We’ve always been a bit anxious about cruising; Karen gets carsick remarkably easily, and we always feel like there’s a chance that the girls will inherit that as well. So needless to say, the idea of a boat rocking constantly was a bit intimidating. But we’d seen enough amazing things about Disney cruises that we finally felt the urge to ‘test the waters’ (no pun intended); so we chose the shortest offering for a trip (four nights) and took the plunge!
Fortunately for us, the Disney Magic (the original ship in the Disney fleet) had an itinerary available that departed from the Galveston port, which was a relatively short drive away for us. The trip had two planned days at sea, and one day planned in Progreso, Mexico. Funnily enough, the day in Progreso ultimately got cancelled – because of how windy the seas were; exactly the type of weather we were afraid of. So how did Karen and the girls fare?
Not as bad as we were afraid of! We were skeptical: we’d heard that the motion sickness medicines out there were effective, but you never think it will work on you. In this case, they did! Don’t get us wrong – the waves were high enough that it was very clear when the boat was rocking, but the patch Karen wore just ultimately made it bearable. Enough so that we ultimately weren’t all that frustrated about the day ashore being cancelled; that just meant we had more time to explore the ship, which we were most excited about!
In our usual format, we’d try to recommend a place to stay, a place to eat, and a thing to do; clearly, the answer to the first of those in the case of the cruise is “on the ship.” So instead of that usual format, we’re going to point out some of our favorite things about our trip on the Magic – but rest assured, we’ll still talk about our favorite things to eat and favorite things to do. In fact, let’s start there!
Best Restaurant: Palo
Disney Cruises are known for having really excellent food, but Palo stands out above the rest and it should: it’s the only restaurant that is an up charge and requires a reservation. We rushed to do so as soon as we got onboard (with this being our first cruise, all of the online slots were taken by the time we had a chance to try to do so pre-boarding) and it was absolutely worth the hype we’d heard about beforehand.
One of the perks you hear about before cruising is the amount of food. Can’t decide between two entrees? Order them both. Same dilemma between desserts? Order them all. It sounds wild, but we found it to be true – however, no restaurant typifies that more than Palo. Instead of just being able to do so, the waiter practically insists on you ordering multiple dishes. If you ask a question about something? He’ll answer it by bringing it to you. We left the meal absolutely stuffed, and the food itself was the best on the ship. If you do any research about Palo, you’ll hear about the Chicken Parmesan and that’s with good reason; however, we found the lasagna to be just as good, if not better – it was legitimately the best lasagna we’ve had outside of Italy.
Thing Everyone Should Do: Make Sure to See the Shows
This one likely doesn’t come as a surprise to you, but let it serve as an affirmation: the shows are just as good as you’ve heard they are. In fact, they’re so good that people seem to plan their day around them – your party may split up to go to bingo, trivia, the kids club, or a movie (among other things), but everyone seems to come back together to go to the show. And even though this was our first cruise, I can confidently that they’re each near-Broadway quality. And that fact is even more impressive when you realize that the cast members often play parts in multiple shows, and the extensive sets all exist in the same stage space. Our favorite was the Tangled re-telling (the Magic has a clear Tangled-heavy vibe going on, with this show being the centerpiece and one of the restaurants being themed to Rapunzel’s Royal Table), but all three are the quality you’d expect from Disney, and are time well spent.
Another Must-Do Activity: Take Advantage of at least One Character Meet-and-Greet
If you’ve read our Disneyland travel guide, you know that one of our favorite things about the park is how easy it is to simply run into characters. We thought that was the easiest to meet characters…until we got onboard the Magic. You know what big Disney fans we are, so for us, this definitely adds to the appeal, but I’d go even beyond that – I think the interactions with the characters are probably the most unique thing about a Disney cruise. They have a huge variety, and it feels like at every turn, you’re seeing someone have a trip-making interaction with a character in a way that can’t happen anywhere else. Even if you aren’t on a cruise with the whole family, or aren’t a particularly big Disney fan, you have to take the the time to meet at least one character – if you don’t, you can’t say you’ve had the true Disney experience.
Now we could go on about other activities onboard (we did a chocolate and wine tasting that was delicious and informative, and for Disney cruise nerds – which we now are – the behind-the-scenes tour is particularly entertaining), but a big perk is that there is such a variety; there really is something for everyone to choose from. One thing is for sure, though: they’re all equally and superbly entertaining. You should have a blast no matter which activity you choose, and even though we had an extra sea day instead of going ashore, I’d go so far as to say we would have enjoyed another three days onboard to keep exploring.
We were remarkably lucky that everything worked out the way it did – that Karen and the girls avoided seasickness, that the Magic was still in top-quality shape after all these years, and that they offered a shorter itinerary so close to home for us. And if you’re wondering just how much we enjoyed the cruise, I’ll put it this way: we booked two more placeholders for future cruises while still onboard. I cannot recommend a Disney cruise enough (especially aboard the Magic, which was a really wonderful ship), and we left counting the days until our next one!
