Greetings, true believers! I’m back again as your friendly neighborhood Disney Cruise Line reviewer.
As Scott takes a break from cruise life (for an entire 48 hours, anyway!), I welcome you aboard our journey on the original Disney Cruise Line vessel — the Disney Magic. Now, before you hardcore fans chime in, I’m not counting the “Big Red Boat” that started it all, as that was operated by Premier Cruise Line in affiliation with Disney and predated Disney Cruise Line itself.
This sailing will include a number of firsts for us, even as seasoned cruisers:
- First time sailing from a non-Floridian port
- First time sailing on the Disney Magic
- First time visiting southern destinations of Aruba, Curaçao, and St. Kitts
- Smallest ship we’ve sailed on
The Beginnings of Disney Cruise Line: The Big Red Boat and Premier Cruises
The Disney Magic
First, let’s talk a little about the ship itself. The Disney Magic has been used as a transient ship for the past few years and hasn’t really had a true home port, often doing short stints followed by repositioning voyages. In this instance, it has transitioned from Port Canaveral, where it was filling in for the summer season for the Disney Fantasy, which spent the European season abroad before heading into dry dock for a month of refurbishment.
As the Fantasy makes her way back to Port Canaveral, the Magic is spending three weeks calling San Juan, Puerto Rico, home. This location gives her a jump start on Southern Caribbean itineraries, with a few fewer sea days required to reach them. At the conclusion of this sailing, we’ll return to San Juan, after which the Magic will reposition to Galveston, Texas, where she’ll spend the winter months sailing to Mexico and other Western Caribbean destinations. She’ll be on the move again in April, making her way through the Panama Canal en route to San Diego.
Because Disney rarely offers these ports of call—generally only two or three sailings a year—we couldn’t resist taking the short three-hour flight from Orlando to San Juan to explore new locales. Arriving the day before gave us the added bonus of an afternoon to enjoy one of our favorite ports before even embarking on the ship! Since we were unsure of how we’d like this particular ship—especially given its smaller size—we decided to go all out and book a Concierge-level stateroom to get the full experience, in case this ended up being a one-and-done.
Arriving into Luis Muñoz Marín International Airport just after 2:00 p.m. local time, we had about a five-minute wait for an Uber, followed by a ten-minute drive to our hotel for the evening. A quick check-in process later, our bags were in the room by 3:00, giving us plenty of time to grab another ride the mile and a half over to Old San Juan for an early dinner and a bit of exploration.
Exploring Old Town Old San Juan
If you don’t know me, I’m a cat person—well, really, an any animal with fur or scales person. Old San Juan is known for its population of stray cats, and as we walked, it became my personal mission to find and shower affection on as many as I could. We hit the jackpot as we neared Castillo San Felipe del Morro—they were everywhere! Petting ensued, a few polite walk-aways from those not interested, and even a couple of furry friends who decided to follow us as we continued our walk.
There are plenty of shops and restaurants in Old San Juan to enjoy, and the splendor of the Castillos is truly something you have to see for yourself to appreciate. It only gets better as night falls and the lights come on!
We even got a sneak peak of the (wrong) Magic while wondering around:
Pan American Pier in San Juan
Once morning arrived, we walked a few blocks from the hotel for breakfast while eagerly waiting for it to be time to head over to the port. Another five-minute ride—and there she was! Since this isn’t a standard departure terminal (let alone a Disney terminal), it could best be described as an open airplane hangar with some tables and chairs set up. Underwhelming, to say the least. All told, we left the hotel at 10:45, entered the terminal at 11:00, check-in started around 11:15, and boarding began just before noon.
Another key note about this port is that for cruises embarking from San Juan, the terminal used is not the one most cruisers are accustomed to visiting. Located across the channel from Old San Juan, you’ll find the Pan American Pier and Cruise Terminal. If you show up on Highway 1 expecting to board, you’ll be questioning your life choices when you see your ship two miles away—across the bay.
