://t.co/wlVro30Avt (affiliate link) pic.twitter.com/7hEbEgVim1

— Scott Sanders (@TheDCLBlog) June 5, 2025

I am not sure if I’ve mentioned this in prior trip log entries, but when we are unpacking, I move the lifejackets from the top shelf of the closet and place them within reach under our stateroom bed. By moving them out of the closet, you now have more space for your clothes if you are like my family and prefer to unpack and place our staircases under the bed for the cruise.

Since I’ve already plugged an Amazon affiliate link I’m going to go all in and recommend a few more items that we find useful in our travels. Magnet hooks are idea for hanging lightweight items such as hats from the stateroom ceilings. You may also find some walls as well, but in our stateroom that was not the case.

The Wish Class ships have a lovely nightlight built into the stateroom bathrooms which is an amazing upgrade, but the Magic and Dream Class ships do not offer this luxury to save your eyes in the middle of the night. I found this motion sensor LED night light that worked incredibly well for us on this cruise. I simply charged it up via USB before leaving home and switched it to auto mode on the lowest of the 3 brightness settings and used the integrated hook to hang it in the bathroom.

I’ve used vacuum bag before, but they have been the type you roll up to get the air out. This cruise I decided to try the type with the pump or use with a vacuum. These worked so much better. Although, I now need to iron all my shirts. I’ve read that rolling your clothes helps reduce the wrinkles so I will give that a try next time. 

Room service arrived with the Prosecco at an ideal time. After walking around the ship and up and down countless stairs, Emily’s ankle needed a break. She stayed in the room with Isabelle and iced her ankle with the ice from the Prosecco bucket. This also brought up a predicament. At home, we have ice packs in the freezer to use, what are we going to do onboard? Ultimately, we did not want to call medical so we decided to stay off the radar and used a zip lock bag which we filled with cups of ice from the drink station. Anyone have experience with something like this?

Up on deck 10, we watched the Sail-A-Wave party near the at funnel as we followed the Disney Wish which was berthed at Cruise Terminal 10. So nice that she respects her older sister and moved terminals or the Magic.

We were spotted by the Port Canaveral Webcam which is located on top of Fishlips Waterfront Bar & Grill before you reach the Royal Caribbean terminal at Port Canaveral.

Have a great cruise!! Caught some of you on the cam!! pic.twitter.com/0QfYzspUPD

— Jess (@loveWDW5) May 30, 2025

On the port side of the ship, we spotted a recently returned SpaceX booster on a droneship. 

The highlight of any Disney Cruise sail away is when the horns are played. I’m a classic ship fan, for my money I don’t know if it gets any better than when the Disney Magic or Disney Wonder sounds their melodic horn.

This is a 5-night voyage which means we will be dining at some of the rotational restaurants more than once and we will be served two additional menus outside of the standard restaurant specific menus. For tonight, we our rotation brings us to Animator’s Palate and we are ordering from the Let the Magic Begin menu which is being served to all guests this evening in each restaurant.

For the most part, the appetizers were well prepared and presented, but the entrees were lackluster. I tried the something different this evening and I was really impressed by the Couscous Salad. Emily had a little conversation with our server expressing our group’s desire to keep the service moving forward & quickly so we can all make it to trivia at 7:30.

Which we did! We were also delighted to learn the even music trivia or the first our nights will be held in the spacious Fathoms rather than O’Gills. Fathoms was amazing location because there were plenty of seats available and even some empty seats still available for late arrivals and the venue did fill in by the time trivia got underway.

For decades music trivia and we split into 2 groups: the team I joined had 34/40 points while the team Emily was with in a booth won with 37!

Afterwards, we did some quick browsing of merchandise in Sea Treasures which featured a Disney Magic merchandise collection. This is yet another cruise where we did not make a purchase in the gift shops.

Embarkation days are often longer than you realize and by this time of night, we are ready to wind down for the evening and return to the stateroom to recharge for the voyage ahead. 

Isabelle often chooses the drop down bunk which keeps the couch available at all times as long as you watch your head when you stand up. This specific room, 6152, does not have the traditional bunk built into the ceiling. Instead, the bunk folds up along the wall above the couch which can also open up for another to sleep.

This is the first time buying internet since they changed plans to Internet or Internet + Streaming. I appreciate the move to a more simplistic approach.

Internet

Stay connected on social media, browse the web and access your emails with our most affordable internet plan. With this plan, you

• Post text, pictures and video on popular social media platforms like Facebook, Facebook Messenger, X, Instagram, Snapchat, Pinterest, and Linkedin
• Make audio and video phone calls on FaceTime, WhatsApp, Zoom and more
• View short-form video on social media newsfeeds and platforms like Snapchat
• Surf the web, read the news, check the weather and visit your other favorite websites
• Send and receive emails

Note: This plan does not support audio streaming like Spotify and Apple Music, YouTube or long-form video streaming platforms such as Disney+ and Hulu.

Disney: Want streaming access and faster connection speeds? Try our Internet + Streaming plan.

ME: OK!

Internet + Streaming

Enjoy all the benefits of our Internet plan, plus full streaming access. With this plan, you can:

• Stream your favorite movies and TV shows from platforms such as Disney+, ESPN+, Hulu and more
• Access YouTube content
• Post text, pictures and video on popular social media platforms like Facebook, Facebook Messenger, X, Instagram, Snapchat, Pinterest, Linkedin and TikTok
• Make audio and video phone calls on FaceTime, WhatsApp.
  Zoom and more
• View short-form video on social media newsfeeds and platforms like Snapchat and TikTok
• Surf the web, read the news, check the weather and visit your other favorite websites
• Send and receive emails
• Listen to audio streaming platforms like Spotify and Apple
  Music

Note: While video game streaming is possible, we cannot ensure a seamless experience due to the constraints of satellite connectivity at sea.

Once you select a level of service, you then choose a la carte or a 24/hr period or for the full voyage. You can also add on usage for additional concurrent devices with s bit of a savings.

That’s all for day 1, please enjoy today’s sail away timelapse.

The seventh DCL Blog Group Cruise is set to set sail from Fort Lauderdale on the Disney Destiny. It’s a 5-Night Western Caribbean adventure that is scheduled to include two days at sea and stops at Cozumel and Castaway Cay!

Don’t miss out on this marvelous opportunity to assemble on the fleet’s newest cruise ship, book your spot now and to take advantage of opening week cruise pricing! All of our events will be exclusive to the DCL Blog Cruisers booked through Storybook Destinations, our travel partner. For more information, and to secure your stateroom, email DCLBlogCruise@StorybookDestinations.com to get a free, no-obligation quote or fill out a quote form over the DCL Blog Group Cruise page.

Complete Trip Log Index

• Day 1 – Port Canaveral, Florida
• Day 2 – At Sea
• Day 3 – Lookout Cay
• Day 4 – Nassau, Bahamas
• Day 5 – Castaway Cay