The Re-imagining of the Magic

In this post, I thought I would take a few moments to share my thoughts on the recent improvements made to the Disney Magic, which will hopefully be useful/valuable to those of you either familiar with the ship and/or contemplating an upcoming voyage aboard the Magic.

Now granted, the aforementioned changes are nearly a year old now, having been performed in October 2013, but hey, they’re new to us! First and foremost, I think the wife and I agree at a high level, the changes are wonderful. The Magic is now 15 years old and when we were aboard last (May 2013), she was starting to show her age. This feeling was enhanced by the fact that we have also sailed the Fantasy, one of the newer ships, which is very shiny-shiny, so the Magic’s age stood out a bit more. But if asked which of the ships we prefer, we always come back to the Magic. It’s a smaller ship and the experience feels more intimate vs. the feeling we got on the Fantasy, which was much more major cruise line. I guess a trip aboard Royal or any of the other big lines is not in our future!

Palo Entrance

Here are some of the changes to the Magic at a high level:

The adults only/entertainment area, previously known as Beat Street, is now known as After Hours. I would say this is the biggest area of improvement. Prior to the change, the three bars in the Beat Street district were known as Sessions, Diversions and Rockin’ Bar D. They are now known, respectively as Keys, O’Gills and Fathoms. Keys is supposed to be the upscale piano/jazz bar where you can enjoy the lowest amount of energy/most relaxing atmosphere. O’Gills is supposed to have a little more energy in a pub-like atmosphere. And lastly, there is Fathoms, for a lose your mind dance party type of feel.

After Hours Hallway

The changes to Keys are quite nominal and it retains much of the relaxed atmosphere that Sessions had. It’s a great place to go for a relaxing drink and have a quiet conversation.

Keys

O’Gills leaves something to be desired. Diversions was always one of my favorite places to hang out for a beer or to catch a game. The facelift is great – the decor is very pub-ish and green. However, if you were to give your bar an Irish pub type theme, what are some of the beers that come to mind for your tap? Guinness? Harp? Bass? No, they have Heineken, Bud Light and Modelo Especial. A variety of United Kingdom beers are available in the can/bottle, but this feels like a missed opportunity to me. Also, on Sunday, when they are kind enough to broadcast NFL games for us while at sea, they don’t put out pub grub until the first game is nearly over and there’s no audio for the game. We football guys like to eat while we watch the game and dollars to doughnuts, if you give us nachos and hot wings, we’re going to buy more beer! So again, the decor is great, but the execution leaves something to be desired.

O’Gills

Lastly, is Fathoms. Now, I will preface this to say I’m not a dance party kinda guy who needs to get his boogie on. My previous attendance in Rockin’ Bar D was usually for bingo, and while it remains the primary reason for hanging out in Fathoms, the facelift here is the most dramatic, noticeable and quite frankly, fantastic. The underwater theme (not sure that’s a theme I would normally choose for a cruise ship) is relaxing and comfortable. The seating throughout the bar has been redesigned to give you much more space and the improvements to the audio/visual/lighting systems makes for a much more immersive experience. The fiber optic jelly fish hanging from the ceiling are an especially nice touch. They had a very clear vision for Fathoms and executed upon it very well.

Fathoms

The atrium that greets all guests as they enter the ship on deck three has been considerably revamped with the removal of one of the staircases, the relocation of the bronze Mickey statue off to the side and the new chandelier. Les and I were big fans of the Chihuly chandelier, but the new three chandelier configuration, made entirely from Swarovski crystals, is nothing to sneeze at!

Disney Magic Atrium

Stateroom decor has also been updated and while I can’t provide you with an apples to apples comparison, because we’re not sailing in our normal class of stateroom this cruise, we’ve enjoyed the decor of our room. New carpet designs throughout the ship are refreshing and colorful.

Magic Atrium Carpet

Another big change has been to the restaurants and menu. Having sailed a number of the longer itineraries in the past, not only had we become accustomed to the menus, but they had grown somewhat boring. So it was nice to experience updated menus with new choices and what appears to be a re-emphasis on the quality of food.

While Lumiere’s remains pretty much unchanged, Parrot Cay is now Carrioca’s. Structurally, the restaurant remains pretty much the same, with some fresh paint and fun  lanterns hanged from the ceiling. It’s a nice change we’ve enjoyed. For me, the most dramatic update has been to the technology in Animator’s Palate. While they don’t have Turtle Talk with Crush like they do aboard the newer ships, the updates to the lighting and video are significant and enjoyable. Palo has also enjoyed some minor updating, but continues to retain a very classic and sophisticated feel.

Animator’s Palate

Next, are the retail shops, now respectively known as Mickey’s Mainsail and White Caps. Again, having sailed on the Fantasy, this was an area of need for the Magic. The shops aboard the Fantasy are much larger and more open and I’m happy to say they’ve now adopted a similar design aboard the Magic. You’re no longer crowded into the store, having to navigate around merchandise and other passengers. The variety of merchandise and port-specific merchandise leaves a little to be desired, but the experience is nicer.

Another big positive is the change over of the buffet, from Topsiders to Cabana’s. Early on in our Disney sailing experience, we learned quickly that we would rather go hungry than eat at Topsiders. The food was quite frankly gross, the decor depressing and the tables usually sticky. When we sailed aboard the Fantasy and experienced Cabana’s, the first question we had was, why can’t the Magic do it this way? Cabana’s was light, airy and refreshing. The food was of a much higher quality and the space open and inviting. Well, I am happy to report that the Magic team has incorporated Cabana’s into their environment successfully. Truly, the difference is night and day with the atmosphere and food quality and we haven’t hesitated eating here on more than one occasion this cruise. Another job well done!

