My kids with Olaf on Castaway Cay!
When my son asked me to go to Atlantis for his February break, I sat down with him and figured out that the Atlantis Resorts commercials had gotten to him.
We are a Disney family… so I said, “How about a Disney Cruise?”
I went online and searched the dates and I was able to book a Concierge Level Suite for a third of the price of the high season – which was coming in at over $10,000 for the same room – leaving on the day we got back into Port Canaveral February 17th. I jumped on the chance! For a little bit more than an average stateroom. I decided to try sailing with this special service aboard the Disney Magic.
A few days later, I received an email from Disney’s Shore Side concierge services saying that there is a dedicated line for me to call one of their four specialists if we needed anything. I took advantage of this number because we decided that we would invest the $499 for the private family beach cabana after our Castaway Cay experience on the Dream was less than wonderful.
Unfortunately, during our stop at Castaway Cay when we sailed on the Dream in November 2011, was not fun at all. There were rude passengers fighting over beach chairs and umbrellas—we weren’t having it this time around. I did in fact book that cruise thought DVC and had a beautiful oversize family stateroom on Deck 8.
Not only did Shore Side Concierge put a reminder in their calendar to book that family cabana for me, they asked me which one I wanted and proceeded to help me choose the perfect one. Their only reminder to me was to pay my balance by October 16 so that the cabana reservation went through.
Check in
Concierge level check-in was amazing. There was a dedicated area for this service at Port Canaveral and once we checked -in, we were escorted right onto the ship within 15 minutes of arriving. We arrived at 11:20 a.m. at curbside check in. Through security and concierge check in and on the ship at 11:45 a.m. and whisked into a private lounge with drinks and snacks to meet our personal concierge for the cruise. There are only 22 rooms on the Disney Magic that have concierge level service and there are two concierge stewards available to you anytime you need something. They asked if we wanted to wake up with coffee, juice and fruit every morning while we were getting ready for breakfast. I decided that would be nice!
Aqua Dunk
Before the awesome sail away party, I decided to test my fate on the new Aqua Dunk. My husband and son went before me. It’s a little strange. A mom in line before me told me about the burn marks she got on her second attempt. You get into this clear compartment container that almost resembles a casket, the attendant asks you to cross your arms and legs and hold your watch in your hand if you are wearing one. Then, you hear the voices of Huey, Duey and Louie count, 3, 2, 1. Before you know it the platform underneath you drops and it felt like you are being flushed down a toilet. This isn’t a slide that travels around the ship like I thought, but an 8 second crazy dark drop that left me with a major bathing suit wedgie and being laughed at by an entire family at the end where my husband was waiting for me. This is more for kids!
Re-Imagined Oceaneers’ Club
My kids really enjoyed the new play rooms including the Marvel’s Avengers Academy, Pixie Hollow, Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, and Andy’s Room. My son couldn’t wait to go to the clubs! Everything was very clean and the crew took the best precautions in keeping hands clean. Not only was this true for the kids club, where alcohol-based hand wipes were provided at the Oceaneers’ club, but before and after every meal as well.
Private Cabana at Castaway Cay
Castaway Cay day was awesome and our best day to say the least. The night before, we were given our cabana instructions from our Concierge, along with a model of a cabana for the kids to assemble. The next morning we headed to the breakfast at Cabanas on the ship and headed off onto the island. We were greeted by a new Olaf from FROZEN display by the post office and posed for a few family photos.
We took the tram over to the second stop and grabbed a wagon for the kids, our snorkel and fins that were included in the price (bikes, floats and tubes were also included) and made our way to cabana #10. Our concierge greeted us and we ran right into the bay! We had a special “need anything” button we could press inside the cabana, which was stocked with water, soda, fruit and chips…all re-stockable. After a morning of playing in the water and a bike ride with my son, we headed over to the barbeque buffet and brought our food back to eat in private. We enjoyed the afternoon and headed back to the ship for our last night! Renting the cabana was definitely worth it! No crowds and excellent treatment!
After this wonderful cruise on Disney Magic, I came home and started to book another! Traveling on a concierge level will make anyone never want to go back to any other way on DCL. I will always look for the off-season price again! Totally worth it! My husband did not believe me when I told him how much the room goes for at different times of the year. We were also lucky enough to stay for two days prior at the new Villas at the Grand Floridian and top off the trip at Bay Lake Tower!
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