Disney Magic: May, 2014 EBTA, Port Canaveral to Barcelona

BigJon

will work for Dole Whip
Joined
Oct 2, 2007
Just off the Disney Magic this past Saturday. It was the 12 night EBTA from Port Canaveral to Barcelona, Spain. Great cruise with some outstanding weather conditions. This was our first cruise since the "re-imagining" of the Disney Magic, and we loved the changes. The only "little" thing I would mention, is the Cabanas area. When going back for more food, I love it. But when you first get to Cabanas, most everyone stops at the first "pod", and when you pass someone, and move to a different "pod", sometimes you get some bad looks. (Like you are breaking in line) But I know people are use to a buffet line, and this type of buffet "pods" will just take some time for people to get use to it. On this cruise it was me, my wife, daughter (22) and neice (26). We had rented a van for a one-way rental from N.C. to Port Canaveral at Avis. After we dropped the van off at Avis, they took us in their shuttle bus to the port. We checked-in and I went outside to snap a picture of the ship....
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Since boarding had not started, I snapped a picture of the "empty" entrance to the ship through the Mickey ears....
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The port area was starting to fill up....
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Captain Mickey had finished taking photos in front of the ship model, and he was heading back to his "dressing room"....
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I was on that cruise too. Looking forward to your pictures and trip report.
 
Once we boarded the ship, we went straight to Carioca's for the lunch buffet. We loved Parrot Cay, but I have to admit, Carioca's looks better....
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They had a small Kid's section........love the mac & cheese and corn dog nuggets...
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Right above my fork, that was some mango chicken salad that was excellent.
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After lunch, we walked to the new kids area. If I were a kid, I would stay there most of the time....
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The Iron Man suit was cool...
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The top of the slinky slide...
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Even the bathrooms are cool....
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We walked thru the "tunnel" that connects both kids areas, and arrived in the other kids area...
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Each day I took a picture of the tv that had the map on it. I saw another reviewer do this, and now that I'm doing this review, I knew it would help me keep track of each day....
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The first menu of the cruise was Let The Magic Begin...
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Wife got the chicken dish...
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I got the pork, and it was good.
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Apple Tart-Tartin
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Sweet Temptations...
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It was a beautiful sunset that evening....
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That evening Magic Dave performed in the Walt Disney Theater, and he did the adult show in Fathoms, and he was great. We first saw him on our Galveston cruise this past October, and we really like him. Very funny and entertaining. Next up is our 2nd day, at Castaway Cay.
 
Great report. I'm doing the EBTA next year so I'm looking forward to seeing more of the reimagined ship and reading more about your experiences.
 


Excited to hear more!! I'll be bringing her back to the east in September.
 
