After our first overnight time change of the cruise where we thankfully gained an extra hour of sleep, I woke up feeling incredibly well rested just before 7:30am. Once again I had slept so well and I was definitely happy that I had remembered to pack earplugs with me on this trip, as they worked really well at blocking out any noise from the annoying squeak in our stateroom, which was slowly starting to drive me a little mad as our cruise progressed.

After running up to Deck 9 to grab us both a cup of tea, we sat out on our verandah for what felt like ages just enjoying the blue skies, warm breeze and the fresh air. Purchasing the Luxury at Sea for Two Romance Package before we sailed was one of the best decisions we made for this trip, as the bathrobes that came with it were just so cosy and ended up being something we used constantly throughout such a long cruise. Being able to just throw one of them on and sit outside in complete comfort with a hot drink – whether it was early in the morning or late at night – was easily one of my favourite things to do and the most relaxing way to start this day.

Since this was the second of our four sea days in a row, we had already decided that we were going to buy internet access for the next two days to help us get through the middle of this long stretch at sea. We were never tempted to buy internet for the entire cruise (we have never done that) as it is incredibly expensive and we simply did not need it for the whole trip – it would have been such an unnecessary expense especially since we had our own mobile data to use whilst we were in Colombia, Panama and Mexico.

After having a shower and getting dressed, we walked up to Cabanas just after 9:00am to get a quick breakfast. All I wanted to eat that morning was some toasted muffins with butter and Marmite as I just needed something simple and easy. As much as I love Disney Cruise Line hashbrowns, I really do not want to eat them every single day I am onboard (especially on a fourteen night cruise), which is why I will definitely be packing a jar of Marmite on any future cruises we do. Having it with me on this trip ended up making my mornings so much better as sometimes all you want is a little bit of flavour as well as a taste of home.

As soon as we had finished our breakfast, we made our way straight down to Deck 3, ready for the first Mickey and Friends Group Photo of the cruise at 9:30am in the Lobby Atrium. This is always one of the most popular character experiences onboard and the line was already back to the side door of Lumiere’s, which shocked me as I honestly thought it would be much longer as we arrived so late compared to what we normally do. However we were in no rush and had nowhere else that we needed to be, so as long as we were in line before the 9:40am cut-off (each of the character lines onboard are open for ten minutes), we knew we would get our turn.

While we were waiting, some of the Cast Members walked down the line to let everyone know the rules, which included no hugs or autographs as those could be saved for the rest of the cruise. This specific experience is all about getting that one awesome group photo that is only available on longer itineraries like the Panama Canal – we have also done these on both of our Transatlantic cruises as well as on our Hawaiian cruise too. To keep the line moving, there was also a two photo limit – one with your own camera and one with the ship photographer’s – meaning you could not swap members of your group in and out. Because of this, the line moved incredibly fast and we had our amazing photo by 10:00am.

Our next stop of the morning was at the Cove Cafe as I desperately needed a caffeine fix, plus I had a free coffee card to redeem that I had been holding onto for the previous two days – I had wanted to use it when we were sailing through the Panama Canal but there had been such a long line the entire day. When sailing on Disney Cruise Line, once you purchase five speciality coffees, you will get your sixth one for free, so I was excited to finally get my free drink.

It was so hot and busy on Deck 9 that once we had our drinks, we walked back down to Deck 4 to just sit and chill inside with some air conditioning for a little while. There was another Mickey and Friends Group Photo taking place at 11:00am, but as our photos had come out so well, we did not need to line up again this time. However, I would always recommend doing the first of each of these sessions when they are offered because if for any reason you do not like your photos, you will have a second opportunity to line up again to get the perfect shot.

We also listened to Captain Robert when he made his daily midday announcement to update us on the progress of our cruise. At this time, we were sailing 130 nautical miles off the coast of El Salvador, having already covered 874 nautical miles since leaving the Panama Canal, with another 1330 nautical miles to go before reaching Cabo San Lucas a few days later.

To our absolute delight, we had also spotted that our favourite Strawberry Mille-Feuille dessert was on the lunch menu once again that day, so we quickly stopped by Rapunzel’s Royal Table to order two of them to take back to our stateroom to enjoy later.

The speciality that day for lunch in Cabanas was Taco Corner, which not only had a long line but once again offered very few meat-free options which was honestly starting to get very annoying. Thankfully, my favourite Rosemary and Thyme Polenta Cakes, as well as the Baked Feta Stuffed Zucchini – which are usually only offered on the first sea day – were back on the regular rotation once again as it was such a long cruise that many of the food items had started to repeat. I had them with some Mac and Cheese making it feel like a little throwback to our first two days onboard, which was not a bad thing in the slightest.

One upside of longer sailings is the more unique character meet and greet opportunities, especially when they bring all of the characters out in different pairings – and there were plenty scheduled for this day as well as the rest of the cruise. Mickey and Minnie were due out together at 2:30pm on Deck 4, however, I almost had a heart attack when we were walking from the Aft of the ship towards the Lobby Atrium and saw a giant line of people ahead of us. My panic was thankfully short lived as the massive crowd that was waiting were heading into the D Lounge for a towel folding class instead – I had no idea it would be that popular especially when it was such a beautiful day outside.

