You've got a friend in Me(d) - Day 5 - Boarding the Disney Magic

[Scruffette]

Day 5 - Boarding the Disney Magic

It’s Disney cruise day!



But first, time to sneak in some more Barcelona. We were up at 7.30am and packed up our luggage before heading out.

La Boqueria, the food market, was about an 8 minute walk from the hotel. We didn’t have the intention of buying anything, we just wanted a look around. The market was just setting up for the day. It was an interesting concept, being able to buy fresh fish and then from the adjacent stall buy sweeties! I imagine the smell was interesting by the end of the day. There were some super tasty looking items. We spent around 30 minutes just having a good look at everything on offer.





We walked back to the hotel for breakfast. I went for a lighter option of cereal and a yoghurt. Sufficient room had to be saved for lunch on board However, as I was on holiday, the cereal of choice was coco pops!

We gathered our bits in the room and snapped some pictures of the rooftops of Palau Güell from our balcony.







Hotel lobby.



With luggage in tow, we walked to the Chris Columbus monument at the bottom of La Rambla. I knew the port bus went from somewhere near here and asked at the information desk who pointed us round the back of a building next to the roundabout. We joined several other people obviously going on cruises today, and felt pretty smug that our bags had Disney cruise labels on

We waited around 10 minutes for a bus. There was a guy there who made sure people were getting on the right bus for the right ship. The bus cost 3€ each for the single journey. The journey took about 10 minutes and we arrived at 10.20am.

Queue lots of excitement when this beauty came into sight!



They had tried their best to jazz up the cruise terminal a bit.





Our PAT was 11am. However, I had every intention of arriving a bit early and getting on that ship as soon as possible. There were already several groups there, so we dropped of our luggage and joined the line. They let us in around 10.50am and they briefly checked paperwork on the way in (without glancing at our PAT).

There was no queue for security and we flew straight through. There was wine for sale here, but we had already stocked up!

Again, no line for the check in desks and having cruised the year before, we are silver castaway club members and could go to a ‘special’ line. We filled in some medical forms super quickly and received our boarding number.



Yes, that’s boarding group number 3. I was so happy as I really wanted to be on the ship early.

On our 2015 cruise from Port Canaveral, we used Disney transportation and didn’t arrive at the port until gone 2pm and felt very rushed. This was a big improvement.

We took some seats directly opposite the boarding area. Boarding was going to start at 11.45am, so we had some time to browse the navigator.



What was even better, was being so close to the ship we could connect to the ship’s wifi. We spent the next 40 minutes or so going through the navigator app for the entire cruise and favourit-ing all the activities we liked the sound of (which turned out to be a lot of them).

I could also see from my key to the world card that we had a good dinning rotation – ACLACLA – which meant Animator’s Palate 3 times

Eventually we were called to board. It was a little chaotic, it seemed to just be some men holding up a sign with a number on, rather than any kind of announcement.





Stepping onto the ship was amazing

They asked our family name, and we gave them an amalgamation of our last names. We got a big round of applause. I wonder how fed up of this they get after a few hundred families?

It was just after midday. We had a few tasks we wanted to do – book some alcohol tastings and move our Palo reservation, although we couldn’t do any of this until 12.30pm.

We stopped by the port adventures desk to see if we could move our frozen meet and greet time. They seemed surprised we wanted to do this, as apparently we were quite lucky to have these! We moved it from 2pm to 3.15pm the next day (we were hoping to book mixology at 2pm the next day).

With some time still to kill, we headed up to deck 9 to get some soft drinks. A bit of a pain with cabin cases!





We were outside Lumiere’s (the side entrance) about 12.20pm, they saw us waiting and let us in early.

First we met Andy, the bartender from Keys. We booked in for a mixology class for 2pm on the first sea day, and a mojito and caipirinha tasting class on the last day, which was a sea day. These were $20 each per class. Andy was great fun – apparently the classes would be taking place in his ‘office’.

