The morning after leaving Cozumel on the Disney Magic, I woke up just after 6:00am ready for the next two days at sea on our way down to our next port of Cartagena in Colombia. Even though I had slept well overnight, I still felt incredibly tired so I tried to go back to sleep again and I managed to doze off for another hour or so.

For the next two days we really did not have many plans, which was absolutely perfect as we already knew how busy and rushed we were going to be during our short stay in Cartagena, followed immediately by an entire day transiting the Panama Canal. As is our ritual onboard, we started our day with a cup of tea on our verandah as the sea looked like glass that morning and it was truly a beautiful sight. After sitting and just enjoying the view for what felt like forever, we walked up to Cabanas for a light breakfast.

One of my favourite things to do whether onboard a Disney Cruise ship or exploring any of the Disney parks around the world, is to search for references to the Society of Explorers and Adventurers. Onboard the Disney Magic, there are plenty to find in the Oceaneer Lab which that morning was hosting an Open House for two hours from 9:00am meaning that anyone, no matter their age, could visit and look around.

Once inside the Oceaneer Lab, you will find Captain Mary Oceaneer’s vast collection of treasures and artifacts on display. One detail I absolutely love is a picture which shows that the Maiden Voyage of the Oceaneer Lab took place on 30 July 1898 – and if you add 100 years to it, you get 30 July 1998 which was the exact date of the Maiden Voyage of the Disney Magic.

You can also find pictures of Captain Mary Oceaneer and her companion Salty the Parrot and their many adventures around the world together, including finding buried treasure at Castaway Cay, going deep sea diving on 5 December 1901 (which was Walt Disney’s birthday) and you can also see Salty’s adorable little diving suit on display.

My two favourite details in the Oceaneer Lab are a painting of Lord Henry Mystic and Albert the Monkey from Mystic Manor at Hong Kong Disneyland (the best ride in the world and my all-time favourite attraction), as well as a newspaper article about Harrison Hightower and the grand opening of the Hightower Hotel, which is more commonly known as Tower of Terror at Tokyo DisneySea.

As we still had another thirty minutes before our Royal Gathering reservation at 10:15am, we decided to walk a few laps of Deck 4. We could still not stop looking at the sea, which was such a brilliant blue and as smooth as glass, and I took so many photos beacuse it looked so perfect and dream-like.

Just before 10:15am, we made our way to Deck 3 of the Lobby Atrium for the Royal Gathering, which offers the opportunity to reserve a time to meet several of the Princesses onboard in one go with minimal wait and at no extra charge. This was available to book online for everyone, no matter their Castaway Club status, thirty days before the cruise. On this sailing, it was also available to book once on the ship as there were plenty of spots still available due to the low number of children onboard. During this two week Panama Canal cruise, it was only offered twice, which was on Day 2 and Day 4 and you could also meet all of the Princesses individually multiple times throughout the entire cruise.

As we had booked the last time slot of the morning, we joined the end of the short line which moved quickly and we were able to meet Cinderella, Rapunzel, Ariel and Tiana in less than ten minutes. We also found that being at the end of the line was a huge bonus as there was no rush and we could actually have a proper conversation with each of them without the worry of holding anyone else up behind us.

After our success the previous morning at Disney Parks Trivia: Level 2, we decided we needed to attempt Disney Parks Trivia: Level 1 which was due to start in the Soul Cat Lounge at 11:45am. Even though it was the “easier” level, we actually found it much harder as the majority of the questions were about Disneyland and Walt Disney World which are the parks that we have visited the least. We still scored a respectable 18/20, but there were many teams with a perfect score of 20/20, so it had to go to a tiebreaker. It was a very interesting trivia session to do and I definitely learnt a few new things that day that I previously had no idea about.

It was then time for lunch, so we walked up to Cabanas and I was overjoyed to see that the Crispy Breaded Tofu (another one of my favourite foods onboard) was available, which I had along with some shrimp, mac and cheese, houmous and olives. The speciality counter that day was “Chippy Corner” featuring British “classics” like Chicken Tikka Masala, Fish, Sausages, Mushy Peas and Steak Fries – none of which I could eat except for the fries which did actually taste really good. Sadly there were no desserts that I liked that day, but as I was feeling so tired at this point, all I really wanted to do was go and have a nap and catch up on some sleep.