There have been some other minor changes around the ship, but probably the most notable is the addition of the AquaDunk and changes to the kiddie pool area up on deck nine. The changes to the kids area feel very cramped. I understand that kids need a lot to keep them occupied and I think the addition of the Splash Zone and a slide will certainly keep the little ones busy. But now when you walk by, usually on our way to the drink station, there’s quite a bit of navigation required to get through the area. DCL certainly packed a lot into a little space and if my read is correct, I think the kids and parents really enjoy it. From an aesthetic stand point, it’s just not very pleasing.

Kid’s Pool Area

At the time that I originally drafted this edition, we hadn’t yet rode the AquaDunk. The task has now been completed and WOW. Depending on your personality, you hear that it’s only seven seconds long and while it does stick out over edge of the ship, so you’re essentially 10-11 decks in the air over the ocean, to me, it didn’t seem that daunting. I think the best way to describe it is “The Tower of Terror Meets the Disney Magic”. I realized this as I was loading myself into the tube, about to be shot out of a cannon like a rocket. I thought it was going to be a leisurely water ride with fantastic views of the ocean. Um, no. The bottom of the capsule drops out, putting you into instant free fall and you’re just holding on. My feelings about the rider were confirmed as Leslie was right behind me in line and even from a deck away, the blood curdling scream she let out was alarming. Afterward, she had no recollection of screaming and could only remember the feeling of being water boarded. While she is a thrill ride enthusiast and I am not, she won’t do the ride again. I probably would.

AquaDunk at Night

Speaking of other changes on deck nine, there were some enhancements to the quick dining section that includes three soft serve ice cream machines now, vs. one, Pluto’s Dog House is now Pete’s Boiler Bites, which includes some of the same food, with some additions, like gyros and chicken schwarma, which are both very tasty. Pinnochio’s Pizzeria is still hanging around and the Frozone has been added, which is really just another bar that can turn your libations into frozen treats, if you like.

So while this is not an all inclusive list, these are the big hitters that have made our voyage much more pleasant. With a trip planned for next year aboard her sister ship, I’m hoping DCL will make some of these same updates to the Wonder as well.

The Crossing Has Begun

Day eight aboard the Disney Magic Westbound Transatlantic cruise is coming to an end, with today being the first of five straight sea days as we traverse the Atlantic ocean. At the time of writing this post, we are west of the cape of Africa, with 17,470 feet of water below us.

With two sea days between Malaga and our next port of call, Tenerife, we kept ourselves busy with a variety of activities, including beer tasting on day five and wine tasting on day six. Beer tasting is usually my thing and the wife will join, unless she’s into a good book, which in this instance was the case, so I struck out alone.

I usually make it to at least one beer tasting when on board and I’m afraid they may have jumped the shark (pun intended), having attended many of them. The bright side is, for a fee of about $10, you get to sample five different beers and try to guess what they are. The down side is, you have to sit through a presentation you’ve heard many times before about which ingredients go into making beer and how beer is made. They’re interesting and informative, as long as you haven’t heard them multiple times previously. My hope is that they’ll ask for volunteers at the end of the tasting, which usually signals some fun. When chosen as a volunteer in the past, it’s meant pitting my beer drinking skills in some sort of competition against a fellow cruiser, as was the case again today. The challenge today: who can drink a pint of Guinness the fastest. My competition was a 50-something woman from the UK, who’s a professed Boddington’s hobbyist, so I wasn’t quite sure of my odds. Then came the twist: who could drink a pint of Guinness the fastest. Through a straw. We looked at one another when the challenge was announced and before I could say anything, she exclaimed “I hope this doesn’t make me start lactating!” When the look on my face turned quite quizzical, she explained that when she was nursing, her doctor told her to drink Guinness to boost her iron levels. Despite the threat of lactation, I’m pleased to report that when it comes to Guinness drinking competitions aboard the Disney Magic, I remained undefeated.

Day six brought a wine tasting, which I will preface by saying it is not a wine slugging contest. A little more refined and still informative, the wine tasting sessions have been great by introducing us to new wines that I don’t know we would have tried prior to the tasting. Today’s tasting was no exception, as Leslie really enjoyed the Beaujolais and I enjoyed a Cabernet Sauvignon from Simi Valley. The only criticism we had of the tasting was that they started late, which made our session feel a bit rushed. Unless you’re downing some 40/40 or Boone’s Farm, wine should not be a rushed experience.

Wine Tasting on the Magic

Day seven was our gauntlet excursion to Tenerife, in the Canary Islands. This Port Adventure, booked through Disney, took us to Mount Teide, an ancient volcano, located about 10,000 feet above sea level. Upon arrival, I would say we were more volcano adjacent than actually at the volcano, ending up in the Teide National Park. It was a good photo op, especially on a day like today, when we were above the cloud line by a good 3,000 feet. The only thing we didn’t care for was the cramped bus ride up and especially, the ride down, where, due to all the switchbacks on the road, we, as well as several of our bus mates, became rather green around the gills due to car sickness. Should make any rough waves we encounter during the next few days a breeze! The neat part of this excursion, other than being told Star Wars had been filmed here, which I found out later was untrue, was driving through the enormous crater of a long defunct volcano. Tenerife at one point, was host to another volcano nearly twice the size of Teide, which erupted long ago and because of its sheer size, collapsed unto itself, creating a massive landslide down the south part of the island and into the ocean, as well as the aforementioned crater we drove through. The landscape left behind did enable films like 10,000 Years BC and Clash of the Titans (2010) to be filmed here.

View from Mt. Teide

High Above the Clouds

After the long and nauseating drive back down the mountain, we ended up at a restaurant for a delightful tamarind glazed chicken lunch, before a visit to the botanical gardens of Tenerife. The island is just a hop, skip and a jump from the Tropic of Cancer and despite the fact that it’s located in the North Atlantic, it’s considered a sub-tropical island. This allows for temperatures that make it feel like Spring all year long, and enables the growth of more than 500 different plants that are indigenous to the island. Long story short, the botanical garden was beautiful and a great opportunity to put our new camera to the test.

