The day had FINALLY come… over a year in planning- booking on the very first day we could… and now we were finally heading into New York City to board the Disney Magic, on a Halloween on the High Seas cruise, to Bermuda for the very first time!
The DCL App was now showing no wait- which is the best feeling ever!
The Port of NYC webcam showed the Magic waiting for us too!
This cruise was going to be a bit different for us- we were adding 2 “daughters” with us and this would be our first Halloween on the High Seas cruise, so I decided it would be easiest to wake a house full of 7 cruisers with Halloween themed donuts!
Fast forward to our approach to the port of NYC. We hired a car service to take us as we wouldn’t have enough room for 7 people and all of their bags to drive and park at the port. The approach was so different than the approach to Port Canaveral as the Intrepid blocked our view most of the way until one of the funnels came into view…
Once inside, it also looked very different than Port Canaveral. Our cruise was considered sold out, so it seemed far more crowded than what we expected (we had no wait in Barcelona a few months prior). We arrived around 11am and boarding was pushed back to noon- it is usually around 11:30 for Concierge and Platinum guests (which we were the latter).
Finally, our group number 1 was called- we took our embarkation picture and boarded the Magic. We were officially on VACATION!
We took only a few moments to appreciate the atrium decorations…
Before we raced up to deck 9, past the pools…
to Cabanas for lunch! It has become our tradition, we used to head to whichever main dining room was serving lunch but the kids absolutely prefer this option.
The Mac and Cheese has now become a traditional must have on for our Embarkation Day lunch, while everything else offered basically mimicked what was offered when we boarded over the summer.
After lunch we wandered the ship a bit. The rooms were also opening a bit later today- 2pm vs the usual 1:30pm. So, we admired some of the Halloween touches…
Before we knew it, it was time to head to our rooms… where I had a bit of a surprise waiting for everyone!
The girls’ room is a standard inside stateroom, now decorated with Bon Voyage AND Happy Birthday decor in honor of our daughter, Katie’s, 16th birthday!
In our Deluxe Oceanview Stateroom with Verandah, I added Halloween decorations to the Bon Voyage decor:
After the safety drill, we headed to deck 8 for the Sail Away Party- which is always awesome. I indulged in a Miami Vice while Mike had a Bahama Mama.
Time absolutely flies when you are having fun! We lingered on deck, catching up with friends also sailing with us before heading back to our staterooms to get ready for our diner seating at 5:45pm inside Rapunzel’s Royal Table.
A look at the day’s Daily Navigator: Bermuda Navigator Day 1 – Thursday Oct 4
