I have yet another guest trip report to share with you guys! This one is a brand new itinerary for DCL so I am so excited to share it with you.
Abby and her family sailed to Bermuda out of New York City on the Disney Magic on October 24, 2018. (FYI, you can see all of my previous trip reports and guest trip reports by clicking here.) This was the first month that DCL has sailed to Bermuda, ever, so there will be lots of new information about this port! Also, Abby is the owner of LuLaRoe Abby Millsaps so if you want some cute, comfy LuLaRoe Disney gear, she can hook you up! You can read about how to purchase from her here. Okay, now onto the trip report!
Getting There & New York City
The day had finally arrived! It was time for my little family to head to New York City for our highly-anticipated cruise to Bermuda aboard the Disney Magic. The cast of characters in this trip report includes me, my husband David, our 4-year-old Evelyn, and our 15-month-old Eleanor. I can’t wait to recount the highlights of our trip, and to take you on this journey with us!
This trip was dreamed up 15 months prior, as I sat in the NICU immediately after having my second daughter. By the end of our nearly-two-week stay in the hospital I was desperate for something— anything— to look forward to. My husband, David, agreed to go along with my latest scheme. Although our family has the privilege to travel quite a bit, a lot of it is work-related. Additionally, we had not been anywhere as just a family of four this year… we so often travel with extended family, or I take the baby with me to work events. We couldn’t wait to be together with just our nuclear family, and to unplug in a way that you only can when you’re out at sea and the cell phones are off. We were looking forward to this cruise for so many wonderful reasons!
On the agenda for our first day of the trip? Traveling to New York City, and enjoying our time in the Big Apple. Preparing for this trip was a challenge as we tried to balance the suitcases with layers for NYC, cruise wear, costumes for the Halloween on the High Seas festivities, diapers, and more. It didn’t help that Eleanor and I had just arrived home from Atlanta (for a work conference) 36 hours prior. Additionally, I came home to a stuffed up, cranky 4-year-old… a 7 pm trip to Urgent Care the night before our trip confirmed Evelyn had an ear infection.
We arrived to the Cleveland airport with *just* enough time to not feel rushed. After some luggage content juggling, we approached security and were directed to the Pre-check line because we were traveling with small children. Evelyn’s recently-prescribed liquid antibiotics required refrigeration, so security wasn’t the fastest for us this time. I sent David and the girls ahead to the gate while I waited on the last few items to be inspected by TSA. By the time I made it to the gate, the flight was completely boarded. PHEW. We made it, but just barely.
Our flight to NYC was non-stop on a regional plane. The flight itself was uneventful… our girls have flown at least a dozen times each, and they are usually great flyers. This flight was no exception, thankfully.
We arrived into LaGuardia Airport right on time. My plan for transportation to our hotel in Manhattan hit a snag when the Family Lyft arrived with only 1 forward-facing car seat. Thankfully I was able to call for a Family Uber and get things straightened out— away we went!
After an almost obsessive amount of research into where to stay in NYC, we decided on a hotel close to the south side of Central Park called Hotel Watson. I’m a big fan of Booking.com, because you can book a hotel without any deposit. I honestly had 4 different hotels booked at one point, before we finalized where we wanted to stay, and how long we would be in NYC prior to the cruise. Overall, Hotel Watson was just okay. It was the right price compared to other hotels I looked at; the location was wonderful, and put us right where I wanted to be. But the Hotel had “turned off” the air conditioning the weekend prior, and we didn’t figure that out until we had been blasting heat in our room for several hours, trying to get it to cool down. The only solution the hotel could provide was to have the maintenance staff come by and crack open the screenless windows (on the 14th floor, no less!).
We arrived to Hotel Watson around 1 pm. We checked in, and we were happy to discover that our room was ready. Once we dropped off our bags we headed out in the pursuit of food. We started walking uptown, knowing we wanted to spend some time in Central Park, and eventually end up at the American Natural History Museum. A few blocks in we spotted Fiorello’s right across from Lincoln Center. They had several outdoor tables available, and we were seated immediately. The combination of the heat lamps and the provided blankets made for an exceptionally cozy dining experience.
We ended up ordering way too much food, and even though I saw the prices on the menu, I still felt a bit of shell shock when the check came (Toto, we’re not in the Midwest anymore…), but overall we had a great experience.
After lunch, we headed toward Central Park. We had been talking about visiting the park for weeks, and couldn’t wait to see all the leaves changing colors for fall. We ran into two snags in our perfectly-planned afternoon: just about every tree was still green, and both girls promptly fell asleep after lunch. David and I decided to take advantage of the peace and quiet and just walk the perimeter of the park as the girls napped. Eventually, we made it all the way to the Natural History Museum. Evelyn woke up at that moment, so we decided to take advantage of her consciousness and head into the museum as-planned.
The American Museum of Natural History offers a pay-what-you-want admission program for all in-person admission sales. When I tried to hand the volunteer $40, she insisted $20 was more than enough for our family of 4. Okay then!
We spent about 1.5 hours exploring (read: getting lost) in the museum. There were a few amazing exhibits, but much of the Museum was poorly-lit, and not designed with smaller children in mind. The value of the experience was great since we only paid $20 for all 4 of us, but I have a feeling we’ll wait until the girls are older to visit again.
We left the Museum around 5:30 pm and started our trek back to Hotel Watson. It was a lovely walk, with the sun setting and a cool fall breeze in the air. I should note that we chose to take our City Mini stroller for Evelyn, and David wore Eleanor in a baby carrier (we love the Ergo and our LilleBaby) all around the city. Although Evelyn *could* walk, I was worried about her trying to be independent on the sidewalks (not really an option in NYC the way it is at home in Northeast Ohio!), and I knew she wasn’t feeling her best because of her ear infection. I debated for weeks how much kid “gear” we would need on this trip, but in the end I was truly glad we had brought the stroller and two baby carriers for this adventure.
As we made our way down Columbus Ave. we stumbled upon Alice’s Tea Cup, a whimsical, Alice in Wonderland-themed tea room. Our family loves tea, Evelyn especially, so we had to stop in. They have a dining room as well as a to-go selection of loose teas. David, Evelyn and I each picked out a custom blend, and David and Evelyn selected scones for the next morning. Teas in hand, we continued down Columbus Ave. Next, we happened upon Magnolia Bakery— one of my all-time favorite NYC institutions, but a stop I had ruled out for this trip, knowing it wasn’t practical to drag two small kids across town in pursuit of cupcakes. Evelyn and I waited in line, and ordered a cupcake for each of us to enjoy that night for dessert.
We finally arrived back to Hotel Watson around 7 pm. By this point, we were exhausted, so we decided on dinner in the hotel lobby restaurant. The food was better than expected, and the prices were reasonable for NYC. We skipped dessert, noshed on the cupcakes in our room, then got ready for bed. Our sleeping arrangements this night included Eleanor in an antiquated crib (we are SO SPOILED by the awesome PackNPlays provided at Disney Hotels and in DVC Villas), David and Evelyn in one bed, and me in another. I always get to start my night alone, since usually 1 if not 2 girls end up in my bed by morning. Laying in my bed that night, I finally had time to allow myself to get EXCITED. It was the Eve of our Cruise! Disney Magic, here we come!!
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Up next: Day 1 – Boarding the Disney Magic
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