Hydrangea on Tenerife

Aristea Africana

Day eight has been fairly uneventful, with me finishing my first book (The Circle – a great read of perhaps things to come in a Facebook/Google/Apple dominated world) and going to bingo for the first time. We are also keeping our eyes peeled for two different storm systems in our neighborhood. The first, Tropical Storm Edouard, (coincidence?) shouldn’t be a concern, as it’s currently positioned in the middle of the Atlantic, with a west by northwest trajectory. However, Invest 93L has just formed off the cape of Africa and is currently positioned exactly due south of our location, moving at about the same speed as we are. I’m curious to see if the Captain will try to beat the storm or if he’ll slow our progress and allow the storm to pass in front of us. Whatever minimizes the chop is fine with us.

Malaga: Tinto, Tapas and What Kind of Cheese?

We arrived in Malaga, Spain, early this morning, which outside of Barcelona, is Spain’s oldest and most important port. Founded in 700 BC by the Phoenicians, like most Mediterranean ports, it was fought over for hundreds of years. It was under Moorish rule from 711 – 1489 until it was taken back by the Spanish Catholics. And in keeping with most Mediterranean ports we’ve visited, it’s simply picturesque.

Malaga Morning

Disney offers cruisers a variety of excursions, or Port Adventures, as Disney calls them. A lot of people are not fans of booking excursions through Disney, citing a high price point, but I’ve never found the prices to be out of whack. Sure, there are some expensive Port Adventures out there, but I won’t book them if they are too pricey. However, one of the benefits of booking through Disney is that the ship will not leave port without you if you’re not back on board when it’s time to leave. So if you elect to book your own excursion, make sure to be back on board before the ship leaves without you!

For our stop in Malaga, we opted for a private excursion through a wonderful tour company Leslie found called Tapas in Malaga (tapasinmalaga.com). The tour included four stops at various tapas bars around town, for snacks and drinks, along with a lovely walking tour of the town, narrated by our tour guide, Laura. I wasn’t aware there would be a walking tour and, despite the heat of 37C today, it was a nice addition. Also in the tour group were a number of other fellow cruisers from the Magic, including a couple and their son from New Jersey and a mother and son from the Netherlands.

Cathedral of Malaga

Our first stop was delightful. Among the fare was goat cheese with caramelized onions, black pudding (blood sausage) deep fried with cheese, chorizo and tinto. Tinto is a drink similar to sangria, but much simpler to make. It’s red wine with lemon Fanta. It was a delightful and refreshing drink for a hot September Spanish day. Laura asked the group if we trusted her with making the food choices, in an effort to give us as authentic of an experience as possible and I’m glad we did. Laura hit the mark right out of the gate with these first choices and I found myself wanting more. Tapas are challenging. It’s a bit like when you go to a fondue restaurant. It’s all these small bits of food and you don’t think you’re going to get full, but in the end, you’re stuffed!

Tinto – Red Wine and Lemon Fanta

Goat Cheese and Black Pudding Tapas

Having our appetites whetted, we were all ready for more as we moved onto to the next cafe. This time around, Laura went a little more traditional with her choices, which included gazpacho, baby cuttlefish sauteed in ink, anchovies in olive oil, vinegar and parsley and tuna belly on a bed of broad beans with serrano ham. And more tinto! And Spanish olives and bread. At each meal, bread and Spanish olives are the freebies on the table. While Les and I enjoyed this sampling, I don’t know that it was as popular with our fellow tour mates. Tapas are small bites that are meant to be shared by everyone at the table, and as a result, the meal becomes a bit of a social experiment. So when Laura ordered gazpacho, I was a but stumped how we were all going to share soup without also sharing a fair amount of our DNA. Luckily, our gazpacho was less like soup and more of a dip. It was thick and delicious and easy to dip bread into. Laura advised double dipping was not frowned upon when it comes to tapas. I could only think of George Costanza and how he would not have enjoyed this lax approach to the double-dip.

Anchovies Tapas

After a check for any impending gastronomical explosions, Laura took us to our favorite place of the afternoon, KGB. This cleverly themed restaurant is definitely new school and the chef knows what he is doing. We started off with the patatas bravas, which were small new potatoes that were partially hollowed out and refilled with a cheese and cream mixture, with a little bit of bacon and were amazing. Next, were the Flamenquines, which was a layer of ham, topped with green peppers, topped with egg and onion, then rolled into a log, deep fried and cut into slices, similar to sushi. Again, fantastico. But the winner, winner, baby pig dinner was the suckling pig slider. If you’ve ever had pork belly, this is that, times 10, on a bun with a little mustard. I could have eaten these all day long. And instead of tinto this time around, all the food items at KGB were accompanied by a locally produced white wine, a moscato called Botani. So tasty, we decided to take a bottle back to the ship for the reasonable price of 16 Euro.

Suckling Pig Slider

Botani Moscato

Last on the list was a stop at La Queseria to finish with some fine Spanish cheese and a dessert wine. First, I’ll get the bad news out of the way. The dessert wine was akin to drinking raisin syrup. Unlike the gazpacho, it was thick and not so delicious. Other than that, the cheese course was great. We had goat’s milk cheese, a nice Manchego, a bleu cheese, a cream cheese and a cow’s milk cheese that our hostess Laura had some difficulty describing, but landed on the name “titty cheese”, because, “the cheese, once finished, is in the shaped of a boob, a titty.” And after all, I suppose that’s where all cheese get its start, so an appropriate label, nonetheless. The cheese course was a delicious and fun way to end the day.

And with that, our time in Malaga was over and after a quick trip back to the ship, it was time for a nap before heading off to dinner at the refreshed Animator’s Palate. AP is one of the rotational restaurants that puts on a show, where the dining room transforms from black and white to color. The only problem I had with AP during previous visits was it was always cramped. The redesign has opened the dining room considerably, giving it a cleaner, more open feel. Unfortunately, after having such great food while ashore today, tonight’s dinner was only average, with an overcooked piece of red snapper on my plate, which was fine, as hunger was still a distant memory. Although, that didn’t stop me from having the cookies and cream ice cream sundae.

