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Disney Cruise Line completes improvements to Magic

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Disney Cruise Line completes improvements to Magic

By Tom Stieghorst
AquaDunkDisney Cruise Line has returned the Disney Magic to service after a two-week drydock to overhaul the 15-year-old ship. Pools, restaurants, night spots and children’s play areas were updated.

Disney wouldn’t reveal the cost of the improvements, but said it was a substantial amount.

Probably the biggest change was in the pool deck, where a more intimidating water slide called Aqua Dunk was added. The slide requires a climb through a funnel to get to a chamber that connects to a tube looping out over the ship’s side. The floor of the chamber drops away, plunging the rider into a near vertical fall for the first few seconds.

Along with the new slide, Disney shrank the space for Micky’s Pool, giving it over to the Aqua Lab splash area found on the Dream and Fantasy, and the Twist n’ Spout water slide.

The children’s play areas in the Oceaneering Club were also redesigned, with a big two-story slide being the new highlight of Andy’s Room from the “Toy Story” film.

Another change was the elimination of Parrot’s Cay, one of three rotational restaurants unique to Disney ships. Its space has been remade into Carioca, a Brazilian-themed room with colorful contemporary chandeliers and a pan-Latin menu.

The iconic Animator’s Palette restaurant was outfitted with new light, sound and video technology and is playing a new show, “Drawn to Magic,” that is a personal favorite of Disney Cruise Line president Karl Holz.

“It’s a very touching, heartfelt experience that surprised us,” Holz said.

Elsewhere, the adults-only nightclub section of the ship has been renamed After Hours (formerly Beat Street) and given a more contemporary silver-and-black design.

Topsiders Buffet has been renamed Cabanas, and has expanded by 725 square feet so it doesn’t feel so crowded.

In the salon, a two-chair barber shop has been carved out for men’s haircuts and shaves.

Disney Magic, the line’s original ship, will be doing three-, four- and five-day cruises from Miami to the Bahamas and Caribbean through the end of the year, before shifting in January to Port Canaveral for three- and four-day Bahamas cruises, and later moving to the Mediterranean for cruises between Barcelona and Venice.

Good Day, Carnival Sunshine

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Good Day, Carnival Sunshine

September 28, 2013After a $155 million makeover, Carnival Destiny transforms into a dramatically different ship — Carnival SunshineBy: Marilyn Green

Sunshine features a WaterWorks water park with three slides. // © 2013 Carnival Cruise Lines

Sunshine features a WaterWorks water park with three slides.

Carnival Cruise Lines’ recent extreme transformation of Carnival Destiny into Carnival Sunshine has left the ship feeling much more like Carnival Magic and Carnival Breeze. The 3,006-passenger vessel’s $155 million makeover changed not just the ship itself but the spirit of the cruise experience.

Entertainment is served in short, snappy sessions, with three polished production shows in the Palladium Show Lounge. Fast-paced comedy shows take place in the Punchliner Comedy Club, featuring up-and-coming talent brought in by comedian George Lopez.

The intense, fast entertainment pairs well with the dozens of food and drink possibilities that include a wonderful burrito bar, uber-burgers contrived by Guy Fieri of Food Network fame, a 24-hour pizza bar serving made-to-order choices and Carnival’s own Red Frog beer.

Bonsai Sushi, which also has a home on Magic and Breeze, features top-notch combination dishes, and the Asian eatery, JiJi, appearing for the first time on Carnival is a home run. At JiJi, each table has a designated “director” who helps diners navigate through Pan-Asian appetizers, main dishes and sides. A steal at $12, the food is excellent, abundant and served to be shared. The presentation is gorgeous and, with selections from vegetarian to pork and beef, there’s something for any taste. JiJi and Cucina del Capitano, a new Italian restaurant, had ample seating and breakfast offerings. So even when the buffet filled up, there was plenty of space for a quiet meal.

Less quiet is the Punchliner Comedy Brunch on days at sea. It’s a rough ride for the comedians, who have to perform over hungry and sometimes hungover guests. There was a lot of unplanned laughter as passengers tried to explain to their international servers what some of the jokes meant.

The overall atmosphere of Sunshine has a decidedly Caribbean flavor, from the tequilas at Blue Iguana to the rums at the Red Frog. The tropical touch is echoed in the public area and stateroom decor. Like Magic and Breeze, Sunshine has become more subtle in color than Destiny’s former flamboyant Joe Farcus designs.

There’s nothing restrained about the new WaterWorks water park, however. Its three adrenaline-rush water slides have excited cruisers lining up to conquer the 334-foot-long Twister. They shrieked all the way down the water slide, and bystanders cheered those trying out the dual racing slides. A gentle water play area caters to the younger cruisers, who squeal and scatter under the 150-gallon dump bucket. Above the ship, the suspended ropes course had plenty of participants.

