Disney Magic, Disney Cruise Line

Just returned from an 8 day Mediterranean cruise on the Disney Magic and wanted to let you know that we have just had the best holiday of our entrie lives. From the minute we arrived at the cruise terminal in Dover we were treated like royalty and were on the boat within about half an hour after arriving and my neice was in the pool as soon the lift took her up to Deck 9! Free drinks available 24 hours a day from the drinks station - tea, coffee, hot chocolate, herbal tea, coke, water, ice, sprite and pink lemonade! Food was available free too with a good selection from fruit and sandwiches to chips, pizza, burger, hot dog, tacos to name but a few. Top tip is to check out Topsiders Buffet which we only discovered towards the end of our trip but they have a different theme each day and a wide selection to make a change from chips! The room was spotless and was cleaned thoroughly in the morning and then beds were turned down in the evening as well as bins cleaned out each evening and a surprise animal made out of towels with chocolates for the kids (or adults)! Staff were always helpful and whenever we walked past our housekeeper he greeted us by name and checked up to see if we had everything and how our day was going! The trips were extremely well organised and a member of disney was always there to make sure our day was the best it could be. the entertainment was second to none with a show twice a day (sometimes there was even a matinee) that was extremely well rehearsed and was as good as any you would see in a theatre in London. Not an easy task with a small group of performers who, in one of the shows, changed costume so many times I couldn't keep up. There was so much more to do on board than just sit by the pool and my neice thoroughly enjoyed the kids clubs which were open from 9am till 1am. Another tip is to register them for their kids clubs online as the queue at the port was long and as I had booked it online we just went into the kids club and picked up the pager and wristband which took us five to ten minutes but only took that long as the pager was not working and they do a test before you take it. The personal navigator delivered to your room each night will tell you, amongst other things, where the characters will be and this was one of the best things as it is hit and miss when you visit the parks but providing you get in line in time you not only are guaranteed to see the characters but they have more time with you for photos and autographs as well. My neice had her picture taken with Daisy and Donald and Donald took the time to dance with her which had her smiling. The only thing I can't explain is the Magic! You will have to experience that for yourself but out of all the Disney things we have done this was the best and we are already saving for next year!

From the minute you arrive at the terminal, you start your experience! The check was really quick and we were on the boat within 40 minutes of arriving, this included security our key to the world photos and our first family photo. Once on the boat we were all directed for lunch. This was just the start of things to come. The whole cruise was filled with fun for both our son and us as adults, the staff were so friendly and accommodating, nothing was to much to ask for, (not that we had to ask for anything). The ship also has a paging system for the kids, they are given a small electronic tag and you a pager, this allowed us to give our son some freedom and the staff would page us if Ross needed anything or was going from one club to another. I felt he was really safe a secure, and the kids clubs were excellent filled with lots of exciting things to do and they range from very young to teenage, there was not an unhappy kid on the ship. The food was excellent all week, the waiting staff were outstanding, Angelina and Gede, the chef made us some food from home, we shared our table with an American family of which mum was Indian, so as well as our menu meals the chef also made us additional meals us to try some Indian home cooking and also some British food for our friends to sample, such a simple but personal touch. The rooms were clean and tidy not that we spent much time them, as from the minute you awake to till you sleep you are on the go (even if its just to go to the pool and relax) the pools not huge and this concerned me to start, however during the trip there was not one time that they were over crowed, there was just so much to do that the pool unlike hotel holidays was not always a priority. The ship has a massive Ariel TV at the Goofy Pool, this was amazing, relaxing at the pool watching a film. Inside the ship is spectacular; every attention to detail is captured by Disney, from the floor to the roof. The only downside I found was the ports of call were not for kids other than Gibraltar they were all historical, and based around adults, however this didn’t dull our time in anyway we didn’t leave the ship, we didn’t need or want to. Some families who did leave the ship left their kids in the clubs, so neither of them missed out on experience. the characters were fantastic, they were so willing to spend time with each child without you feeling that your child was being rushed on or that you had to wait any real time to see the character, the queues were controlled to a tee. DISNEY I COULD NOT RECOMMEND THIS HIGHLY ENOUGH FOR ANYONE WISHING TO CURISE WITH KIDS, WE LOVED OUR TIME AND ARE ALREADY LOOKING TO BOOK OUR NEXT ONE!!