It’s now a little after 11:00pm and we’ve just passed through the Strait of Gibraltar, leaving the Mediterranean Sea behind and saying hello to the Atlantic ocean. It’s time for two sea days before our next port of call, Tenerife in the Canary Islands.

How Suite It Is and a Serving of Fist Fish

It’s time once again for another installment of Ed and Leslie at sea, aboard the Disney Magic. It’s currently Sunday evening, about 11:30pm, as we lazily sail off the coast of Spain as day two of our 14-night westbound Transatlantic cruise comes to an end.

Travel to Barcelona to catch the ship was thankfully uneventful, despite the fact that neither of us could sleep on the flight over. Again. Upon arrival in Barcelona, we caught the bus that would transport us from the airport to the port and experienced expedited check-in. You see, in celebration of our 25th anniversary this year, for the first time, we upgraded our normal stateroom to a concierge suite. This brings with it many perks, including an expedited check-in process and, as it turned out, being the first to board the ship. When you board the ship, the crew welcomes you and asks for your name and where you’re from. So if you’re the Smiths from Seattle, they broadcast over the PA, “The Disney Magic welcomes the Smith Family from Seattle!” and much fanfare ensues. Despite multiple requests, Leslie will not let me tell them we are the Mansons from Los Angeles.

The next perk awaiting us was a cocktail reception, where we would meet our concierge hostess. Jet lagged and sangria? Why not! Since we were onboard the Disney Magic last, she’s gone through a hefty overhaul and she has quite a new look to her. The reimagined adults area is simply stunning. Lots of blues and grays that lead to a very polished look. Once we’re finished with the reception, it’s off to our suite, where we promptly shower, close all the curtains and sack out for a good four hour nap before dinner. (It’s at this point that my wife reminds me that I forgot to mention the life boat drill. Now not that I don’t think it’s important, but I think we may have actually slept walk through the drill, as neither of us have much recollection of it. I trust if we need a lifeboat, the crew will be more than apt in getting us to one.)

Once we wake, we make our way to one of the new restaurants, Carioca’s, which replaced Parrot Cay. The facelift here isn’t too substantial, with a fresh coat of paint splashed onto the existing framework, but it’s nice. The menus are different as well and having sailed 10 times previously, we are looking forward to tasting what the Disney chefs have in store for us.

Still a little jet lagged, I didn’t bring the camera with and didn’t get any pictures of the food in Carioca’s. For our mains, Les had a tasty shrimp with angel hair pasta in an heirloom tomato sauce and I opted for a NY strip, which was ok. The steak had a nice grill flavor and was cooked to order (medium rare), but was a tad under seasoned.

After dinner, it was back to the room and off to bed for a good nights rest. Until 4:30 in the morning, when we both woke up, wide awake. Feeling peckish, we broke into the complimentary fruit plate as the early morning sea floated by. Afterward, we used the time to unpack and watch a movie, before we moseyed up to the new buffet, Cabana’s, where we enjoyed breakfast out on deck as we watched the sun rise over the coast of Spain. This is yet another improvement aboard the Magic: the transition from Topsiders to Cabana’s. The design is open and airy, like it is aboard the Disney Fantasy, and the food seems to be much improved as well.

With breakfast out of the way, the wife retired back to the suite for some more R&R and I headed off to the spa for an indulgence I always enjoy while on board: a pedicure. The last time we were on the ship, it was the Vista Spa, which has now been transformed to Senses Spa. This is yet another remodeled area of the ship that benefits from the facelift. The aforementioned Vista Spa had a very spa-like look and didn’t really stand out. Senses has a very earthy feel, with lots of woods used throughout the decor, along with light blue accents that evoke thoughts of water.

As always, the pedicure was nice, enhanced by new massage chairs that really worked on you while sitting there. I thought I was going to be pushed out of the chair a time or two, with how hard the massagers in the chair were pushing.

Once back in the room, I discovered the wife fast asleep, falling victim to the perfect weather. I soon joined her in slumber and when I awoke at 3:30 in the afternoon, I felt rather refreshed.

Tapas Appetizer

Off to dinner again, we were in Lumiere’s for the evening, one of the few places to not have received an update. Dinner was ok, with Les getting the chicken breast atop orichette pasta and I ordered the monkfish with polenta, or as Leslie called it, “fist-fish”. While the fish flavor was ok, the piece of fish was the size of a small child’s fist and as a result, a bit tough to eat, unless mixed with a bit of polenta and a swirl of merlot reduction sauce. If I knew how to draw, I would have inserted an animated fist with gills and fins, swimming through the ocean.

Monk Fish (Fist Fish)

As we make our way to the port of Malaga, I’ve just finished watching the Saints lose their season opener to the Falcons in over time and the Cowboys and Niners are now on. At midnight. Too weird. Time to get some shut eye and get ready for our adventures tomorrow. I look forward to getting more pictures of the remodeled areas of the ship and sharing them here.

Toboggan Riding in Funchal

After a whirlwind finish, two days in Barcelona, a 21-hour travel day back to the States, going back to work, combined with a head cold, I’m a bit behind in my blogs to closeout the 2013 Eastbound Transatlantic cruise aboard the Disney Magic. I’ll work on them soon.

In the meantime, as promised, here is the toboggan video from Funchal, Madeira. Enjoy!

Land Ho!

It’s the end of Day 11 aboard the 2013 Disney Magic Eastbound Transatlantic cruise and we’re steaming for the port of Gibraltar. Today was the first day we’ve seen land in six days when we docked at the lovely, lovely port of Funchal, Madeira.

Since we were actually going to be arriving at a physical destination, it meant we were going to need to get up at a decent hour and go walk around on solid ground. Seeing how the previous six days in a row did not require very much effort, other than going from nap status to the bar to dinner and back to sleeping, this was going to necessitate extra effort!