Next we moved over to the Palo desk. I’d already booked an 8pm reservation on day 3 (at 5am when I checked us in online!) Ollie seemed really keen to move this to day 2 (the sea day and formal night). He convinced me that it would be nice to be dressed up for Palo, so I went along with it. Little did I know he had a larger plan…

They offered us a 8pm dinner on Sunday. I said that was great, but Ollie was worried it was a bit early. I thought this was odd, as the show would be finished by 7.30pm. How long did we need to walk up to Palo?! Anyway, the person behind the desk could see his concern and said it wouldn’t matter if we were a bit late.

The whole process took around 10 minutes. I was really pleased with everything we managed to achieve since getting on the ship.

Food was next. We decided to go to the buffet in Cariocas, instead of Cabanas. I remember embarkation day buffet being manic in Cabanas on the Dream and was keen to avoid it. Cariocas seemed quite chilled. Although the buffet was smaller, there was still plenty of choice.



Buffet plates:





My main concern was the chicken tenders I saw on the buffet. Now, on the Disney Dream last summer, I had dubbed the chicken tenders ‘life changing’. These however, looked like a much more basic chicken tender.

Lunch was really chilled and calm. I tried a little bit of lots of things and enjoyed them all.

A girl on the table next to us was unwrapping presents (mainly princess themed) from her mum. I jokingly said to Ollie ‘where’s my present?’. I felt a bit bad about this after.

The dessert choices weren’t inspiring me in Cariocas, so we headed up to Cabanas to check out their larger dessert choice.
In fairness, Cabanas seemed much calmer than I expected and we could easily get to the food and drink without lots of people in the way.

I picked up some choc chip cookies and some mint choc chip ice cream.



I then assembled it into this…



We sat outside and enjoyed the Barcelona sunshine.



At 1.30pm we headed to check out our stateroom.

We booked a GTY 11C cabin, expecting to be on deck 2. When our room was assigned (early July) we had been allocated an inside cabin on deck 7. A category 11B so technically an upgrade! Deck 7 turned out to be a good deck – there are cabins above and below, so nothing too noisy.



When we got into the room, I had a bit of a surprise.



Ollie had organised a few gifts in the room for me.

DCL robes – the fluffiest robes ever!



A bottle of prosecco and a rose





Chocolates and two rainforest room spa passes.

What a lovely surprise

[Scruffette]

We also had our silver castaway club gift – a dcl backpack.



I took some snaps of the room – a bit of a random selection!



















I’d put our homemade magnets in my hand luggage, so the next task was to decorate our door.



We stopped by the room of a family from our cruise’s facebook group and left an autograph book for them in their fish.

People were still being greeted in the lobby.



Next stop was the open house at the Oceaneer’s club and lab.

The clubs look so much fun! I particularly love Andy’s room. Ollie couldn’t resist the slide!















I had a go at Wreck-it-Ralph.





Marvel.













Also, give the automatic hand washing machine a go. Who knew washing your hands could be that much fun?

We stopped in at the room next to see if the case had arrived, but it hadn’t yet. We did meet our stateroom host, Derrek from Jamaica. We asked him about ice and he said he’d get us an even better ice bucket and keep it topped up. Good man.

We headed up to the spa raffle at 3pm. It was pretty much a sales pitch with the chance to win some spa credit. We didn’t win, but we had a good look round the spa facilities.



The rainforest room, where we would be spending some time later in the trip.



We headed back to our room again after this and I had a quick change. Our cases weren’t there yet, but our stateroom host seemed quite apologetic as we bumped into him every time we went to the room and he thought we were waiting for our luggage. This wasn’t a problem as we’d packed a change of clothes in our hand luggage.

Ollie and I went our separate ways at this point. I headed up to the spa to see if we needed to book in for the rainforest room. Turns out we didn’t, despite what someone had told us earlier. We had decided to use the spa passes on Thursday afternoon, as we were only planning on a half day in Villefranche and thought it would be quieter than on a sea day.

