"10/23/2010 Seven Days of Magic Sailing to the Saints Looking for Serenity Now!" 2

[itutorfortravel]

Hi everyone...sorry for butting into your thread, I hope you don't mind!

I'm traveling on the Magic 11 day Christmas cruise and cannot wait!

However, there have been some pretty negative comments on the boards lately regarding the condition of the Magic, including leaking toilets, sewage smells, and the Walt Disney Theatre literally fall apart. I am hoping these issues have been addressed or that the people posting we simply over-exaggerating.

Since your group just sailed, I wondered if you all could comment on the condition of the ship and your cabins? We were on the Magic twice in 2009, so I understand she is not a new ship and things like varnish peeling off a handrail or rust around the verandah is not the nit-picky stuff I am interested in. However, sewage smells and stepping in toilet water is just plain gross and I'm hoping that is not what we will experience!

So, how was it? Please be honest, I want to be prepared. Thanks!

 

[kimpossible]

Hi everyone...sorry for butting into your thread, I hope you don't mind!

I'm traveling on the Magic 11 day Christmas cruise and cannot wait!

However, there have been some pretty negative comments on the boards lately regarding the condition of the Magic, including leaking toilets, sewage smells, and the Walt Disney Theatre literally fall apart. I am hoping these issues have been addressed or that the people posting we simply over-exaggerating.

Since your group just sailed, I wondered if you all could comment on the condition of the ship and your cabins? We were on the Magic twice in 2009, so I understand she is not a new ship and things like varnish peeling off a handrail or rust around the verandah is not the nit-picky stuff I am interested in. However, sewage smells and stepping in toilet water is just plain gross and I'm hoping that is not what we will experience!

So, how was it? Please be honest, I want to be prepared. Thanks!

I can't comment for everyone, but I had no issues with my staterom or any other area onbaord. Everything was lovely. I will say that my service in the dinning room was pretty bad,, but that is not the norm. I am sure you will have a wonderful cruise...no worries!

 

[CADZNYCHC]

Hi everyone...sorry for butting into your thread, I hope you don't mind!

I'm traveling on the Magic 11 day Christmas cruise and cannot wait!

However, there have been some pretty negative comments on the boards lately regarding the condition of the Magic, including leaking toilets, sewage smells, and the Walt Disney Theatre literally fall apart. I am hoping these issues have been addressed or that the people posting we simply over-exaggerating.

Since your group just sailed, I wondered if you all could comment on the condition of the ship and your cabins? We were on the Magic twice in 2009, so I understand she is not a new ship and things like varnish peeling off a handrail or rust around the verandah is not the nit-picky stuff I am interested in. However, sewage smells and stepping in toilet water is just plain gross and I'm hoping that is not what we will experience!

So, how was it? Please be honest, I want to be prepared. Thanks!

We did have some sewage smell (from the bathroom tub) but we kept the drain closed until they came and fixed it - everything else was great in the room. Wasn't particularly pleased with the location of our table in Parrot Cay (the very back near the kitchen area) was VERY VERY NOISY...but i guess someone has to sit at that table...everything else was just as good as ever~

 

[sunshine1259]

Hi everyone...sorry for butting into your thread, I hope you don't mind!

I'm traveling on the Magic 11 day Christmas cruise and cannot wait!

However, there have been some pretty negative comments on the boards lately regarding the condition of the Magic, including leaking toilets, sewage smells, and the Walt Disney Theatre literally fall apart. I am hoping these issues have been addressed or that the people posting we simply over-exaggerating.

Since your group just sailed, I wondered if you all could comment on the condition of the ship and your cabins? We were on the Magic twice in 2009, so I understand she is not a new ship and things like varnish peeling off a handrail or rust around the verandah is not the nit-picky stuff I am interested in. However, sewage smells and stepping in toilet water is just plain gross and I'm hoping that is not what we will experience!

So, how was it? Please be honest, I want to be prepared. Thanks!

There was some sewage one night of the cruise at one end of the deck that I was on. I think they were cleaning something, because it was only that one night and it was only for a very short period of time.

Other than a couple of mechanical things that were promptly taken care of, there were no problems. Had a wonderful cruise on a lovely ship and I hope that you do as well.

 

[sunshine1259]

My first ever cruise was the mexican riviera the 1st time Disney brought the Magic to the west coast....we were hooked...i've rebooked another mex riviera cruise along with sister, her family, and either my son & his DGF or my daughter, her hubby & their baby boy or maybe all of us...lots of decisions to make...

AND if you didn't hear yet....SAN FRANCISCO GIANTS WIN THE WORLD SERIES!!!!!