I arose at about 7:30, along with the sun, which was a nice change of pace. There’s been a storm brewing in the North Atlantic for a few days now and as we began our approach to Madeira, we were seeing some of the clouds from the low pressure system, which made for a pretty sunrise.

Sunrise Over Madeira

When you pull into ports of call on cruises, you have the choice of booking an excursion through the cruise line, booking an excursion on your own, directly through a local tour operator, or just getting off the ship and venturing around the port/town on your own. While booking through the cruise line is almost always going to be more expensive, the benefit is that the cruise line will accept the responsibility of making sure you get back to the ship and won’t leave the port without you. Book on your own and miss the ship’s last whistle, it’s up to you to find a way to the next port of call in order to catch the boat.

The excursion we booked today through DCL was the History and Scenic Madeira tour. The trip started off a little rocky in a local museum, that while it looked fine, the tour operator was being rushed through the exhibit by one of the children of our fellow passengers. She was pulling the tour guide from room to room in the museum. Aren’t kids just adorable?

Any transgressions were quickly forgiven as we made our way to the coffee shop within the museum where, included with the price of the tour, we were provided with a Madeiran honey cake and coffee. The honey cake was akin to a cheese danish, but even tastier. And my espresso was the first real coffee I’ve had since being on the ship, so it was savored and very much appreciated. Side note: DCL does a really bad job with coffee. They have the Cove Cafe on board, where for an extra charge, you can get espresso-based drinks like lattes and americanos, but otherwise, the house brew tastes like it’s been filtered through an old sock. Yes, I probably am a bit of a coffee snob, but I don’t think I’m being snobbish in this instance and will have to consider bringing some Starbucks Via packets with me next cruise.

Honey Cakes and Coffee

After the delightful espresso and honey cake, our tour group walked a short distance to the cable car station for a ride to the top of one of Madeira’s many mountains. Madeira, like the Canary Islands and the Azores, were all born of volcanic activity in the Atlantic and as a result, Madeira has some of the tallest cliffs in the world.

We arrived near the top of the mountain, into low hanging clouds and a beautiful, cool drizzle of rain. Since our group was about 40 people in size and the cable cars held a maximum of six people, we had some time to kill once we reached the top and took advantage of the time with some beautiful photo ops and food from a local street vendor. I don’t know what the food was called, but it was essentially Portuguese chorizo sausage with cheese in freshly grilled dough. Think bagel dog, but not as much sausage and much, much tastier. They were served hot and garlic butter was applied to the inside before serving. It cost 2.50 Euro and was fantastic, and earned me a couple of canine friends of the stray variety.

A New Friend in Madeira

Once the group was all assembled, we ambled about the area, visiting a church and purchasing some goods from a local vendor. But the core reason for ascending the mountain was to ride in a traditional Madeiran toboggan. For the last 100 years, natives on the island have used wicker toboggans for transport down the mountain. Initially, the baskets transported goods and people, but for the past few decades, the main purpose has been to give tourists a good thrill.

Using my iPhone, I took a video of the entire six and one half minute experience, but due to the limitations of Internet bandwidth on the high seas, I’ll need to wait until we’re back home to upload the video. In a nutshell, two toboggan operators pull the cart, which seats two, down a functioning road and once enough inertia is built up, they jump on the back of the sledge, steering it around corners, as well as oncoming and passing traffic. While I thought it would be faster, the wife thought it was pretty exhilarating. Perhaps it was because if we rolled, she would have been my cushion!

As the tour wrapped up, we were treated to a Madeiran lunch of black scabbard fish. It’s a local catch that dwells in depths of approximately 1800 meters and once cleaned, it’s black skin is removed and you’re left with a tasty, white fish.

Madeiran Lunch – Black Scabbard Fish

After the tour was over, we elected for some window shopping on our own, including a visit to a local grocery store we like to patronize, where we got to see the black scabbards in person, before cleaning. Yikes!

Black Scabbard FIsh

This was our second visit to Madeira and it’s truly one of the most beautiful islands we’ve ever visited. It’s Spring here (a concept unknown to most Arizonans) and everything is in bloom. The population of the island is about 120,000 and many of them take advantage of the volcanic soil and everywhere you look, there are gardens and vineyards thriving in this lush environment. A lot of Portuguese, Spaniards and Brits visit the island for holiday and I seem to remember that even Winston Churchill enjoyed taking a break on this particular island.

Once back on board, power naps were in order before we headed down to dinner. It’s now about half past 11:00 and the low pressure system seems to have made its way further south, as the seas are quite active, apparent winds are blowing at 42 knots and the ship is a rocking. We don’t really mind the ship moving too much at night, as it’s a bit like being rocked to sleep.

Tomorrow is another sea day, where some recuperation from becoming land animals again, will be needed. And Thursday, we’ll visit the historic port of Gibraltar. As I watch the map channel, I see the Moroccan cities of Casablanca and Marrakech listed on the map and my inner Indiana Jones wishes we were making a stop for some North African bazar shopping. Perhaps another trip…

The Sudden Arrival of Autumn

It’s the start of our eighth day aboard the Disney Magic and it’s hard to believe that a week has already sailed by. It’s also the start of our fifth sea day in a row, with one more coming, before we go ashore on the lovely island of Madeira.

Each stateroom aboard the ship has a television, equipped with a variety of shows and movies to keep you entertained. Aside from a plethora of Disney Channel shows and Disney movies, you also have a selection of recently released films. The choices, depending on your taste, were a bit limited this trip, in my opinion. I’ve taken the opportunity to watch The Amazing Spiderman (not sure what the purpose of making it was – didn’t we already kill Uncle Ben?) as well as re-watching The Hobbit. Other films, such as Here Comes the Boom, the latest in the Twilight series and Pitch Perfect, didn’t quite make it onto the must watch list.

One of my favorite channels to watch while in our cabin is the map channel. It tells cruisers where we’ve been and where we’re going. On a long cruise like this, it’s a great way to gain a little perspective on just how far we’ve travelled, which, as of this morning, has been 3400 nautical miles since we departed Galveston.

