Trip Log Day 5: 5-Night Bahamian Cruise on Disney Magic – Castaway Cay

Trip log, day five. Castaway Cay.
5-Night Bahamian Cruise on Disney Magic
June 3, 2025

Guests Ashore: 7:30 am Guests Onboard: 3:30 pm
Personal Navigator

The weather forecast for today was not promising, but it was quite pleasant on deck in the early morning as the Disney Magic was arriving at Castaway Cay.

Emily headed off to the gym and I headed out to find a quiet spot. The humidity was much lower as we were further north which made the deck 4 loungers an ideal spot to get some work done before heading ashore. If you have been following along, you may notice there is not much mentioned when it comes to breakfast. This is not an omission; Emily & I have been intermittent fasting for the last couple of years which based on the window of time we’ve selected spans lunch and dinner. Yes, even on a cruise we stick to this routine, just as Emily continues to workout daily. So, outside of coffee, I really do not make my way around to Cabanas or the sit down breakfast, which on the Magic is in Lumiere’s. Our daughter may grab something light or on those special days (like churro Mickey waffles) but other than that, breakfast is not on our radar. We also schedule Palo brunch at Noon for this reason. Sorry for that tangent, but I felt like it was important to share why there is a consistent lack of breakfast commentary in these trip log entries.

Today we had a side mission to accomplish – more graduation photos, which we started onboard in one of Isabelle’s favorite indoor spots, the often quiet and relaxing portholes in After Hours.

We proceeded ashore stopping at a number of iconic spots for more photos.

I highly recommend not paying for professional graduation photos and put that money towards a cruise where you can take photos in random spots totally unrelated to the respective school. I’m glad she came up with this idea last year. Totally unique!

The guest traffic on the island was light, so we ducked into She Sells Sea Shells …and everything else to look at the current merchandise offering. I really wish merchandising would add a polo similar to Lookout Cay shirt. It has been many cruises since we have purchased merchandise on the island.

The weather likely played a role, but after 9am, as we walked past the family beach there were plenty of spots available. The lower crowd level is one of the many benefits of sailing on the Magic class – lots of space to enjoy at Castaway Cay and Lookout Point. Honestly, this applies to any port of call, especially in Alaska and Europe. A couple of years ago when we sailed to Greece on the Dream, it was a noticeable difference ashore compared to previous European sailings on the Disney Magic. I am really glad to hear the new ship class is focusing on the smaller ships (~20% larger than the Disney Magic and smaller than the Dream and Wish classes) not larger. That is not a dig on the Disney Adventure, as that is something completely different at this point.

We made it to our spot for the day; the group is hanging out in two adjacent cabanas today. The sun is still missing, but at least it is not raining. Most of the morning was spent hanging out and relaxing with a lovely view of the Magic.

The one thing about intermittent fasting is I’m often craving food by the noon hour. I was once again let down by the offerings, which is similar to the way I felt the other day at Lookout when we felt the overall quality, flavor and offerings took a step back from previous lunches.

It appears there have been an Avenger eating at Cookies…

After lunch we had a big sporting event planned, the Inaugural Cabana Wind-up Crab Race with an actual real crab in attendance as the honorary starter.

What started out on shaky footing ended up being a fun little event. Originally, we planned to race the crabs on the sand, but I failed to evaluate the limitations of the wind-up crabs, which just don’t move across the sand like I envisioned. Race organizers quickly pivoted to racing across the table, with the first crab to fall off the opposite side the winner of each sprint.

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The weather was still meh with some intermittent sprinkles here and there, but still not enough to chase anyone away.

We eventually started to head back to the ship, and we spotted a unicorn. The Castaway Cay Post Office was OPEN. I am not exaggerating. I have never been inside the post office as it has always been closed during my 31 prior visits to Castaway Cay. Now I am sure this Post Office is open more right? With over 4800 calls to date for the fleet, I am sure my 1 in 32 is simply an anomaly right? Let me know in the comments what your experience has been with the post office.

