Staterooms

Obviously designed with family comfort in mind, these staterooms are among the roomiest and most elegant at sea. The overall color scheme is a nice deep blue with gray and burgundy, and while there are "hidden Mickeys" everywhere, you have to look to find them. Cabins aren't made for kids, but rather for respite from the child-friendly public spaces on board. They are placid, quiet and comfortable havens of privacy that somehow manage to work on all levels, and it's no surprise that they are popular with people traveling with as well as without youngsters.

The standard cabins on Disney Magic would be called a mini-suite on many other ships, with a distinct bedroom area and a living room. Twin beds, which can be made into a queen, are divided from the living area with a full pull-across curtain. The living room includes a deep full-length sofa which can be made into a third single bed; many rooms also have berths that descend from the ceiling for a fourth person, and families of five can choose a family stateroom, a bit larger than a standard, that also has a wall-mounted Murphy bed.

There are plenty of drawers for storage including six in a chest at the end of the closet and eight in the deep double-pedestal desk/dressing table. The closet has sliding doors and is fairly small, but most rooms also have an upright "steamer trunk" wardrobe for more clothing storage, which also happens to be the perfect height for kids. There are shelves above the TV in the desk area console, too high for little ones to reach. The beds are very low, too low for most suitcases to slide under. Even my niece's small carry-on did not fit under our beds.

The honey maple furniture with inlaid Art Deco designs is elegant and warm, as are the triple-paned etched glass balcony doors. Only the center portion slides open; there is also a child-proof lock. Each stateroom comes with a "cold box." It's not a refrigerator but just keeps already cold items cold. Also included in staterooms is a safe, two small end tables with a single drawer each, a sofa, a coffee table that rises to table height, a large desk with a crescent-shaped stool and a small television. The TV programming is probably the most comprehensive of any at sea, with mostly Disney-owned channels (including ABC, ABC Family, the Disney Channel and several ESPN channels) and Discovery, Discovery Travel, CNN and CNN Headline. There were several stations with movies produced by Disney-owned companies including Miramax, Buena Vista and Touchstone.

The bathrooms on Magic are unique in that they are divided into a "bath and a half" configuration in all but the least expensive inside cabins. One room has a toilet, a sink and shelves for makeup and sundries; the other has a shallow tub, shower and sink. The tub is mainly to wash little ones who are too young to shower, and while it seemed a bit shallow for an adult bath, it can be used for that purpose as well. Crisp white tiles with bright blue accent pieces, faux granite sink tops with molded honey maple surrounds and round chrome sinks made these little rooms appear elegant but I felt claustrophobic in them. I was surprised when my niece mentioned that they were her least favorite aspect of the room too; "too small," she claimed. Most people love them.

Bathroom amenities are fairly basic, including soap, a shampoo/conditioner combo, and lotion. There is a wall-mounted hair dryer in the room that holds the toilet, which we found oddly inconvenient ... after showering we had to change bathrooms to be able to dry our hair.

The exterior "modern classic" design dictated a lot of the nuances in terms of interior spaces. Outside cabins have large round windows that replicate portholes. Most of the balconies have bars and Plexiglas inserts, but at the aft end of decks five, six, seven and eight are balconied staterooms with either a "Navigator's Balcony" with a solid wall and a round cutout, or a half-height white metal wall as the staterooms angle towards the pointed stern. This angle, too, allows for larger veranda spaces because of the curve. We had a stateroom at the "corner" of the aft curve; our balcony was nearly six feet wide at one end, narrowing to about three and a half feet at the other, and was slightly longer than the standard midship balconies. We loved the extra outdoor space but missed the ocean vista since the solid metal wall prevents your being able to see anything but sky when you are seated, both inside and out.

Caveat: Some of these "aft corner" staterooms (5150, 5650, 6150, 6650, 7134, 7634) are narrower than others, with no extra wardrobe for clothes and a tight fit at the living room end. Ours was fine for two people; three would have made it uncomfortable.

The handicap-accessible staterooms on Magic are enormous, and the aft balcony accessible staterooms have huge verandahs (some are 30-ft. long) as well.

Inside cabins are, for the most part, configured similarly to the outsides with the same amenities. The least expensive insides have a single bath with one sink.

Hint: The ship has six staterooms known by insiders as "The Secret Porthole Rooms." They aren't secret at all, but they are a great bargain. They are staterooms all the way forward on Deck 5 that have portholes that are to varying degrees obstructed, and they are sold at the cost of the most expensive inside stateroom. Staterooms 5020, 5022, 5520 and 5522 have virtually nothing blocking the windows except rails and a pulley; 5024 and 5524 are almost completely blocked with barrels. Still, if you are considering an inside stateroom but would love the light of day for free, these cabins are a best bet.

The suites are all located on Deck 8 midship. Suites range from one bedroom to two Royal suites (one with a baby grand piano), and come complete with a concierge team, more upscale design elements, full-length whirlpool tubs; the two-bedroom and up suites have dual-sink granite vanities. All of the suites have large verandas.

Suite guests get upgraded bath amenities and robes and slippers. Soap, shower gel, shampoo and conditioner are thyme and eucalyptus scented, served in eco-friendly cardboard packs. There is also mouthwash, toothpaste, toothbrush and a vanity pack with cotton balls and cotton swabs, plus a little sewing kit.

1 Bedroom Suite with Verandah Deck: Deck 8 1 Bedroom Suites with Verandah 3 are 614 square feet and feature a queen-sized bed, living area with double convertible sofa, a Murphy bed, two full bathrooms, a walk-in closet, wet bar, TV, VCR, safe, hairdryer, phone with voicemail messaging, individual climate control, and concierge service.

Deluxe Family Stateroom with Verandah Deck: Deck 8 Deluxe Family Staterooms with Verandah 4 are 304 square feet and feature a queen-sized bed or two twin beds and a single convertible sofa, Murphy bed, privacy divider, private split bathroom with tub and shower, TV, ample closet space, safe, hairdryer, phone with voicemail, and individual climate control.

Deluxe Oceanview Stateroom Deck: Deck 5, Deck 6, Deck 7 Deluxe Oceanview Staterooms 8 are 214 square feet and feature a queen-sized bed or two twin beds and a single convertible sofa, porthole, privacy divider, private split bathroom with tub and shower, TV, ample closet space, safe, hairdryer, phone with voicemail, and individual climate control.

Deluxe Inside Stateroom Deck: Deck 1, Deck 2, Deck 5, Deck 7 Deluxe Inside Staterooms 10 are 214 square feet and feature a queen-sized bed or two twin beds and a single convertible sofa, privacy divider, private split bathroom with tub and shower, TV, ample closet space, safe, hairdryer, phone with voicemail, and individual climate control.