Another thing I have found when sailing on a longer cruise – where you are not rushing around and have plenty of sea days – is that you do start to notice the natural wear and tear around the ship a bit more easily, especially when you are on the oldest ship in the fleet having recently sailed on some of the newer ships. I am not saying that the Disney Magic was in a state of disrepair at all, as she was far from it, since the majority of the ship looked immaculate and barely showed her age at all. However, it was also very noticeable that a few areas were in need of a little bit of TLC, particularly the carpet on Deck 3 of the Lobby Atrium, which was looking rather tired and worn. Thankfully, the Disney Magic was scheduled for a much needed dry dock just two weeks after we sailed and from the photos I have seen of her so far, she looks to be back to her old beautiful self once again.

After meeting Mickey and Minnie, we immediately walked back around and rejoined the same line to meet Goofy and Pluto at 3:00pm. We were having such a relaxed sea day and it really was a wonderful treat to meet the characters like this (especially with such a short line), as it is not something that would ever happen on a much shorter itinerary.

That afternoon, there was also a Royal Tea event taking place in Lumiere’s and while we were waiting on Deck 4 to meet our next characters, we were able to see Belle, Ariel and Cinderella all make their grand entrance down the staircase and into the restaurant.

After meeting the fabulous Donald and Daisy at 3:30pm, we walked a few laps around Deck 4 and it felt so wonderful as the humidity from a few days before had completely disappeared. We then headed back to our stateroom for a little nap which is easily another of our favourite cruise pastimes and the absolute best sea day activity in the world.

Once we woke up, we sat out on our verandah for a little while and another of the wonderful benefits of the humidity finally disappearing was that we could open our balcony door without everything in our stateroom instantly steaming up, which was something we had been constantly dealing with ever since leaving Cozumel the previous week.

It was then time for another first on this evening of the cruise, as one of the only things we had said we absolutely had to do on this sailing was finally watch Tangled: The Musical, which we had never seen before. When we had sailed on two of the Disney Magic at Sea staycation cruises during the pandemic, we had missed it both times, since we were only onboard each of those cruises for two nights and we had just wanted to enjoy being back on the ship instead after so long away, especially with so much else we wanted to do in such a short time.

After having a shower and getting ready for the evening ahead with a Mimosa in hand, we made our way down to the Walt Disney Theatre about fifteen minutes before the show was due to start at 6:00pm. Whilst many people prefer to get there as soon as the doors open to ensure they have seats near the front, we were completely happy with our seats towards the back of the theatre and we were even sat right on the aisle, which was perfect since we needed to make a quick escape once it had finished.

You could easily tell how popular Tangled: The Musical was, as the theatre was so busy with hardly any empty seats in sight. I really enjoyed the show – especially when the lanterns floated through the audience during “I See The Light” which was magical and I would highly recommend this show to anyone cruising on the Disney Magic in the future.

Once the show had finished, our quick exit plan worked perfectly as we ran to join the line to meet Mickey and Pluto, who were out on Deck 4 at 7:15pm. After we had met them, we then also met Ariel who was out on Deck 5 at 7:30pm, which was perfect timing as there was absolutely no wait at all to see her.

We also spent a few minutes chatting to our Cruise Director, David, who told us that there was a total of 1,889 passengers onboard this Panama Canal cruise. Out of that number, 122 were British, which was a lot more than the last time we sailed out of Galveston when there were fewer than ten of us!

And once again, as is a part of so many of our days spent onboard a Disney cruise ship no matter where we are in the world, we decided to walk a few laps around Deck 4 to waste a little bit of time before our dinner, which that night was back in Animator’s Palate.

The menu on this evening was World of Flavour, which is one of our favourites onboard, so there was absolutely no way we were ever going to skip the dining rooms on this night of the cruise. Along with the amazing Pretzel Bread, which was simply divine, I ordered the Vietnamese Spring Rolls to start, followed by a spicy version of the Indian Prawn Curry. I had pre-ordered this through our dining team a few days beforehand – as I travel to India so often for work, I really love my curries to be spicy and full of authentic flavour since the ones offered on the regular menu onboard are usually far too bland for me with hardly any taste to them at all. It was absolutely delicious and had the perfect kick, and to finish our amazing meal, we shared the Strawberry Cheesecake and the Tiramisu, which again were both wonderful.

After such a great dinner, we walked straight to Deck 4 of the Lobby Atrium, where we were just in time to get in line for Chip and Dale who were out at 9:30pm, before rejoining the same line to meet Minnie and Daisy at 10:00pm.

After a wonderful meet and greet with the First Ladies of the High Seas, we made a quick detour up to Deck 9 to grab a cup of tea before heading to bed. However, we had been noticing that the tea bags at the drink station had started to disappear very quickly since the previous day (more on that another time) but thankfully, we always bring our own with us onboard every cruise in case of tea emergencies just like this one.

It had been another gloriously lazy day onboard the Disney Magic, and it really felt like all of these sea days were starting to blur into one, with two more still left to enjoy before we reached Cabo San Lucas.

When we finally turned the lights out, our neighbours decided to start being incredibly noisy, but thankfully, it did not take us any time at all to fall asleep as we were both so tired yet again. Having started my morning feeling so grateful that I had remembered to pack my earplugs to block out the annoying squeak in the walls of our stateroom, I ended the night feeling twice as thankful for them. They really did work wonders for drowning everything out (I will definitely be bringing them with me on any future cruises) and with peace and quiet instantly restored, we were out like a light and ready to do it all over again the following day.

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