Here are a few quick fact about the Disney Magic:
- Maiden Voyage July 1998
- Ship’s Registry- Bahamas
- Magic Class
- Gross Tonnage- 84,000
- Passenger Capacity- 2700
- Crew- 950
- Decks – 11
- Staterooms- 875
- 262 Inside
- 229 Ocean View
- 384 Verandah
- Captain Marco Pass
- Cruise Director Joel (Joe El) Ryan
- Most recent dry dock refurbishment – April 2023
“All aboard”
As the boarding process commenced, it was another slight letdown. Because of the structure of this port, we entered through the elevator lobby on Deck 1 instead of the traditional Deck 3 atrium entrance. Each family was still individually introduced as we made our way across the gangway, but it lacked that signature grand entrance feel.
Taking the elevator up to Deck 3 for the Concierge-exclusive lunch, we were immediately greeted by not only Mickey (of course!) but also a familiar face — Diogo, one of our Concierge hosts from our sailing on the Dream last year. He instantly recognized us and welcomed us aboard his new home ship. Moments after being seated for lunch, we also spotted our all-time favorite Head Server, Kendall, whom we hadn’t seen in a few years since he transferred from the Disney Fantasy to the Magic.
As you can tell, it’s common in the cruise industry for crew members to rotate between ships as new vessels join the fleet or contracts are renewed. In fact, Kendall was the only crew member we knew was now aboard the Magic, and we had put in a special request to be assigned to his dining rotation — more on that later.
Lunch options once onboard included Cabanas Buffet (our traditional stop) or the Concierge Welcome Lunch with an exclusive menu in Lumiere’s. Why choose just one when you can do both? We started off in Lumiere’s for our main lunch, but I can never pass up the peel-and-eat shrimp and Jonah crab claws that are a staple of Cabanas’ lunch offerings.
With lunch settling, it was time to walk around and explore the beautiful Disney Magic. Our first impressions were pretty much what we expected — it felt like Dr. Wayne Szalinski had come around and used his shrinking ray on everything. It’s the Disney Dream/Fantasy mini-me! Maybe the best word to describe it is quaint.
At about two-thirds the size of the Disney Dream, Fantasy, Wish, and Treasure, you can definitely see and feel the difference — and that’s not a bad thing. The dining rooms are more condensed, the main atrium is about half the size, and the lounges all have a more intimate feel. This matches everything we’ve ever heard or read about this ship, and it holds true. That feeling is amplified even more coming off our most recent sailing aboard the MSC World America in July, which is more than twice the size of the Magic. While it’s only the first day, I can safely say this ship is much more our style.
We had a few hours before leaving port to explore the ship, get our bearings, and visit our room and the Concierge Lounge. While browsing the Disney Navigator app — a must for keeping up with all the happenings onboard — we noticed a guided ship tour was about to begin. Normally, that’s not something we’d sign up for, but we figured getting some in-depth knowledge might be fun. In hindsight, the 20-minute rushed tour (because the activities host was 10 minutes late) could have easily been done in half the time on our own. Nothing too informative — just “here are the lounges, here are the restaurants, here are the shops.” Live and learn.
Then came the all-important muster drill. This is one area I’ve repeatedly said Disney is falling behind the times. They’re probably the only cruise line that has returned to full in-person muster requirements. While the rest of the industry has adopted the simple “scan your keycard at your station and watch the safety video” model, Disney still requires all passengers to report to their designated station and watch the video together. The kicker? There’s always that one family who doesn’t think “everyone must attend” applies to them. That usually means an extra 10 minutes of waiting around, as they won’t start until the entire group is present.
With the boring part out of the way, it was off to the pool deck for the Sail-A-Wave Party! Mickey and friends joined the activities team to celebrate the start of our voyage — festive, high-energy, and pure Disney fun as we waved goodbye to San Juan. I’m officially searching Amazon for one of those six-foot inflatable waving Mickey hands!
We’ve sailed to many ports throughout the Caribbean over the years, and San Juan is easily one of the most picturesque — both when arriving and departing. The views of the Castillos guarding the harbor, with Old San Juan shining in the background, are simply breathtaking. As we pulled away, dozens of smaller fishing boats and charters were returning from their day, waving and blowing their horns as we passed into open waters.
