During a recent sailing on the Disney Magic in April 2023, we got the opportunity to check out the Cove Cafe on the Disney Magic. Cove Cafe is the coffee bar on the Disney Magic and it is located next to the adult pool on Deck 9. The Cove Cafe is composed of a long bar surrounded by a large number of comfortable sitting areas. You can order from the bar. While I’ve never tried, I’m sure you could order a regular alcoholic drink in here as well.
During a recent sailing on the Disney Dream for a 5-Night Double Dip Cruise from Miami, we got the opportunity to check out the Cove Cafe on the Disney Dream. Cove Cafe is the coffee bar on the Disney Dream and it is located next to the main adult pool on Deck 11. The Cove Cafe serves espresso drinks, with and without alcohol, for an additional charge (the drinks are not included in your cruise fare).
During a recent sailing on the Disney Wonder for a 7-Night Southern Caribbean Cruise from San Juan, we got the opportunity to check out the updates to the Cove Cafe that had been made during a fall 2019 Dry Dock. Cove Cafe is the coffee bar on the Disney Wonder and it is located next to the adult pool on Deck 9. If you would like to see what it looked like before, feel free to read our previous post.
The outside of Cove Cafe is unchanged, with lots of comfortable chairs.
The menu seems unchanged as well.
The changes to Cove Cafe were all on the inside. This corner has been opened up and a bench is now available for a larger group.
The high tables that used to be present to the left of the door are gone and small sitting areas have been added.
Overall, it seems a lot more open. The stairway that led upstairs has been removed (since the upstairs was converted to the concierge lounge).
One of the upgrades, beside the changed interior, is the addition of the Ripples Machine! The Ripples machine is basically a printer for coffee drinks!
The machine had some problems with Mickey though.
We noticed a few other options behind the bar as well. Apparently, you can order this Macallan flight at a great price if you like Scotch!
We also noticed these Cognacs as well. We got to try some during our Cognac tastings.
Overall, we liked the changes that were made to Cove Cafe. The space is much lighter and seems to have been opened up.
If you have enjoyed this article, please be sure to check out our Disney Cruise Line information page, which has useful hints in addition to our cruise trip reports!
During our recent Spring Break cruise on the Disney Wonder, we made sure to stop in to the Cove Cafe for a Cafe Mocha. Cove Cafe is the coffee bar on the Disney Wonder and it is located next to the adult pool on Deck 9.
The Cove Cafe has high tables as well as some comfortable seats to relax in while you enjoy your drinks.
The Cove Cafe serves espresso drinks, with and without alcohol, for an additional charge (the drinks are not included in your cruise fare). I won’t say the complimentary coffee served onboard the Disney ships is bad, but if you like strong coffee (or have an addiction to Starbucks type drinks), you will want to visit the Cove Cafe during your cruise at some point.
The baristas always make sure to add a few special Disney touches as well, although I don’t know what happened to Groot’s eye here.
There is also a small display case with various snack items in it – sometimes these are savory, like meats and cheeses, and other times the display case will contain sweet items such as breads or small pastries.
These snack items are included in the cost of your cruise. You will just need to ask one of the crew members working in the Cove Cafe for the items you would like.
The Cove Cafe offers a “frequent customer” card. For each drink you purchase, they will mark your card. Once you receive five marks, your next drink will be free. I don’t know what the official rule is, but we bring our cards back between cruises and use them again.
Next time you find yourself on the Disney Wonder, make sure you take some time to enjoy a beverage from Cove Cafe!
If you have enjoyed this article, please be sure to check out our Disney Cruise Line information page, which has useful hints in addition to our cruise trip reports!
On Day 3 of our cruise, the ship was due to port in Nassau. We usually don’t get off the ship, but thought it might be fun just to go into Nassau and walk around. We had previously been on a Dream three night cruise with some friends that went into the port and they enjoyed it.
We woke up really late, so it was about 9:30 by the time we left the stateroom. It seems like the crew had to get some training, because we saw them practicing fire fighting techniques in our hallway.
We decided to head to Cabanas to get some breakfast before heading ashore. Since it was a little bit later in the morning, Cabanas was pretty much empty. We filled up with our favorites because we weren’t quite sure how long we would stay ashore. Our goal was to get back on board before lunch time.
After breakfast, we headed off the ship. We were docked right next to a Royal Caribbean ship, Empress of the Seas. While we are excited to try out a Royal Caribbean cruise soon, the Empress of the Seas needs some attention. She was sporting more than her fair share of rust.