 

The Map Channel!

Starting two days ago, the weather took a dramatic turn and it feels like we should be picking out jack-o-lantern patterns and getting out the Halloween decorations. When we awoke the day before yesterday, it was a gloomy, almost foggy day and remained that way throughout the early evening. As a result, the temps plunged into the mid-60s and have stayed there ever since. While it’s in contrast to what we normally experience on these cruises, I’m not complaining. We love the cool weather and are having fun being bundled up like transatlantic cruisers of yore.

Speaking of the night before last, it was time for the Pirates in the Caribbean deck party. Despite that we were no longer in the Caribbean, Disney still held it’s industry-unique extravaganza. While the dancing crew members and throbbing beats of house music are not unique to the Disney ships, once the party reaches its apex is when Disney sets itself apart, with a fireworks display. Disney is still the only cruise line that puts on a fireworks show at sea. I don’t know about you, but ever since I was a kid, I’ve always loved fireworks and Disney doesn’t disappoint. Throw in the cool temps of the North Atlantic along with a full moon, and it made for a pretty spectacular show. Now, if I could only get Can’t Touch This and Cher’s Believe out of my head, I may not have to jump overboard in order to drown these earworms…

Yesterday was my honey’s birthday and overall, I would say it was a pretty good day. It started with the present presentation, very similar to the presentation of Simba, followed by some breakfast in bed. The morning wrapped up with hanging out and reading. At 5:00, we sauntered to the Buena Vista theater where we watched Lincoln. This was my second time seeing it and Leslie’s first. I knew she would enjoy it and I liked it even more the second time.

While we were scheduled for our normal dining rotation, I managed to get some special birthday considerations and were able to get a table at Palo, the adults-only, northern Italian inspired restaurant. In speaking with our server, it turns out our ability to get a table was somewhat fortuitous; the restaurant is booked solid for the remainder of the cruise. As usual, the food was pretty fantastic and we left very satisfied. Granted, how can you go wrong with freshly made chocolate soufflé?

Gnocchi in Gorgonzola Sauce

 

Chocolate Souflee with Vanilla Sauce

After a few glasses of wine, we finished the evening back at the Buena Vista theater for a showing of Wreck It Ralph. Overall, a fun movie and creative concept, geared toward the Atari 2600 and arcade junkies of my generation.

After the movie, we retired to the cabin with our books and decided to read for a bit. As I was almost finished with the new Dan Brown book, a bit turned into 4:00am as I put Mr. Brown’s latest to rest. Overall, I thought it was MUCH better than his previous book, The Lost Symbol. Inferno  had some interesting twists and the ending was rather unique. I’m interested to hear what others think of it.

Something you can always count on when aboard a Disney cruise is the high level of service. From the castmembers at the onboard store offering to wrap Leslie’s birthday presents for free, to the servers in the dining rooms to the room attendant, they really do take good care of you. Granted, the dining room staff and room attendant are working toward a traditional gratuity that you present them with at the end of the cruise. But it feels like they really do go above and beyond. A good example is the nightly staple you receive every night when you return to your cabin from dinner. Not only has your stateroom attendant cleaned your room and turned down your bed, but they’ve also left chocolates on your pillow and created some sort of animal made from towels. A few nights ago, it was a monkey. Last night, in addition to the lobster or some other crustacean, our room attendant Cheffy went out of his way to make a tiered birthday cake, complete with multiple chocolate adornments. And yes, for all you South Park fans out there, our Jamaican stateroom attendant’s name is Chef.

Fun with Towels!

As I look toward another day at sea, I’ve got to pick out my next book to read, while looking forward to events like bingo and beer tasting. Or, I could simply grab a blanket, head out to the verandah, and grab a nap in the cool weather as puffy clouds and a deep blue horizon sail through my view.

The Great Blue Beyond

Day six is coming to an end and we are steaming across the Atlantic with fair weather and smooth seas. (knocking on wood right now.)

The unfortunate sunburn I received at Castaway Cay is still aglow, but not nearly as painful as it was two days ago. I’m not sure why my sunblock failed me so, but it’s a good thing we’re heading to Spain, since my sunburn is so uneven, it looks like something Pablo Picasso would have painted. We’ll call it his “Pink” period.

Yesterday was pretty casual and a bit of an anomaly; we didn’t wake up until 1:30 in the afternoon. I think the concept of losing an hour everyday is starting to mess with our heads. When we went to dinner at 8:15 this evening, the sun was telling me it was 3:00 in the afternoon. As of today, we were now six hours ahead of Phoenix time, which means we’re now eating dinner at 2:15 in the afternoon!

Sea Bass on Risotto

After dinner last night, we went to the Buena Vista theater to watch Iron Man 3 in 3D. Now, is it just me, or is the idea of 3D much, much, much better than the actual execution? I’m just not a fan. I find the glasses to be cumbersome and distracting and frankly, the movie didn’t have any effects that necessitated the 3D treatment. Odds are, it probably took away from my enjoyment of the film, and as a result, I left the theater thinking the film was just ok. I have bigger hopes for the new Star Trek installment, which may or may not be on the ship during our second week at sea.

Speaking of days at sea, today concluded our second of six straight days at sea, as we make our way to the Portuguese island of Madera. While the day started off with an unfortunate migraine for me, a double espresso, a cappuchino and three advil later, I was right as rain as I retired to deck four for the afternoon.

The View from Deck Four

Deck four aboard the Disney Magic (and Wonder) is an open air deck where you can lay claim to a lounge chair and read or nap as the ocean goes by. Today’s high temperature got to about 77 and blankets were actually needed as the cool ocean breeze sailed by. My honey even scoped out a DCL pullover for me as I watched the world sail by.