Congrats to the Giants, Brenda. You don't appear to be TOO excited about it !!!

 

[sunshine1259]

hi Everyone! I'm Nathalie, the bride from Quebec, Canada

It has been a pleasure to meet each of you and having conversation with you. Mouseears1, Sunshine 1259, Torontogirl (Thank you again for your present!), Paul and all the people I talked with but I don't remember your name, sorry!!!!

This cruise will stay in my memory for the rest of my life, it was magical.

Have a great evening everyone!!

Nathalie, it was a pleasure to finally meet you. You were indeed a truly lovely bride. Best wishes to you, your new husband and your family.

 

[JanDave]

Hi everyone...sorry for butting into your thread, I hope you don't mind!

I'm traveling on the Magic 11 day Christmas cruise and cannot wait!

However, there have been some pretty negative comments on the boards lately regarding the condition of the Magic, including leaking toilets, sewage smells, and the Walt Disney Theatre literally fall apart. I am hoping these issues have been addressed or that the people posting we simply over-exaggerating.

Since your group just sailed, I wondered if you all could comment on the condition of the ship and your cabins? We were on the Magic twice in 2009, so I understand she is not a new ship and things like varnish peeling off a handrail or rust around the verandah is not the nit-picky stuff I am interested in. However, sewage smells and stepping in toilet water is just plain gross and I'm hoping that is not what we will experience!

So, how was it? Please be honest, I want to be prepared. Thanks!

No issues in our stateroom which was deck 6 forward. I did not see any issues with the Walt Disney Theatre. I thought it looked the same, great as usual.

Jan

 

[JanDave]

hi Everyone! I'm Nathalie, the bride from Quebec, Canada

It has been a pleasure to meet each of you and having conversation with you. Mouseears1, Sunshine 1259, Torontogirl (Thank you again for your present!), Paul and all the people I talked with but I don't remember your name, sorry!!!!

This cruise will stay in my memory for the rest of my life, it was magical.

Have a great evening everyone!!

Congratulations Natalie!

Jan

 

[minniesota]

Hi everyone...sorry for butting into your thread, I hope you don't mind!

I'm traveling on the Magic 11 day Christmas cruise and cannot wait!

However, there have been some pretty negative comments on the boards lately regarding the condition of the Magic, including leaking toilets, sewage smells, and the Walt Disney Theatre literally fall apart. I am hoping these issues have been addressed or that the people posting we simply over-exaggerating.

Since your group just sailed, I wondered if you all could comment on the condition of the ship and your cabins? We were on the Magic twice in 2009, so I understand she is not a new ship and things like varnish peeling off a handrail or rust around the verandah is not the nit-picky stuff I am interested in. However, sewage smells and stepping in toilet water is just plain gross and I'm hoping that is not what we will experience!

So, how was it? Please be honest, I want to be prepared. Thanks!

This was my 4th cruise on the Magic and I have to say the ship looks a little tired. Our group was kind of disappointed BUT issues were quickly resolved and none of the "warts" we observed interfered with us having a great time. I am a pretty observant, detail type person so I notice things many others wouldn't. My DH, for example, would not have noticed any of the things I mention below.

Things we observed (we had 2 staterooms on Deck 7 aft):

Lukewarm water in the shower on the first couple days

No cold water on our last day (that shower after Castaway Cay day was HOT and the water from Deck 9 drink station was lukewarm)

Some slight sewer gas smell from the toilet room -persisted throughout the week but wasn't horrible

Our stateroom door was difficult to latch - we had to really pull/push to ensure it was closed

Loose panel in the air conditioning unit in ceiling next to the closet - rattled loudly until GS fixed it

Lots of creaking and squeaking in both cabins, especially at night when we were experiencing rougher seas

Stains on carpet, especially near staircases (which we used a lot!)

Large stain on the carpet along the whole wall outside Palo

A few wobbly chairs in Studio Sea (we exchanged them)

Strong, musty smell in Sessions (but we still enjoyed our cocktails!)

I think the Magic is showing the wear and tear of a ship that has been in almost constant use for 12 years. DCL should take her out of service for a longer dry dock so she can be restored to her former beautiful state.

We did have a fantastic time but we are considering booking the Dream or Fantasy to enjoy an updated ship.

 

[sunshine1259]

For me, the ship could have been falling apart at the seams for all I cared. For what I realized during my MAGICal time aboard the Disney Magic, was not the condition of the ship, (not that I have anything to complain about), but the absolute joy and pleasure that I had from all of the people I met!!