We stopped for some quick pictures at the dock and then headed into the town. To enter Nassau, you have to head through an entry building and then go through a corral where there are vendors. Some of the vendors are selling goods (food and souvenirs) and others are offering tours (jet skis, bus tours, etc). Some of them are pretty verbally aggressive but it didn’t really bother us since we were prepared for it.
After we left the corral area, we found ourselves in a main square. There were a couple of hotels here along with a fair amount of taxi cabs offering rides. I found this part of Nassau to be nice. It reminded me of the main square in Cozumel.
We headed down the road towards the Straw Market. The Straw Market is a famous market in Nassau. We did go inside the Straw Market for a bit, but didn’t find anything we were interested in. Some of the vendors on the side of the market were actually hand making various carvings, which were interesting. Most of them were selling the same merchandise.
We headed out of the Straw Market and towards Señor Frog’s. We weren’t going to go in, the kids just wanted some pictures. We headed through Pompey Square and over to Señor Frog’s.
After taking some pictures with the Frog, we headed back towards the shops. We stopped in a few, then headed back to the ship. We didn’t end up buying anything, but did see some interesting items in My Ocean. We could see Atlantis off in the distance. I actually had friend who had just spent a week at Atlantis on vacation. He said it was fun, but expensive.
After walking back through the entry building, we headed back on the pier to this awesome sight. The Disney ships definitely look great in port.
The kids headed off to the clubs while Nancy and I headed to Cove Cafe for a coffee. We also made sure to grab some snacks from the display case. These snacks were all tasty. We didn’t want to eat too much since tonight was our chance to dine at Rapunzel’s Royal Table!
As the ship left Nassau, Nancy and I watched the sunset from Deck 4.
As dinner time approached, we headed towards Rapunzel’s Royal Table. This was going to be our first time enjoying the re-imagined dining room on the Magic. When we went on the Magic at Christmas, this was still Cariocas. We headed towards Deck 3 Aft, where the dining room is located.
We were welcomed to the dining room by the master of ceremonies for the evening. We ended up with a great table for the evening, right along the main walkway.
There were a few things we loved about the new dining room. The first was the attention to details in the place settings.
There was also an acoustic band that provided the musical entertainment. We really loved them. We ended up seeing them playing in various other locations during the rest of the cruise.
We also really enjoyed the entertainment. There was singing and dancing, mainly by the Tugs.
We were then joined by Rapunzel! She led the dining room in some singing and dancing. It turned out it was her birthday!
Rapunzel went around the dining room, briefly stopping at each table. You could get a photo with her if you asked, but she wouldn’t sign autographs. In the middle of Rapunzel’s route around the tables, Flynn Rider came out and sang a song with Rapunzel. The two of them then continued to go around the dining room.
With their final song, the dining room staff brought out lanterns to “float” among the tables.
Overall, we LOVED the changes to the dining room. We heard people complain about the noise level. The staff told us it can be a tough venue because they needed to get the order and then deliver the food so they weren’t in the way of the entertainment. I can understand both issues, but for us, this was a great change in entertainment value as well as in food quality.
The dining room staff also had great outfits. Here is our OUTSTANDING dining staff of Viand and Jesus.
Once again, the kids disappeared to their clubs and we headed for bed.
Tomorrow would be a stop at Castaway Cay!
Planning | Travel | Boarding | Key West | Nassau | Castaway Cay | Sea Day | Disembarkation
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One of our favorite parts of a Disney cruise is having the staff announce your family as you board the ship! We entered the atrium to this beautiful sight:
The large chandeliers of the past on the Disney ships have been replaced to open the space up a bit more. This is the one on the Magic:
We were really hungry after the trip down, so we immediately headed for Lumiere’s to get some lunch. Lumiere’s is one of the main dining rooms for the Disney Magic, located just off the atrium. Lumiere’s has a Beauty and the Beast theme (Lumiere is a candelabra in the movie).
Here is the menu:
Nancy and one of the girls ordered the Sliced Smoked Salmon and I ordered the Beef Empanadas.
As we continued our meal, the dining room slowly started to fill up as more people boarded the ship. We ordered the Salmon Salad and the Pennette Pasta as our entrees.
We decided to get the Cookies N’ Cream cheesecake to try it out. We really enjoyed it.
Because we were so late to board the ship (versus when we normally board), by the time we finished lunch the staterooms were available. I went next door to the Promenade Lounge to switch our dining rotation. We wanted to switch to be with Viand, who was our server on board the Magic during our Christmas cruise. The restaurant manager said Viand was already on our rotation. The manager said to speak to him when we showed up to dinner, he would put us at one of Viand’s tables. I headed to the stateroom to let everyone know.