Ollie had gone to take our original Frozen meet and greet tickets (that were waiting in our stateroom on arrival) back to guest services as they had asked us to.

We agreed to meet at our muster drill point – T. I picked up some drinks on the way. I love just being able to pop up to deck and pick up drinks or snacks.

I had some real trouble finding the muster station. The diagram on the back of our stateroom door had made it look like it was on the outside of deck 4. I followed the signs round and couldn’t find T. I wasn’t the only one struggling, I bumped into lots of other lost people!

Eventually I found a cast member to ask, and found Ollie by the entrance to shutters.



Turns out our muster station was in Animator’s Palate. A little preview of dinner tonight!



The process was relatively quick. It was a lot cooler as well, last year on the Dream our muster station was outside on deck 6, which was very hot! However, if there was a genuine emergency, I’d rather have a station outside than inside!

After the drill, it was time for the adventures away party! The normal spectacle of dancing and Disney characters. I even got handed a streamer to wave





The bright sun was starting to make my eyes stream and feel sore, so we skipped the end of the show in favour of returning to our stateroom and unpacking our now arrived case.

Our Palo invites had also arrived.



Yes, brunch and dinner. I just couldn’t choose!

Before the show we cracked open the bottle of Prosecco and had a toast to the start of an amazing 7 night cruise.

We also found a home for the rose.



I may have indulged in a choccie or two…



We headed to the show (complete with some prosecco in soft drink cups).



The show started at 6.30pm, we turned up maybe 10 minutes before. As it’s just two of us we can normally find a space fairly easily.

This evening’s show was All Aboard! Let the Magic Begin! It was a cute story of a boy who wanted to be a captain one day. It included a guest appearance from Hector is Magic. Our cruise director Leslie was introduced to us.

After the show we stopped by the stateroom for more prosecco.

Mickey was doing a meet and greet in the atrium in his bull fighter outfit. Each night he and the gang would have a different outfit on based on the theme of the day.

[Scruffette]

It was time for dinner after this in the restaurant we were most excited for – Animator’s Palate for the animation magic show.
Our two table mates were already there. They were a couple from Alabama and we got on really well with them throughout the cruise. It made for some fun dinners – we were often closing the restaurant down!

They love British tv shows, particularly old sitcoms. We were disappointing and hadn’t seen most of them!

The menu was the same as Animator’s Palate on the Dream last year.
Ollie and I both went for four courses each night (we liked to show Americans that we can eat!) We find the portion sizes lend themselves towards doing all 4 courses. They’re not super huge normal American sizes.

We also met our server Agus and our assistant server Mette-Marie. Being on board for 7 nights meant we really got to know our servers well had had some fun with them over the cruise. I’m sure the head server also introduced himself, but I don’t really remember him as we never really saw him.

The menu was the standard rotational menu.

To start, we both had Black Truffle Pasta Purseittes – Pasta Purses filled with Truffle-scented Cheese and coated with a delicate Champagne Sauce



I’d remembered this fondly from last year and it was just as good.
Some of the pictures might come out a bit dark – I didn’t want to use a bright flash. I did explain to our table mates that I would be photographing food every night. I think they thought it was a bit strange but soon got used to it!

Next I had the Baked Potato and Cheddar Cheese Soup – With Bacon Bits and Chives



Ollie had the Creamy Butternut Squash Soup – Garnished with Chives and drizzled with Sour Cream



It wasn’t as dark as it looked in the photo.

For mains, I had Grilled Tuna Steak – With Fingerling Confit, Caponata, Sun-dried Tomato Pesto, and Aioli



I don’t eat tuna steak very often, and my aim at dinnertime was to eat lots of things that I wouldn’t normally eat.

Ollie had the Ginger-Teriyaki dusted Angus Beef Tenderloin – Served on Wasabi Mashed Potatoes with Bok Choy and a Tamarind Barbecue Reduction



Ollie sent his steak back as it was overcooked (well done when ordered rare!). Our server returned with a medium rare steak. Ollie actually started ordering his steak one level less done that he wanted, which seemed to work perfectly.