Today was Castaway Cay. I was almost done with my breakfast at Cabana's, and I remembered to take a picture of breakfast. I had corn beef hash almost every day.
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This was our view from the back of Cabana's, while we ate breakfast. Does it get any better than this!!!!???
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Here's another view (it was a beautiful day)
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As a side note, Magic Dave who did the main show the night before, told me that he would be getting on a boat at Castaway Cay, and going to the airport. I asked him if he was going to Abaco, since it's the closest island, and he said he didn't know. After breakfast, we exited the ship, and I took this picture.
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Sign near the tram stop.
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We took the tram to the Pelican Point stop, and then waited for the Serenity Bay tram. When we got to the beach, there were only a handful of people there. Taking a classic ship to Castaway Cay...this is one of the advantages of the smaller ships. Less people at Castaway Cay...
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Me and my wife walked to the right, down the beach until we came to this spot
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Another view, just a little farther back. Several people walked past this point, but we decided to turn around and walk back.
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Walked over to the Serenity Bay BBQ area, and grabbed a couple of thin steaks, pasta, potato salad, and some BBQ sauce. I love those thin cut steaks, and BBQ sauce.
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I love the fence around the eating area. Who would have thought to use old wooden pallets for a fence.
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Took this picture as I walked back to the adult beach area....
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Back at Serenity Bay, things started to get Goofy when this guy showed up....
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This little rock island is off the tip from Serenity Bay....
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I walked up the beach, and I came back by a couple of the cabanas, and this one was already empty, and it was only 1pm. The people could have been at the beach, but I think that they had already left for the day. I know that there are people on the DisBoards that can't wait to reserve these, but I just don't get it. No me. $400 is a lot of money for sunscreen, can cokes, bottled water, magazines, kids toys and a shower. The one reason I might consider this, was if I had my parents along, and they needed to stay in the shelter the entire time. But before anyone gets upset over my opinion, it's your vacation, so if you want one, get it.
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For this EBTA cruise, all aboard was 3pm, so we left a few minutes early, and went by Pelican Plunge. I thought I would include a picture of me for everyone to see. That's my feet on the left:rotfl2:
I pulled a muscle in the back of my left leg, and it hurt the rest of the cruise. (next time I'll do the open slide, so I can see where I'm going) The tunnel slide I went down was dark, and I had no clue which way I was going, as you can tell from my graceful entrance into the water :rotfl::rotfl:
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My wife took this picture of some fish near Pelican Plunge...
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The Magic looked beautiful at Castaway Cay...
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Once we got back on the ship, I took a couple of photos of the island...
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Always hate to leave this place. This is always my favorite stop. A small piece of paradise :thumbsup2
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On our 2nd night, we were at Lumiere's, for the Prince & Princess menu....
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Someone got the polenta cake....
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The Duck and cheese quesadilla was pretty good...
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I don't remember liking the potato & sausage soup. Vegetables were really firm (almost hard)....
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Entrée menu....
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I knew my wife would order the Tom Turkey...she liked it!
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New York strip
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I had the pasta, and I thought it was very good....
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Lamb....
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Dessert menu, but I must have been so excited to eat dessert, that I forgot to take a picture of it!
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After dinner, we went to Fathoms to see Improv Shmimprov (think Who's Line Is It Anyway). This was a family show, and they were getting suggestions from the kids, and one of the guys would run out into the audience to hear a kids suggestion, so for that reason, it was a little slow....
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After the show, we walked out the back of Fathoms to O'Gills to check out the snacks....
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more snacks at O'Gills....
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Last picture of the day was of the tv map. Getting ready for 6 straight days at sea. I wanted to go to Match Your Mate. But I was just too tired.
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On our first day at sea, we had a Palo Brunch reservation. Me and my wife haven't done dinner at Palo in 3 or 4 years. We like brunch better than dinner. Our server was Sylvester, and he was one of the best servers we've ever had. But, even though he knew we had been many times, he wanted to bring our group things he liked. Per others recommendations, we tried a grape & gorgonzola pizza a few years ago, but we didn't really care for it. So after we had went to the buffet, a grape & gorgonzola pizza showed up at our table....
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I tried it again, and I still don't care for it. Sylvester also brought us a Margherita pizza. I've had this before, and we always like this type of pizza...
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After the pizza, Sylvester showed up with a bowl of cinnamon buns with whipped cream. Love the cinnamon buns!
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One of my favorites, the eggs benedict. You can tell I loved it, because I had almost finished it off, before I remembered to take a picture!
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I ordered the veal dish. I love this. It's so good.
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My wife ordered the Chicken Parmesan. I'm definitely a fan of this!
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I ordered the tomato soup. But this time it seemed a little bitter, and no sweetness at all....
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I grabbed a tiramisu...
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Got back to the room, and took a picture of the tv map....
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I guess they only print these on the long cruises, but they had these "newspapers" where the extra navigators are located near Guest Services.
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There was also a gift in our room. The 15 year anniversary cokes.
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Great report so far! I am dying to do one of these longer cruises so I'm very interested in reading about your experiences. :thumbsup2
 
Almost every day, we would hang out near the pool. The good thing about a long cruise (I did the Panama Canal on the Wonder in 2012), there are less kids. The bad thing is, with more adults, the adult pool is more crowded. People were watching if you left your lounger near the pool, and if you started to "pack up" and leave, usually someone would approach you, and ask if you were leaving. Our menu at dinner that night was Taste of the Caribbean...
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Someone got the quiche....
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I got the spiced seafood soup and it was okay....
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Someone got the conch fritters, and they were pretty good. The tossed field greens salad is below....
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Main courses....
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Seafood fettuccine
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My wife didn't see anything she liked, so she ordered the baked chicken.
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I had this. It was the Pan Fried Veal. Very good. My wife got some sour cream for her baked potato, and I used some for my potatoes, and it was so good.
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My niece got the chicken sausage and grits. I tried it, and it tasted good.
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Outside of the dessert menu....
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Dessert menu....
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Someone got the upside down pudding, and I don't remember any good comments for this dessert....
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Creole Sundae....
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Snacks in O'Gill's....
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Toppings for the nachos and cheese....
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We went to the Walt Disney Theater, to watch Lynn Trefzger. It started off a little slow, but then she got some audience members on stage, and it was very funny....
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Took a picture before the show began....
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At 10:30pm, we went to Fathom's to watch the adult show of Improv Shmimprov. It was better than the family show they did the day before....
 
Our 2nd day at sea started with breakfast at Cabanas. Notice how smooth the water is. I'm sitting in my new favorite area of Cabanas. As you enter Cabanas, it's in the back, left corner. This area is semi-circular where you have a great view of the water. I loved sitting there.
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After breakfast, I went to Animator's Palate. Chuck Richardson had a different lecture each day, and this was the first day I went. He was a nice guy, just a little "dry" at times. One of his favorite hobbies is taking pictures of mushrooms.:confused:
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Here's Chuck near the start of his presentation. They taped each presentation, and you could watch it on tv in your room....
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Later in the day, I went to the D Lounge for the Oil & Vinegar seminar. I did this same seminar on the Panama Canal cruise, and I thought it was interesting. But this one was not as good. Love the new re-imagined D Lounge.
I took this picture a few minutes before it started.
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On the seminar on the Panama Canal cruise, they told us what combinations tasted the best (to dip our bread into), but on this one, they talked about olive oil, and then they talked about vinegar, and that was the end....
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Got back to our room and our Castaway Club gift had been delivered. We got the chocolates.
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TV map....Next up is the Villains Dinner menu.
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