Nancy and the girls had already headed to the room to look it over. We were in room 2612, which is an Ocean View Stateroom. We’ve previously stayed in 2612 on the Disney Wonder, which is exactly like the Magic. Nancy decided to stay in the room to wait for the luggage and get everything setup for us. The girls and I decided to go off to explore the changes to the ship since its recent refurbishment.
The first place we headed was to the Oceaneer’s Club. There was a change to part of the Club to add Disney Club Junior. This is one of the themed rooms in the Club.
We then went to the Vibe, which is the Disney cruise line club for teenagers 14 through 17. The club is located in the mid-ship funnel on the Magic. The area has now been transformed with an urban loft theme. My older daughter went to register while we took some pictures. She has talked about the Vibe Club recently on Rope Drop Radio.
Here are some pictures of the main portion of the club:
There is also a back room to the club for watching TV or for smaller groups.
There is a smoothie bar in the front of the club, right near the window.
Near the entrance to Vibe is an activity schedule. As our daughter said, ice breakers on the first night is definitely the one activity not to miss. It is the time when friendships are the easiest to make and they will last the length of the cruise and beyond.
After checking out the Vibe, we headed off to see The Crown Jewelry, which is a new store that was opened in part of the space formally occupied by Shutters (the photo shop on the ship). There were a lot of expensive items, but we managed to refrain from purchasing anything.
We then headed up to Deck 9 to see the changes up there. We noticed this new hand washing station outside of Cabanas. You can use this or the standard hand wipes to help stop the spread of germs.
One of the quick service food stations, Daisy’s De Lites, got the addition of a Build A Bowl Station. It looks like you can build your own salad or soup.
We found a great crew member that helped explain it to us!
They still have the soups, if that is what you are looking for.
The Build a Bowl portion is setup so you can tell the Crew Member what you would like in your salad and they will assemble it for you. Here is some of the items you can add.
The Signals Bar in the adult section also received a make over in the form of a covering to help keep the sun off the crew members and the guests. Nancy and I haven’t spent a lot of time here, but I’m sure the change will help.
While we were in the adult section, we also went into the newly remodeled Cove Cafe. The Cove Cafe is the coffee cafe onboard the Disney Magic. The Cafe got a lighter interior.
As before, there is still a display case that contains snacks. You will have to ask the crew member working in the cafe to get the items for you. They are still complementary though.
We decided to look into the Senses Spa as well since it received an update in the recent dry dock. We decided to do a self-guided tour since the spa employees were busy with other guests.
This is the main hallway to the spa, leading back to the fitness center.
Here is one of the couple’s massage rooms in the spa.
The Rain Forest room, which is a new addition to the Magic, wasn’t quite ready for guests when we checked in on it.
Once we finished up at the Spa, we grabbed Nancy a soda and returned to the room. It was time to decorate the door with our magnets and lights. It was also close to time for the muster drill. The muster drill is a mandatory drill for everyone. We head to our muster station (locations for which are detailed on your Key to the World card as well as on the back of your door).
As you head to your muster station, there are crew members everywhere that will direct you to the correct location. We were at muster station M. Luckily, we were not located in the sun.
The muster station will slowly get more crowded as everyone starts to arrive. The crew members will line everyone in your cabin up in a single file line and put other cabin occupants next to you.
The muster drill takes about 15 minutes, and then you are done! We headed up to Deck 10 to watch the sail away party! The sail away party is usually the same (I haven’t seen it change in a number of years) but it’s a nice way to kick off the cruise.
After a quick party, the ship was on its way out of Miami and headed towards Key West!
We didn’t go to the opening night show that first night. We have been to quite a few of them and decided to spend our time looking over more of the ship. We were excited to check out the shops to see if there was anything new.
Dinner tonight for us was in Lumiere’s, the same dining room we’d had lunch in. Upon going in, we asked for the dining room manager I spoke with earlier. He assigned us to table 68 and led us there. We immediately saw Viand and he remembered us from Christmas. We got seated and looked over the menu. We noticed another family headed towards our table. They were intercepted by the dining room manager, who directed them to a nearby table (probably the one we originally had). This happened to us on our first cruise as well, but I didn’t realize at the time what was going on.
We looked over the menu to order. This menu is one of my favorites, especially the dessert.
We ordered the Leek and Potato Soup and the French Onion Soup. I know we ordered the Escargot as well, but don’t have a picture of it from that night.