At the opposite end of the the ship is Serenity, the complimentary adult retreat with a pool, a whirlpool and seductive, cushioned chaise lounges and chairs. Tell your clients to try to capture one of the circular two-person lounges. I’m a sucker for the sight and sound of a waterfall, and Serenity has a beautiful one with fabulous views.

In the evenings, popular movies are shown on the poolside 270-square-foot, high-tech LED screen. Movies at the Seaside Theatre were very popular with teens on our cruise. Alternatively, Sunshine’s Liquid Lounge nightclub rocks well into the night. It’s great fun for all, except for the cruisers in the staterooms just above the club on Deck 6 who complained abut the heavy bass.

All these activities mean that passengers are spread out, and there is no feeling of overcrowding even though Carnival added 182 staterooms to Sunshine. The clever and flexible use of space sends guests throughout the ship for meals, relaxation and entertainment. There were so many different things happening all over the ship that there were no long lines.

Sunshine sails in November from Europe to New Orleans, where she will offer weeklong roundtrip itineraries until April. She will then join Carnival Liberty in cruising from Port Canaveral on five-, seven- and eight-day Bahamas and Caribbean cruises.

Disney Magic cruise cancelled to complete renovations

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Disney Magic cruise cancelled to complete renovations

By Tom Stieghorst
Disney Cruise Line has cancelled a sailing of the Disney Magic in order to complete extensive renovations to the 15-year old ship.

The five-day cruise was scheduled to depart Miami Oct. 20, but bad weather during a transatlantic crossing from Spain made it impossible for workers on-board to finish needed refurbishment work on time. The ship had been undergoing renovations in dry dock in Spain following its Mediterranean season.

Passengers booked on the cruise will get a full refund and a complimentary Disney Magic sailing between now and May 16. Airline change fees will also be covered.

Alternately, they can opt for a 35% discount on a Bahamas or Caribbean cruise anytime in the next two years, excluding holiday dates.

The Disney Magic is getting new restaurants, children’s play areas, water slides and other features, along with a complete overhaul of furnishings, fixtures and colour schemes.

Disney Magic renovation aims for ‘something for everybody’

By Tom Stieghorst
Disney Magic AquaDunk renderingGALVESTON, Texas — The 15-year-old Disney Magic will get new water features and more exciting slides in a September refurbishment that will be the biggest in the ship’s history.

The tone is set by the AquaDunk, a thrill slide in which riders step into a chamber, a door closes, the bottom falls out, and a plunge of 40 feet ensues before riders loop out over the ocean in an enclosed tube.

Also new will be “Twist N’ Spout,” which Disney executives describe as a family slide.

It will replace the tamer slide that goes into the Mickey Pool, which will be reborn as AquaLab after the renovations.

The general idea is to make the pool and water areas on the Disney Magic less age-specific, said Joe Lanzisero, senior creative vice president at Walt Disney Imagineering.

Lanzisero, the ship’s chief designer, led a preview tour of upgrades for a handful of journalists during a recent turnaround, using iPads to display renderings of the new features.

He said families on Disney ships prefer to stay together rather than be broken up into smaller units (although the Quiet Cove pool remains adults-only).

“We think now, between the family slide, the AquaLab, the thrill slide, that there should be something for everybody out there,” Lanzisero said.

Disney Magic Andys Room renderingCurrently sailing from Galveston, the Disney Magic will spend the summer in the Mediterranean before its six-week drydock in Cadiz, Spain. Afterward, it will head to Miami to replace the Disney Wonder for the rest of 2013.

The pool deck will get the most noticeable makeover, but Disney is making changes throughout the ship to freshen it, change the predominant color scheme and replace some of the more dated concepts.

One area in need of an update, Lanzisero said, is the casual restaurant now called Parrot Cay, which has a quasi-tiki design. Under its new name, Carioca’s, it will get a more contemporary and “timeless” look, he said.

The children’s play areas will be redone, in part to accommodate Disney’s $4 billion acquisition of Marvel Entertainment, whose stable of superheroes, including the Avengers, will be represented for the first time at sea on the Disney Magic, Lanzisero said.

“We definitely wanted to do something with Marvel, especially for boys,” Lanzisero said.

Disney Magic Cabanas renderingAnother big change will be additional space for Topsider, the upper-deck buffet restaurant, which will gain seats by enclosing some walkways and adjacent exterior deck areas. It will be rechristened Cabanas, given an Australian beach theme and have serving stations rather than cafeteria-style lines.

Two areas that won’t change much are Animator’s Palette and the adult restaurant Palo’s, which are both so popular that Disney plans to leave them essentially as they are.

The Magic will keep its art deco design elements but have a lighter, more aquatic color scheme.

The pool changes include building stairs beside the ship’s forward funnel to access the AquaDunk, a follow-on to the bigger AquaDuck water coaster developed for the Disney Dream and Fantasy.

The Disney Magic’s pool changes will also include adding waterplay features from newer Disney ships, such as bucket dumps and, for children under 3, an interactive Nephew’s Splash Zone with pop jets and bubblers similar to Nemo’s Reef on the Disney Dream.