Disney Magic. Dover to Barcelona 2016. Day 1

[pipster]

Embarkation day (at sea day)
Well, to awake to the view of the Disney Magic docked from the bedroom window was a "magic" way for the cruise to start. It made it extra special.

So now comes my way of doing the check in, this is only my opinion and with some fantastic tips from Batts (my guiding light on any DCL question every time), you can arrive much later if you wish but if you follow this plan, you get more time on the ship with less people.
After breakfast we ordered a taxi (Royal cabs, great service thanks) direct as the hotel staff told me this was the best way. They will order one too but when the cruise ship is in they are full to bursting so it may get lost. My Port Arrival Time (PAT) was 1100hrs, no one took any notice of this so if you have later and want to arrive earlier, go for it.
We got the taxi at 0915hrs arriving at the port terminal at 0930hrs and gave the bags to the port staff as we already had our Disney room tags attached. There were people in the holding area when we arrived (about 40 people) and within about 10 minutes they opened the doors to the security area up the stairs.

Everyone went up and went through security (airport style scanners) and then held in a small holding area with seats. Everyone was asked to fill in a health questionnaire and then wait. I was told that check in would start in 5 minutes and there were 28 check in desks. There were separate lanes for Silver/Gold, Platinum and Concierge. Having done one cruise before we were the first in the silver queue.

We checked in, had photos taken for security and then were given our lanyards and key to the world cards. So now to why I was keen to get there early and all this is thanks to Batts. We had booked an internal cabin for the 4 of us at a cost of about £5000. I would have loved a deluxe family stateroom but Disney was showing over £10000 for this room, no way could I afford this. Once booked in you can ask to speak to the upgrade section (a supervisor desk) so we popped over to the supervisor and asked for upgrade options. She had a sheet of paper that had the spare rooms on it (not many) and there were only two deluxe family staterooms available. I asked the price and she referred to a spreadsheet to see the room we were from and the upgrade category. I was amazed when she quoted it in Dollars (ship currency) and quickly converted it in my head at £790! I snapped her hand off and had a massive smile on my face for hours afterwards (thanks Batts).
So we were given our boarding number as 5,

they start at 1 and go to 40 and this is the order you board the ship. They call each number and you need to show your little card they gave you at the boarding gate. We had checked in by 1020 but boarding started at about 1150hrs. This time you sit in an airport style lounge with a small cafe, character signing and a jazz band playing tunes from the Disney films.

The earlier you arrive the better seating option you have and the more comfortable it is to wait.

It took about 10 minutes to go from boarding number 1 to number 5 but we were boarding at about 1210hrs. As we were so early in the ship we had Cabana's to ourselves (one of the buffet lunch restaurants open during the day) and then explored the ship with few people around.
You are allowed into your cabin at 1330hrs and your luggage is delivered before 1830hrs.
You are given an early (1800hrs) or late (about 2030hrs) meal time and an allocated restaurant. We were in animators palette the first evening and without giving it away it is different from the Disney Dream where crush the turtle talk to you, there is a bit of a show on the video screens and then a surprise guest! Watch the waistcoats of the serving staff after the show. Just for people who don't know, you rotate restaurants over the cruise but keep the same table number, same servers and head server so they get to know what you like, what drinks you want etc. There are three restaurants and you rotate each evening from one to the next. If you don't want to go that's fine as you can eat at Cabanas but just let your server know.
We went for a tour of the spa when we were docked and you can fill in a ticket for a raffle. If you return at 1500hrs for the draw you can win some money off a treatment. My wife was very lucky and after a little "Disney dance" performed for the manager she won $100 dollars off a treatment. They also do managers specials for port days that saves quite a lot but go quick.

[Clamshell]

Great start, looking forward to seeing more!

[Ruthy1604]

That's a great price for the upgrade. I hope there will be pics of the suite. 😃

[pennycrayon]

Ooh great start looking forward to more!

[mrmoo123]

Ah this is great to read, we went to Dover and watched it set sail and we were all wondering what it was like for those on board. Thanks for sharing and great tip about the upgrade! I will remember that one if we ever do another Disney cruise...

[pipster]

More coming soon, just chilling in Barcelona after the cruise. Back home tomorrow night😃

[DisneyBride08]

What a fantastic upgrade tip. I can't wait to read more

[Scruffette]

Great upgrade! Sounds like a great first day

[Dogwalker]

We were on the same cruise and had a wonderful time!
Looking forward to reading the rest of your trip report

[Majik]

Loving your trip report - thank you.
We were told on our last cruise that the $200 raffle during the DVC presentation could only be claimed by US citizens.