I’m often also asked about the longer itinerary cruises; people want to know if we get bored. Today was a perfect example of why I like to sail these longer cruises with multiple sea days. Don’t get me wrong: ports of call enable you to see some pretty fantastic places and on a cruise, your hotel room comes with you. But on a cruise like this, where 10 of the 14 days are spent at sea, it allows you to decompress.

As I sat down in my deck chair this afternoon, I spent the first half an hour just staring out at the sea and listening to the water as the ship cut through the waves. When you look up the word tranquility in the dictionary, this is it. It provides a real opportunity to reflect on everyday life and gives you insight into just how noisy your brain can be. Without really trying, I slipped into a quasi-meditative state. I enjoyed the opportunity to clear my head and not think about anything. Truly no thoughts whatsoever, except the occasional wonderment about the great blue beyond in front of me. No thoughts about politics, work, news, Facebook. Nothing.

Speaking of Facebook, in order to access the Internets at sea, you do so via a satellite connection, which reminds of the days of listening to the AOL dial-up tone. In other words, if there were a carrier pigeon version of Internet access, this would be it. However, it does provide an avenue in which to communicate with the homestead and check on the dogs, as well as post the occasional travel blog. And while Facebook is somewhat accessible, when an Internet package costs $150 for 500 minutes, it becomes much less of a priority. Which is nice, because it allows you to actually realize how much time you spend on Zuckerberg’s gigantic time suck and how it takes time away from doing the things you truly value doing. Like napping. And reading. I finished Stephen King’s latest opus, 11/22/63 and am already 1/4 the way through the new Dan Brown book, Inferno. Hell, I’m even starting to think about what I’ll read next.

Granted, I don’t know if parents who have children also have this zen-like experience, but we do and we’re glad for it. The rest, relaxation and recharge is worth every penny. Now, I need to find a way to bottle the sounds of the ocean, the sweet smell of the clean air and the cool ocean breeze and bring it back with me to Arizona.

As we just finished dinner, I’ll leave you tonight with some commentary on the food. Clearly, I’m not an authority on breakfast, with how late we’ve been rolling out of bed. Dinners have been quite nice. Tonight, I enjoyed a mushroom risotto and Les had a phyllo wrapped salmon, which was unexpectedly tasty. Lunches on the other hand have been pretty disappointing. If you make it to one of the restaurants for lunch, it’s clear that the same amount of focus and effort isn’t put forth as it is with dinner. So as a result, you often end up on deck nine where you’re relegated to pizza, chicken fingers and french fries. While we don’t tend to eat junk food like this much anymore, it’s a bit of a treat at first, but quickly wears on the palate. When we sailed on the Disney Fantasy last year, they had made tremendous efforts and strides in the food department, especially when it came to the buffet, Cabanas. I would think that the VP or SVP in charge of DCL food would have say over the food service on all the ships. If so, there are some serious gaps on this ship that should be addressed. Now, you’ll have to excuse me as I waddle off for another serving of dessert! Talk to you in a few days.

Ice Cream Sundae with a Chocolate Mickey

A Day Full of Plans and a Day at the Beach

Before we start tonight’s entry, just a quick word about the awful events in Oklahoma. We saw the newscasts yesterday and today and can’t believe the devastation. Of course, our thoughts are with those affected and hopefully, you and your loved ones are safe.

Yesterday was our second full day at sea and DCL does a great job of making a lot of activities available so you don’t get bored. And when aboard, it’s easy to get into a pattern. Get up and shower. Go have breakfast. Do some stuff. Have lunch. Do more stuff. Get cleaned up again and go to the show at 6:00 and then dinner at 8:15. While we don’t always adhere to this kind of schedule, a lot of people do. We tend to look over the coming day’s activities the night before and make our plans.

Yesterday was no different and as a result, we had a number of things lined up: wine tasting at 12:00; watching Lincoln at 1:00; and beer tasting at 4:00. We accomplished exactly none of those things. Once we got up about 10:30, we ordered room service breakfast and then made our way to deck four where we staked out a couple of deck chairs and read and napped. For about six hours. We begrudgingly made our way back to the stateroom in time to get cleaned up and go to dinner. It’s important to stick to a schedule.

As we were getting ready for dinner, we noticed the ship came to a complete stop off the coast of Grand Bahama, along with a number of other sea faring vessels. Included amongst these ships, off in the distance in dry dock, was the Carnival Triumph, or perhaps as many of you know it, the poop ship. I imagine it’s getting a good scrub down in the Bahamas.

 

Refueling Barge

Turns out, we were anchored for a refueling stop before making our way to Disney’s island paradise, Castaway Cay. The process of a cruise ship refueling while in the ocean is quite fascinating. After some time, we were approached by a fuel barge, which is essentially a football field size platform that sits upon a giant tank of fuel. It pulls up alongside the ship, connects the hoses and pumps fuel from it’s tanks into the tanks of the ship. It was an interesting, yet disconcerting process to watch, as it didn’t seem like the crews of both vessels were having the easiest time making a connection. We watched for hours as the crews searched for different ways they could make this love connection work. After about four hours and the clock eclipsing 1:00am, we decided to call it a night and wished them luck.

The next morning, we awoke to the ship once again being docked, but now, no longer next to a fuel barge, but at Castaway Cay. This Bahamanian paradise offers a nice break from the kids on the ship, as we can escape to the adults only beach of Serenity Bay. Last year, even though it’s a Disney island, some of the women on the beach decided for more of a European approach to sun bathing and I was wondering if that would be the case this year.

However, before we even left the cabin, the wife encountered a bathing suit emergency that luckily happened in the room vs. on the beach, or she would have treated our fellow beach goers with her own version of a European sun bathing experience. So after a slight delay due to wardrobe malfunction and some sewing on the wife’s part, we were good to go and made our way to the island.

This was one of those picture perfect days that we dream about. The temperature maybe, maybe got into the low 80s as dark skies and thunderstorms swirled around in the distance, providing a nice break from the sun, along with a cool breeze. Low tide was also happening and as a result, sand bars that we normally don’t see, appeared and provided for a nice retreat well off into the bay.