And take a nap is exactly what we did, as we were both really struggling to stay awake at this point, and I knew that I wanted to be well rested ready for when we reached Cartagena and the Panama Canal, as they were both going to be very long and tiring days. We actually ended up sleeping for almost three hours, which was so needed and honestly, one of the best sea day activities you can do on such a long cruise.

As it was late afternoon when we woke up, we made our way up to the Quiet Cove pool. One of my best tips that I have discovered over the years is to go to the pool when bingo is on, as it is usually much quieter, because so many people head inside to play. We had no trouble getting a sunlounger right by the pool where we could sit and enjoy the last of the afternoon sunshine and spend some time in the pool and the hot tub. I also treated myself to a beautiful Oat Latte from the Cove Cafe to help me wake up fully and as a bonus, since this was my fifth coffee, I had now collected five stamps on my card, meaning my next one would be free!

After a relaxing time outside at the Quiet Cove pool, we eventually dragged ourselves away and took a hot drink back to our stateroom where we showered and got ready for our evening onboard the Disney Magic. Once we were dressed, we headed down to the starboard side of Deck 4, where we stood for a while and watched a beautiful pink sunset which was the perfect start to the rest of the night ahead.

We also had an ulterior motive for choosing to watch the sunset from Deck 4 and not Deck 10 that evening, as we were hoping to catch a glimpse of Sorcerer Mickey on his way to Animator’s Palate. He appeared a short while later, though if you are lucky enough to see him, be aware that he will not be able to stop for any photos, but it is a great moment to simply wave to him instead as he quickly walks past.

Whilst Mickey enters Animator’s Palate through a secret door, he leaves from the normal guest entrance to the restaurant, so we quickly walked back inside to see him once more before he headed off.

Our dinner that night was at Rapunzel’s Royal Table, which I was so excited for. Even though we had dined there on our previous Disney Magic at Sea sailings, we had never experienced the full dinner show before due to the restrictions that were in place on those cruises. As we had already dined there on the first night of this sailing, we already knew that our table was close to the stage, but sadly it was also right behind a pillar – we had the same table on one of those other Disney Magic cruises too – which blocked our view of half of the stage.

To start my meal, I ordered the Goat Cheese, Yellow and Red Beet Tower which was nice – though about half the size it used to be – followed by the Portobello Triangoli pasta. I am not sure if something was going wrong behind the scenes in the restaurant or kitchen, but in all honesty, something really just felt “off” that night. The food that evening was only okay, and it was probably one of the weakest meals that we have ever had onboard.

However, despite the food lacking that night, the entertainment more than made up for it as it was such good fun. The show begins with Hook Hand and Attila teaching everyone the secret Snuggly Duckling salute (Clap Clap Stomp Stomp Quack Quack) before singing “So Very Glad You’re Here” as they prepare for a surprise birthday party for Rapunzel.

After Rapunzel arrived in the restaurant, they all started making their way around the tables to meet everyone before Rapunzel sang “When Will My Life Begin”. Attila and Hook Hand then surprised Rapunzel with a giant birthday cupcake before they finished the show by all singing “I’ve Got a Dream” and inviting us all to the Lantern Festival later in the cruise.

I finished my meal in the only way possible, by ordering one of Attila’s Sublime Cupcakes, which made him very happy and excited when he reached our table.

After dinner, we decided not to meet any characters that night, so instead we walked a few laps around Deck 4 before playing another game of basketball up on Deck 10 and the fresh ocean breeze around us felt absolutely wonderful.

Once we had finished playing basketball, we grabbed a cup of tea each and walked back down to a now completely empty and peaceful Lobby Atrium. After sitting for a little while and simply enjoying the space, we then started walking around and exploring the ship late at night, which is something we had not done in forever, and it honestly felt like we had the Disney Magic to ourselves.

Just before midnight, we finally made our way back to our stateroom, where we found a cute towel dinosaur waiting for us on the bed. The three hour nap we had taken earlier in the day had really helped us both recharge, but after all the late night walking around and fresh air, we were more than ready to fall into bed and get another good night’s sleep, ready for one more day at sea before arriving in South America for the first time ever.

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