Dinner at Animator’s Palette on Disney Magic
If you’ve followed my posts in the past or have traveled on Disney Cruise Line, you’re probably familiar with how rotational dining works on Disney ships. But if not, here’s the quick rundown:
- There are three main dining rooms, each with a different theme and menu.
- There are two dining times — 5:45 (main) and 8:15 (late). You’re assigned one or the other for the duration of your cruise.
- You’re also assigned a rotation of dining rooms and a table number.
- Your dining team (Head Server, Server, and Assistant Server) rotates with you each night, so you’ll have the same crew regardless of which restaurant you’re in.
For example, our rotation this week is Animator’s Palate (nights 1, 4, 5), Rapunzel’s Royal Table (nights 2, 6), and Lumiere’s (nights 3, 7). Don’t worry about the repeated nights — each dining room has both a “Night 1” and “Night 2” menu. The extra night in Animator’s is Pirate Night, which features its own signature menu served across all three main dining rooms.
Having the same servers throughout the cruise is fantastic because you don’t have to repeat the “allergy” conversation every night. They quickly learn your preferences and quirks — young travelers’ needs are remembered, drink orders appear before you even ask, and the little details make the week run smoothly. It’s common among DCL veterans to request their favorite dining teams as soon as they book a cruise, reuniting with crew members who have become like family.
In this case, the only familiar face we knew to be aboard was the aforementioned Kendall. As the Head Server, his role is to oversee about a dozen teams of servers and assistants. We knew anyone under his supervision would deliver great service, so we requested to be seated in his section. He was joined by our Server, Christiano, and Assistant Server, Ariel — no, not that one!
Since this menu is used in Animator’s Palate across the Disney fleet, dinner was an easy decision — we’ve already tried most of the dishes that appeal to us. Tonight’s picks: Serrano Ham, Baked Potato and Cheddar Cheese Soup, and Angus Beef Tenderloin (with a twist).
One of the many things we love about Disney is how accommodating they are when it comes to the menus. First of all, there’s none of that “second serving upcharge” nonsense. You can literally say, “Bring us one of everything,” and eat family-style if you want. Like the sound of the steak but not the wasabi mashed potatoes? No problem — ask for the mashed potatoes and root vegetables from the chicken entrée to go with your tenderloin (which is exactly what I always do here).
I’m frequently the one going a little off-menu or mix-and-matching to create the perfect combination. You can even request a dish from one of the other main dining rooms if nothing on the current menu grabs your attention.
This evening, I also noticed one of our servers at a nearby table with young children. I overheard him tell the parents he’d have a bowl of strawberries ready for their son every night, along with a bowl of mixed fruit waiting for his sister — just another example of the personal touch Disney’s dining teams are known for.
Evening Entertainment on Disney Magic
To cap off the evening, there were two variety acts: Matt Baker performed a family-friendly show in the Walt Disney Theater, while later in the night, Jonathan Burns took the stage in the Fathoms Lounge with an adult-oriented performance.
We started off the evening with Matt Baker. While his show is billed as a juggling act, that’s only a small part of what he does. He worked in some Chinese yo-yo tricks, plenty of jokes, and even brought kids up from the audience to help out. The show wrapped up with an incredible glow-in-the-dark juggling routine that had me wondering how many hands he actually has! To call him simply a juggler would be selling him short — he had the audience laughing from start to finish. You can check him out [here].
I’ve seen Jonathan Burns before on a previous sailing aboard the Disney Dream, so I knew he’d be worth catching again. While much of the act was familiar, he still brings the funny. Best described as the love child of Squints from The Sandlot and Howard Wolowitz from The Big Bang Theory, his humor and delivery follow suit. A mix of slapstick and over-the-top antics in a very early Jim Carrey style, he blends comedy and contortionism with a heavy dose of crowd participation — whether the audience volunteers or not. A solid way to end the night.
Tomorrow is a sea day as we make our way toward the island of Aruba, so we’ll dive into more about the ship itself and how it stacks up against the rest of the Disney fleet. Thanks for sailing along — we’ll see you on the morrow!