Disney Cruise Line Caribbean Cruise - Part 1
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The bow of the Disney Magic (model size only!)
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Setting Sail For Uncharted Magic
Nearly four years ago, the Disney Magic set sail on its inaugural cruise from its new home of Port Canaveral, Florida. Advanced sales had broken every record that existed in the cruise liner industry and had allowed Walt Disney World to order a sister ship immediately with the blessing of Michael Eisner who had championed a cruise liner for many years. In summer 2000, Disney Magic departed Florida for its first seven day cruise via Nassau, St. Thomas, St. Maarten and Castaway Cay on the eastern Caribbean adventure. The success of this first week-long excursion allowed the company to consider other options which led to the announcement that the Disney Magic would be diversifying its seven day cruises to alternately take in the western Caribbean with the existing cruise. The debut sailing was to be launched on May 11 2002.
Despite my love for Disney vacation experiences, I had never had any inclination to spend time on the Disney Cruise Line ("DCL"). In the U.K., the cruise industry has a very specific public persona, attracting middle age to elderly couples with significant disposal incomes that cannot be dragged away from the free buffets without kicking and screaming. As an individual who cannot sit still for more than three consecutive seconds, I was not keen to spend my vacation time cooped up with these cruisers. However, at every turn, friends and fellow Disney enthusiasts tried to convince me otherwise, stating that the DCL was a fantastic experience and would destroy all pre-conceptions of the cruise liner industry. The announcement of a new 7-day cruise via Mexico wet our appetites for this new Disney vacation experience. We relented and made a reservation through MouseEarVacations.com and their knowledgeable travel agent Beci who assisted us at every turn, even booking an outside stateroom with veranda on a quiet section of the ship, but one that happened to also be in the heart of the ship’s restaurants and entertainment areas. In the meantime, we had both the Grand Opening of the Walt Disney Studios Paris and the supremely faultless Celebration of Walt Disney Art Classics Convention at the Disneyland Resort. We barely had a chance to catch our breath after returning from Anaheim before we had to finish making plans for the cruise.
Our knowledge of the DCL was so limited, that neither Lindsay nor myself could create any preconceptions or expectations of the Disney Magic. However, the excitement of our impending vacation finally washed over us as we arrived at Port Canaveral and saw the sheer beauty of the Magic for the first time. The sight of this majestic Art Deco-inspired vessel resting in the crystal blue waters of the Atlantic was breath taking. Throughout the hour-long coach ride from Walt Disney World, we had been shown a comprehensive video of the ship that caused a significant overload of new information for me.
The coach dropped us off at the DCL terminal, a piece of neo Art Deco architecture with its four storey glass atrium and vast halls, reminiscent of the cruise liner terminals of the 1920s when ships such as the Titanic and Queen Mary set sail from Southampton, England for the United States. Luckily, our luggage had been taken by a separate vehicle at Walt Disney World and would be out of our sight until we arrived at our stateroom. We ascended the escalators in the atrium with our hand luggage, into the vast Departure Hall with its huge vaulted ceiling and gigantic porthole at the end that looked directly out onto the Magic.
The entrance rotunda of the Port Canaveral terminal
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The elaborate architecture and plussing of the terminal
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