All-in-all, time on the island is always too brief and once 3:00 rolled around, it was time to gather our belongings and begin the trek back to the ship. Despite having liberally applied sunscreen on earlier in the afternoon, once I emerged from the water, I knew I was in trouble. Once we got back to the ship, my suspicions were confirmed and my torso is now the color of a lobster. It will make for a few uncomfortable and very warm days ahead. Luckily, I don’t have a lot to do.

Storm Clouds at Castaway Cay

After being distracted by a couple of the crew, dressed as Chip and Dale, playing air guitar to Smells Like Teen Spirit, and having a “Do I feel old” moment, we were invited to attend a sail away get together by some of our friends also sailing on this cruise.

If you’ve ever cruised before, or perhaps even watched Titanic, you probably know there are different categories of staterooms that you can book. Luckily, steerage class is a thing of the past. We always try to book an outside stateroom with a verandah. It provides you with your own little patio from which you can watch the world pass by. But just like Titanic (it makes my wife nervous when we’re sailing and I mention Titanic so often), there are high end accommodations for the well-to-do. Aboard the Disney Magic, the creme de la creme are the Walt and Roy Disney suites. By way of comparison, our stateroom is roughly 325 square feet; our friends are staying in the Roy suite, which is approximately 1200 square feet, give or take. They have a bathroom that is roughly the size of our stateroom and it provided for a Ferris Bueller moment: if you have the means, I highly recommend it.

It’s now 11:00pm and we have seen the last land we are going to see for six days. Also, travelling eastbound in this manner means we will lose an hour every night. What kind of sadistic person books a vacation where you actually lose time??

As I’m certain you can guess, we don’t have a lot planned for tomorrow. There is an Around the World wine tasting happening at 12:30. Is that too early for catching a buzz on some vino? Or is it ok, because it’s 5:00 somewhere? I also plan to finish the current book I’m reading, Stephen King’s 11/22/63, so I can start my next one, the new Dan Brown book, Inferno. Wish me luck!

Our Chairs at Castaway Cay

The Continuing Voyages of Ed and Leslie…

We’re off! It’s Sunday evening and your intrepid travelers are aboard the Disney Magic, currently steaming through the Gulf of Mexico at 22 knots on our way to the Bahamas and Castaway Cay.

Our day started the day before yesterday when we arrived in Galveston, Texas, in order to meet the ship. Flights from the west coast being what they are, we had to come in the day before and grab a room at the Hotel Galvez, which is purportedly haunted.

Before settling in for the night, we headed to a local eatery called “The Gumbo Bar”. Our love of New Orleans cuisine just could not allow us to pass this opportunity up. Like they say, everything is bigger in Texas and this goes for their bowls of gumbo as well. We chose the small swimming pool size and had them split it between two bowls as we enjoyed that and a shrimp and oyster poboy. Overall, it wasn’t New Orleans, but it was respectable. The roux was nice and dark, albeit, a little flour-y.

After dinner, we ended up on the beach for a midnight stroll, listening to the waves from the Gulf of Mexico lap at the sand. It was time to turn in, as we had a big day ahead of us, as well as a little light ghost hunting to do before bed.

I have yet to look at my pictures, but alas, I think the spookiest thing I saw on the fifth floor of the Hotel Galvez during my amateur ghost hunting was a hotel manager attempting to deliver a bucket of ice to a room where there was no answer. I would like to think that since I was armed with a camera, the ice-ordering ghost inside the room spared the manager a grizzly death and I was the hero of the night. That, or they fell asleep waiting for their ice. One or the other.

Hotel Galvez

The next morning, we got all packed up and met our fellow cruisers in the lobby and awaited our transport to the cruise terminal. As we waited, we were regaled with cruise instructions and tales by Iris, a Disney Cruise Line (DCL) representative. Iris was, shall we say, a tad eccentric and probably not the best cruise psyching representative. She went out of her way to tell you that she wasn’t going to tell you how to spend your money, but since we are going to Gibraltar, since the ship parks right next to the rock, you really shouldn’t spend any money to see it, since you can see it from your room. Having personally hiked down the rock of Gibraltar a few years ago, I can assure you, looking at it from your room is not the same thing.

In case that wasn’t enough for the kids in the audience, Iris advised if we should go up the rock anyway, that the monkeys from Gibraltar will steal anything you have and you should leave all your belongings on the ship, telling us about the time when she left her wedding band behind, since the monkeys are attracted to shiny things. Having witnessed the Barbary Apes on our previous trip, it is true that they will snake a Luna bar faster than you can say Richard Simmons, but I’m not so sure about the attraction to shiny things. I was waiting for Iris to go the extra mile and tell us how the apes are evil and will steal our souls. Instead, she once again told us that while she didn’t want to tell us how to spend our money, we should avoid the Internet while on board, because it costs $1.00/minute and really, “…you’re on vacation. What happens if you get an email in the middle of the Atlantic? You’re not going to be able to make the funeral anyway, so why worry about it?” And thank you for sailing Disney Cruise Line: the cruise line that takes you away from ALL your burdensome funeral needs…

Before boarding the ship, we stopped by the local liquor store, where we met Bailey’s and Bo, the official liquor store Corgis, and we stocked up on about six bottles of wine to bring with us, as wine on board goes for a bit of a premium. As we passed through security and had our small carry-on x-rayed, the security officer looked at my wife and asked her if it was her bag. When she responded it was, a smile emerged on his face as he said with a south Texas drawl, “You’re gonna get SO drunk.” I didn’t think we were bringing that much hooch aboard…

 

Palo Brunch

Day One on board is now winding down. We attended brunch this morning at Palo, an adults-only restaurant, where we enjoyed some lovely fare, including the best eggs Julia I think I’ve ever had. The rest of the day was spent napping as a cool sea breeze buffeted the ship. We have formal night tonight and just the thought of putting on a shirt and tie while on vacation is distressing. I might see what I can do to get out of it…