For entrees, we ordered the Duck, the Steak and the Wild Mushroom Pasta.
The best dessert ever, the Grand Marnier Souffle.
After dinner, the girls headed off to the Ice Breakers activities for their clubs and Nancy and I decided to call it a night. We headed back to the room to find this guy:
Up next, we explore Key West!
Planning | Travel | Boarding | Key West | Nassau | Castaway Cay | Sea Day | Disembarkation
If you have enjoyed this article, please be sure to check out our Disney Cruise Line information page, which has useful hints as well as our cruise trip reports!
During our recent August 2018 sailing on the Disney Fantasy, we made sure to visit both of the upscale coffee shops on board. The first is the Cove Cafe, located on Deck 11 forward in the adult section. It is located right beside the main adult pool. The Cove Cafe serves espresso drinks, with and without alcohol, for an additional charge (the drinks are not included in your cruise fare). I won’t say the complementary coffee served onboard the Disney ships is bad, but if you like strong coffee (or have an addiction to Starbucks type drinks), you will want to visit the Cove Cafe during your cruise at some point.
The Cove Cafe is composed of a long bar surrounded by a large number of comfortable sitting areas. You can order from the bar or from the chairs. While I’ve never tried, I’m sure you could order a regular drink in here as well.
Each of the sitting areas has a nice porthole to let in light and to allow the patrons to look out. Some of them face out towards the adult pool while others face towards the side of the ship (giving you a slightly obstructed view of the ocean.) You can also get your drinks and take them outside to enjoy.
There is also a small display case with various snack items in it – sometimes these are savory, like meats and cheeses, and other times the display case will contain sweet items such as breads or small pastries.
These snack items are included in the cost of your cruise. You will just need to ask one of the crew members working in the Cove Cafe for the items you would like. I’m particularly fond of the chocolate orange muffins.
The Vista Cafe is located mid ship in the atrium on Deck 4, making it accessible to guests under the age of 18 with charging privileges. It features the same menu as the Cove Cafe. There are seats at the small bar as well as various seats throughout the atrium where you can enjoy your beverage.
The Vista Cafe has a snack display case as well, with the same requirement that a crew member retrieve the items for you.
Both the cafes offer a “frequent customer” card. For each drink you purchase, they will mark your card. Once you receive five marks, your next drink will be free. I don’t know what the official rule is, but we bring our cards back between cruises and use them again.
Next time you find yourself on a Disney cruise, make sure you take some time to enjoy a beverage from one of the cafes!
If you have enjoyed this article, please be sure to check out our Disney Cruise Line information page, which has useful hints as well as our cruise trip reports!
This was the second sea day for us on our Very Merrytime Christmas cruise! Everyone was really tired, so we slept in late. The girls eventually got dressed and went off to the Edge and the Vibe. Nancy and I had plans for Palo brunch at 11 am, so we decided to skip breakfast so we wouldn’t be full. We headed up to Cove Cafe for some morning coffee.
The Cove Cafe is located on Deck 9 in the adult only area of the Magic. The Cove Cafe offers different types of coffee related drinks for an additional charge. They are also more than willing to add alcohol to your drinks (with corresponding up charge). Note: These pictures of the Cove Cafe are before it was updated in a recent dry dock. You can order other alcohol related drinks as well.
Cove Cafe also offers complementary pastries and snacks as well.
Here are a few pictures of the menu. We have ordered several different coffee drinks, but never the mixed drinks.
They had several seasonal drinks they were offering as well. Nancy got the Gingerbread Latte while I selected the regular Cafe Mocha. The drinks weren’t quite Starbucks quality, but they were still pretty good.
One nice aspect of Cove Cafe is that they have a free drink card that will give you a free drink after you purchase five drinks. We bring our cards back from previous cruises as well so they don’t go to waste.
After finishing our drinks, Nancy and I returned to the room to get ready for Palo Brunch! Palo is the adults-only restaurant on Deck 10 aft on the Disney Magic. Disney describes the menu as classic Northern Italian cooking “with a modern twist.” Palo serves brunch and dinner for an additional charge of $30 per person. The brunch consists of a combination of a buffet and a limited number of a la carte items.
Nancy and I arrived a few minutes early for our reservation. We were seated at a nice table by the window after checking in.
Our waiter arrived and brought us each a drink as well as the entree menu.
He walked us to the buffet and explained all the food choices, including the a la carte items. Due to Nancy’s shellfish allergy, the food service staff is always careful to explain what is safe to eat and what should be avoided, which is very helpful.
Nancy and I each selected a number of items from the buffet and returned to the table to enjoy them.