From the service of the wonderful Disney castmembers, to the wonderful new friends that I made while onboard, is truly what makes a good vacation. It is not the destination, food, or even the condition of your living quarters, (unless we are talking really bad) that makes a good vacation. It is and always be about the people.

And for me, I can not see how we are going to be able to top this cruise. We met and had the pleasure of spending time with some truly amazing and wonderful people. I call them my blessings from God. I was surely blessed on this cruise. Thanks to all of you who made that possible.

 

[sunshine1259]

Ok, I am waiting to see some of those pictures. Dave, I really enjoyed the ones you posted yesterday.

 

[minniesota]

For me, the ship could have been falling apart at the seams for all I cared. For what I realized during my MAGICal time aboard the Disney Magic, was not the condition of the ship, (not that I have anything to complain about), but the absolute joy and pleasure that I had from all of the people I met!!

From the service of the wonderful Disney castmembers, to the wonderful new friends that I made while onboard, is truly what makes a good vacation. It is not the destination, food, or even the condition of your living quarters, (unless we are talking really bad) that makes a good vacation. It is and always be about the people.

And for me, I can not see how we are going to be able to top this cruise. We met and had the pleasure of spending time with some truly amazing and wonderful people. I call them my blessings from God. I was surely blessed on this cruise. Thanks to all of you who made that possible.

I agree that the people can really make your cruise magical - and this was a great group of people. How wonderful that you have that point of view! But I think the destination, food and living quarters do come into play when you are spending a fair amount of money which I'm sure the poster is.

Just for the heck of it, I priced out the 11-night holiday cruise the poster was referring to and it would cost me and DH more than $8,000 for a Cat 5 which is what we usually reserve. Even the cheapest stateroom (Cat. 11) is currently $5,500.

That is a big investment on a vacation so I would have pretty high expectations. I can understand the poster's concerns.

Did I have a fantastic cruise? Yes, absolutely! But I definitely saw a decline in the Magic's appearance and hopefully all the issues that have been reported on the main cruise board and the Oct. 16 cruise thread will be addressed by DCL.

To the poster on the 11-night cruise - you will have a fantastic trip! If there are issues in your stateroom, report them so DCL can fix them right away. Realize there will be flaws and that the Magic is 12 years old. But as Brenda said, the people you sail with can make your trip extra special. Enjoy yourselves and report back what a magical time you had!

 

[sunshine1259]

I agree that the people can really make your cruise magical - and this was a great group of people. How wonderful that you have that point of view! But I think the destination, food and living quarters do come into play when you are spending a fair amount of money which I'm sure the poster is.

Just for the heck of it, I priced out the 11-night holiday cruise the poster was referring to and it would cost me and DH more than $8,000 for a Cat 5 which is what we usually reserve. Even the cheapest stateroom (Cat. 11) is currently $5,500.

That is a big investment on a vacation so I would have pretty high expectations. I can understand the poster's concerns.

Did I have a fantastic cruise? Yes, absolutely! But I definitely saw a decline in the Magic's appearance and hopefully all the issues that have been reported on the main cruise board and the Oct. 16 cruise thread will be addressed by DCL.

To the poster on the 11-night cruise - you will have a fantastic trip! If there are issues in your stateroom, report them so DCL can fix them right away. Realize there will be flaws and that the Magic is 12 years old. But as Brenda said, the people you sail with can make your trip extra special. Enjoy yourselves and report back what a magical time you had!

Agree 100%. We too spent a fair amount, and all we had to do was mention something and it was immediately addressed. Yes, you don't want to spend upwards 10k expecting a Hyatt and getting a Motel 6. That is nuts. So, go and enjoy your trip and if there is anything that is an issue with you on the ship, please make sure to mention it to Disney at that time. They will do all they can to rectify it if at all possible and sometimes if they can't, they will compensate you in other ways. Not a guarantee, but every once in a while you can get a little spinkle of !

 

[d'Isigny]

Hi everyone...sorry for butting into your thread, I hope you don't mind!

I'm traveling on the Magic 11 day Christmas cruise and cannot wait!

However, there have been some pretty negative comments on the boards lately regarding the condition of the Magic, including leaking toilets, sewage smells, and the Walt Disney Theatre literally fall apart. I am hoping these issues have been addressed or that the people posting we simply over-exaggerating.

Since your group just sailed, I wondered if you all could comment on the condition of the ship and your cabins? We were on the Magic twice in 2009, so I understand she is not a new ship and things like varnish peeling off a handrail or rust around the verandah is not the nit-picky stuff I am interested in. However, sewage smells and stepping in toilet water is just plain gross and I'm hoping that is not what we will experience!

So, how was it? Please be honest, I want to be prepared. Thanks!