Now, there may very well be a good reason the Post Office remains a randomly open/closed venue at Castaway Cay. However, let me offer an alternative that would generate much more income for The Bahamas as well as the cruise line… Over at Lookout Cay, just after you reach the land from the pier and before you board the tram, there is a beverage station called Mangroves and Go. Why not convert the Castaway Cay Post Office into a food and beverage venue offering cold beverages and maybe even coffee for early arrivals. I know that Isabelle was looking to get a coffee on the island, only to find out there was not longer any available (the coffee machine was broken). I, for one, would regularly stop to buy an adult beverage to enjoy as I casually walked to a spot on the beach. Heck, I am sure folks returning from port adventures at Marges Barges or guests waiting for photos in the area would love an opportunity to purchase a frosty drink. Seems like a WIN-WIN-WIN for The Bahamas via at VAT, cruise line with F&B sales, and guests enjoying a libation.

I digress, back onboard we made our way back to our stateroom. As we were ascending the midship stairs, I was pleased to see the doors open on deck 6 providing a glimpse of the awesome mural.

The elevator murals titled “Up and About” were created by Steven Guarnaccia span from deck 6 to 8.

Additionally, there are two more tucked away in the elevator shaft featuring crew member climbing a rope ladder are visible while riding the elevator.

There is a high likelihood if this were available from art on demand (which for some reason is not offered on the Magic and the Vista Gallery – really an afterthought) I would probably order a poster size to hang in my office. I guess they close these doors too so guests don’t get a reminder of what cruising used to be like.

Once we were showered and ready for dinner, we made our way to Tammy and Misty’s stateroom at 4PM for hot tea & scones.

Tonight we dined in Animator’s Palate with the standard menu.

As for the dinner shows across the fleet, the original Animator’s Palate show remains my favorite. It is simple while also subtle during three quarters of the seating culminating with a magical ending that does not intrude on the majority of the dinner service or atmosphere. With our final dinner under our belts, we are grateful for our serving team who did an amazing job with our larger group throughout the sailing.

Due to event scheduling, tonight’s trivia was moved to O’Gills, which was feeling the constrain of the space. As for the trivia, the songs are now outside of my wheelhouse, but I did recognize a few during 2010s Music trivia.

To end the night and the cruise on a high note, we all stayed in O’Gills. We played the guessing game that started on our first day on board. On day 1, we all wrote down two little-known facts about ourselves. I wasn’t sure how this would go, but it was hilarious! Some people wrote really interesting facts, while others knew the assignment and came up with funny, but true, little-known facts that made people question each other. It was such a great idea that was beyond hilarious.

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” data-image-caption data-medium-file=”https://disneycruiselineblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/Magic-OGills-Group-Fun-Facts-Game-20250603-500×333.jpg” data-large-file=”https://disneycruiselineblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/Magic-OGills-Group-Fun-Facts-Game-20250603-1024×683.jpg” src=”https://disneycruiselineblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/Magic-OGills-Group-Fun-Facts-Game-20250603-1024×683.jpg” alt=”Magic O’Gills Group Fun Facts Game” class=”wp-image-73502″ srcset=”https://disneycruiselineblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/Magic-OGills-Group-Fun-Facts-Game-20250603-1024×683.jpg 1024w, https://disneycruiselineblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/Magic-OGills-Group-Fun-Facts-Game-20250603-500×333.jpg 500w, https://disneycruiselineblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/Magic-OGills-Group-Fun-Facts-Game-20250603-768×512.jpg 768w, https://disneycruiselineblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/Magic-OGills-Group-Fun-Facts-Game-20250603.jpg 1200w” sizes=”auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px”>“faces blurred to protect the innocent”

The Encanto puzzle is back along with all the other games in O’Gills which more and more were opened up during this sailing.