Ollie and I actually swapped what we ate last year!

During the meal, the restaurant had been turning from black and white to colour. Some clips were shown on the screens, and then the big cheese came out himself to the Fantasia music! Such a lovely little show.



The servers also changed from their black and white waistcoats to colourful waistcoats. Very cute.

For dessert I had White Chocolate Fudge Cheesecake – With Whipped Cream and Raspberry Coulis



After eating Ollie’s last year, I had to get my own!

Ollie went for Sweet Temptations – A trio of White Chocolate Fudge Cheesecake, Lemon Raspberry Tart, and Chilled Mango Mousse



Half eaten photo, sorry!

Dinner lasted quite a long time, but it was nice to have a relaxed pace.

After dinner we headed to the Hector is Magic adult show in Fathoms.



Ollie popped to ‘restroom’, so I thought that I’d order two drinks of the day in his absence. Well, it would be rude not to! The drink was a paradise punch – I’m pretty sure it had rum in.



A bit blurry…

The drinks came to $12.08 including tax and gratuity. They accidentally charged me for the wrong drinks, but this was sorted straight away and shown on our final bill.

Hector’s show was good fun, he did some card tricks, magic hoops and did something at the end with shadow puppets.

The adult club host, Jo, introduced the show. She was a Brit and a bit mad, but lots of fun.

After the show we headed up to deck 9 for drinks. Whilst there, I couldn’t resist a slice of pizza!



Late at night is my favourite time to wander the ship.









Tonight’s towel animal.





Once back in our room, we got into our new robes and ordered room service!

This was the only night we ordered room service. I think the first night we always go a bit crazy with the unlimited food
!
We ordered chicken tenders and chicken wings.



We asked for no fries with the tenders, just extra chicken! I am pleased to report that these were the same as the life changing tenders from last year. They were available at Pete’s Broiler Bites and I consumed many during the trip!

We watched some tv with Disney movies on repeat whilst eating. It was a shame the movies weren’t on demand like on the Dream.

I fell asleep very happy, excited about all the adventures of the next week.

Day 6 - Day at Sea and a magical evening

[Tor32]

An amazing bedtime read thank you! Looking forward to reading the rest.

[stecee]

The ship looks wonderful. You certainly know how to fill your days
Another great read.

[sheluk]

What a lovely day an so lucky getting on board so early

Those cocktail classes sound great fun & some yummy eats too. Very jealous can't wait to cruise again!

[Bobsledwheels]

I cant wait to get on the Wonder now in a few weeks!

The Magic is such a beautiful ship. Love your photos!

Have you tried the wine and chocolate tasting? (Or the dessert one?) they are so so good and such great value!

[dozy]

Looks amazing

[Scruffette]

Originally Posted by Tor32

An amazing bedtime read thank you! Looking forward to reading the rest.

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Glad you enjoyed it - thanks for reading

Originally Posted by stecee

The ship looks wonderful. You certainly know how to fill your days
Another great read.

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It is a beautiful ship. We're not particularly good at the relaxing side of holidays! Thanks for reading

[Scruffette]

Originally Posted by sheluk

What a lovely day an so lucky getting on board so early

Those cocktail classes sound great fun & some yummy eats too. Very jealous can't wait to cruise again!

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It was so nice to get on board early and have the ship fairly empty. I would definitely recommend getting there early. Thanks for reading

Originally Posted by Bobsledwheels

I cant wait to get on the Wonder now in a few weeks!

The Magic is such a beautiful ship. Love your photos!

Have you tried the wine and chocolate tasting? (Or the dessert one?) they are so so good and such great value!

See more...

The Wonder is on my list as I want to do the Alaska cruise!

I haven't tried a wine tasting - I'm picky and don't drink red wine. I didn't know there was a dessert one! I agree they are really good value.

Originally Posted by dozy

Looks amazing

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Thanks for reading