Maybe we are 'go with the flow' people - or - some that commented negatively over food, service &/or condition of the ship have expectations that even the Four Seasons/Ritz Carlton could not meet.

Our dining experience EXCEEDED EXPECTATIONS!! From the rotation restaurants to Palo; the food was appealing, of appropriate temperature, delicious with a wider variety than in the past. My bride and I commented on the increase of vegan and vegitarian offerings - something that will make my oldest very happy. Our serving staff was OUTSTANDING!! My only passing comment - we might have needed to offer a reminder for a refill of coffee...on more than one occasion.

Cast Members that we encountered were incredibly gracious and sincerely appreciative that we sailed with Disney. Our Stateroom Host was FANTASTIC!!! The stateroom was clean and fresh smelling. I, myself did not notice any sewer smell.

The ship was clean and I did not notice anything out of the ordinary. Even pixie dust cannot turn a 12 year old ship to look like it did during it's inaugural year. During dry-dock the hull was stripped to the metal and repainted. I believe all the open deck flooring was sanded and varnished. The pools were completely refinished. During our sail, the staff was consistently preparing areas for paint or varnish...all over the ship. I can't believe the comment - "the Walt Disney Theatre literally fall apart"...this is a false statement.

Have a great time...the Magic is a beautiful ship...being well taken care of.

 

[kimpossible]

Maybe we are 'go with the flow' people - or - some that commented negatively over food, service &/or condition of the ship have expectations that even the Four Seasons/Ritz Carlton could not meet. [/COLOR

We certainly are not expecting 4 Seasons service...but just to give you examples, the first night we ordered a glass of wine, it never came...that we overlooked. The next night we ordered chocolate milk for our son...4 x before we asked the head server if the child could get a drink (after he finished his meal). The next night we ordered a wine and he brought a beer. Another night we were finished our meal when our head server stopped by to ask our 10 year old son why he had no meal...uh it never came. They quickly brought out a VERY rare dinner. Next night they swiped our card and then brought the wrong bill...I don't think we were being picky...just bad service. We know that is not the norm and we went with it. Unfortunately there are even more dinning stories we could tell. So, no I do not believe it was us. Like I said, we had no complaints with anything else on the cruise and had a wonderful time.

 

[itutorfortravel]

Thank you everyone for your honest opinions and feedback. I really appreciate it. I do feel like we will have a great time. We sailed on the Magic last Christmas and it was spectacular. Yes, the ship is older but still beautiful and the things we did and saw were what made it truly special.

Our dining staff and room steward last Christmas were not as good as we had the week of Easter 2009, but by no means were they horrible. My guess is that some staff issues right now might be due to some turnover since some people are going to the Dream and perhaps there are newer people working on the Magic...I'm not sure that is the case, but just a hunch. While some of the issues noted here would be annoying, we could get through that.

I just hope we don't have a flooded or stinky room. That would be hard to overlook.

Our family decided to cancel our 2011 Dream cruise to be able to do this longer holiday cruise, so we do want it to be really special considering we've given up seeing the new ship. Hopefully in 2012 we'll get to sail on the Fantasy, but that is so far away and remains to be seen.

I will be sure to report back what we experience and I will remain optimistic that some of these kinks will be addressed before we sail next month.

Thanks again everyone for taking the time to note your observations!

 

[Evad]

 

[minniesota]

Love the photo, Dave!!!

 

[dennisbryce]

I just wanted to say I thought we had the best servers on the ship. Our servers were Melroy and Lee Anna. Did anyone else have them? Maybe we were in awe over the vacation or the beauty of the ship but I didn't notice anything bad at all. I thought the service and hospitality was A+. I loved the Magic and am a little sad that our next cruise is not with her Hoping some day to be able to return and cruise with her again

We booked a dummy date of Aug 25 2012 on the Fantasy. Excited to go on the Fantasy but we are going to book October 2012 about the same time, Eastern. Although my son Bryce would like to book with his new friends or just one of them. He truly misses them, especially Connor.

Had to go back to work yesterday and our computer crashed so I have had today and get tomorrow off till they get it back and running. Go figure an extra vacation

I just want to say to everyone again how much fun we had. All of our fish extender gifts were great!!! My son especially loves the cd. I love the cd but I have already heard the whole thing about 20 times

Thanks again Brenda for all that you did!!! Made our first Disney Cruise a truley memerable one. To everyone on the boards we hope to see your smiling faces again one day on the ship or even in the parks. Thanks to all for a fantastic vacation!!!

Powers Family
Crystal, Bob, Dennis, and Bryce

 

[JanDave]

todays potd

Dave, thanks for sharing your photos!

Jan