It was time to retire to stateroom to pack up. We are returning mid-week so we are doing express walkout tomorrow allowing us to arrive home early and be productive members of society for a full day.

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Trip Log Day 6: 5-Night Bahamian Cruise on Disney Magic – Port Canaveral – June 4, 2025

Trip log, day six. Disembarkation day at Port Canaveral.
5-Night Bahamian Cruise on Disney Magic
June 4, 2025

As I just mentioned, we are doing express walk-off which occurred shortly after 7AM. The new facial recognition at customs and border control really speeds up the disembarkation process.

As part of the express walk-off, we did take our suitcases off the ship ourselves which is also nice on the final night not having to rush to pack – frees up the evening a bit. Anyway, we were on the road headed back to Central Florida by 7:45AM.

The Disney Magic remains my favorite ship with the Disney Wonder an extremely close second. We have history on these ships, but the small size of the ships really made a huge difference and I am glad to see the plan is to build 3 new ships only about ~20% larger. Personally, I hope they change course from the Wish Class and build an updated classic ocean liner on the inside – a modern day classic like they accomplished in 1998 and 1999 with the Magic & Wonder.

During this cruise, I tried to utilize the app a little more than usual, but still I prefer the paper printout that I pick up each morning from Guest Services. There are however a few things the app does really well and the biggest feature is the ability to see future events or when a specific event will be repeated later in the voyage. This helps when prioritizing events on our daily schedule.

There are a few things that the app could use, primarily with text search. Say I want to see times for Silent DJ. Currently, you must find it listed in the daily schedule, then click on schedule to see times. A quick text search for “DJ” and a click would take me right to the entry. The idea here is to offer guests an option to get quick access to information.

In terms of more financially beneficial Navigator App enhancements, I will start with ones that can drive revenue. First and foremost, mobile ordering at various venue such as Cove Café or room service. Using the app to order room service and offering a number of extras such as specialty drinks or bottle of beer or wine may generate some extra orders due to the easy of ordering. Then there is mobile ordering on the upper decks for beverage service akin to Virgin Voyages ‘Shake for Champagne,’ where you shake your phone and a server arrives with a glass of bubbly – in Disney’s case, it could be the drink of the day or your individual preference.

It may just be me, but hearing guest announcements over the PA is not always easy to understand. The Navigator App could really be useful with the addition of an audio replay, transcript, or summary of the last public announcement broadcast across the ship. For example, the one day when I was sitting out on the pool deck, I could hear the captain then cruise director speaking over in my right ear, but in my left ear facing Funnel Vision, I heard the audio from the current movie.

Last but not least, the removal of Guest Services chat is noticeable. I would surmise there is a logbook of reasons guests choose to visit Guest Services. While some do require an in person visit, general questions could be answered via chat even with an AI bot offering basic replies such as what gangway is current open. This is something that Royal Caribbean utilizes and works very well. Offloading simple answers via timely chat can only help reduce the lines. Then, maybe even offer a fastpass option to skip the line if the crew member on the other end of the chat deems this is a better in-person conversation.

Overall, we had a great time onboard the Disney Magic sailing with our group and a huge thanks to Tammy and her team at Storybook Destinations for their assistance and working through the logistics. They are now focused on the seventh DCL Blog Group Cruise, which is set to set sail from Fort Lauderdale on the Disney Destiny. It’s a 5-Night Western Caribbean adventure that is scheduled to include two days at sea and stops at Cozumel and Castaway Cay! We already have a trip to the MEGA planned in Cozumel plus several other new and returning favorite activities!

Don’t miss out on this marvelous opportunity to assemble on the fleet’s newest cruise ship, book your spot now and to take advantage of opening week cruise pricing! All of our events will be exclusive to the DCL Blog Cruisers booked through Storybook Destinations, our travel partner. For more information, and to secure your stateroom, email DCLBlogCruise@StorybookDestinations.com to get a free, no-obligation quote or fill out a quote form over the DCL Blog Group Cruise page.

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