Here is one of the famous warm sticky buns! We each got only one but would have returned for a few more if it weren’t for the wonderful entrees that we knew would follow.
While we were enjoying the buffet, the waiter returned to take our entree order.
I selected the Lasagna Bolognaise and Nancy got the Artichoke Ravioli. I had debated on the Parmesan-Crusted Chicken Breast, which is my favorite. The waiter brought one out for us to share.
Despite the fact that we were really full, we knew we had to get some dessert! Here are the items we selected from the buffet. It is funny that we selected almost the same things.
Palo does have a full service bar should you wish to order a drink.
The other nice aspect of Palo is the open kitchen. It is a bit difficult to look into when you are seated (since it is behind the buffet), but you can definitely see it when you are up at the buffet.
There is a private dining room in Palo that they will seat larger groups in. It is decorated with this mural.
We paid the bill ($30 per adult plus tip) and managed to walk out of Palo. Nancy needed to sign up for the Castaway Cay 5K, so we headed towards the atrium. The Port Adventures desk is opposite Guest Services on Deck 3. Signing up for the Castaway Cay 5K was really easy, just a quick stop for Nancy to register and receive her event ticket for the race (it’s like the tickets you receive when you register for a Port Excursion). We also decided to take some more pictures of the gingerbread house in the lobby.
We returned to the room to change. Unfortunately, the tip envelopes were waiting for us. That means the cruise would eventually end. (Cue the sad music).
Since this was Tangled night on the Magic, we decided to go checkout the Snuggly Duckling takeover of O’Gills Pub.
Here are some of the decorations!
There was also a special drink menu.
We didn’t hang out for the Snuggly Duckling activities because we had somewhere special to be. That’s right, it was Jack Jack’s Diaper Dash. The Diaper Dash is held in the main atrium and is a crawling baby race! The babies get to race for glory against each other. We picked an overhead perch to watch all the activity.
The number of competitors was low for this race. Fortunately for the large crowd, there was a ringer that entered. She spent the entire warm up time crawling everywhere. She swept this race in less than 15 seconds. The crowd loved it.
Following the diaper dash, Nancy and I headed back to the adult area to hang out again. We had about an hour or so to kill before the Tangled show. It was a must do for us as we hadn’t seen it before. We grabbed some drinks and headed to the Walt Disney World Theater. We only took a picture of the opening screen because pictures aren’t allowed during the show. The show was really good though, especially the effects with the floating lanterns. We won’t spoil it further, but we really loved it.
Dinner tonight was in Animator’s Palate with the standard menu.
Here are a few shots of the dining room before the lighting starts to change.
Here is the standard Animator’s Palate Menu.
My younger daughter ordered the Tiramisu Mocha again.
I ordered a double order of the Black Truffle Pasta Purseittes, which is one of my favorite appetizers on Disney Cruise Line.
Nancy and the girls ordered the Butternut Squash Soup.
Nancy ordered the Grilled Tuna Steak.
My older daughter ordered the Black Bean Chipotle Cakes, but I don’t think she liked them very much.
The rest of us ordered the standard Ginger Teriyaki Dusted Angus Beef Tenderloin, which I really enjoy.
The show in the dining room continued as the room slowly filled with color.
We did eventually get around to ordering dessert. Nancy enjoyed the Lemon Icebox Pie. I ordered a Mickey Bar, because I always order one if the other desserts don’t interest me. I’m not a fan of the chocolate and sprinkles on the Mickey Bar, but forgot to ask them to leave it off this time.
The girls headed off to their clubs which we waited around for the rest of the dinner show.
We stayed a bit longer to talk to Viand and Debbie, our wait staff. We really enjoyed getting to know both of them. We ended up requesting Viand for another sailing, but sadly Debbie wouldn’t be on board for our next sailing. We spent some time talking to Debbie about her work at Epcot at Rose and Crown, which we really enjoy as well.
Nancy and I headed back to the room. Our room attendant had the room ready for us to go to bed, but left us this guy along with the navigator for tomorrow and instructions for Castaway Cay!
We had a great day at sea, enjoying the fresh air and a wonderful meal at Palo. Tomorrow we would be headed off to enjoy Castaway Cay, Disney Cruise Line’s private island in the Bahamas.
Full Trip Report: Planning | Travel | Boarding | Day At Sea | Cozumel | Day At Sea | Castaway Cay | Disembarkation
If you have enjoyed this article, please be sure to check out our Disney Cruise Line information page, which has useful hints in addition to our cruise trip reports!