TCM Cruise 2025
Wednesday October 8 to Monday October 13
Wednesday October 8 to Monday October 13
The Disney Magic at Lookout Key
Boarding and Sail Away
We boarded the Disney Magic at Port Canaveral after a short Uber ride from our Cocoa Beach condo. Checking in and boarding was very quick and easy but our cabin wasn't yet ready, so we headed to the restaurant for lunch. We found ourselves sharing a table with another couple who introduced themselves and told us they were the parents of Dave Karger, one the TCM hosts on the cruise. After a few minutes, Dave joined us and was telling us and his parents how his sister, who was supposed to join the cruise, had forgotten her passport and left her wallet on the airplane! He was still hoping to get her on board and he left after a few minutes to try and make arrangements.
Of course, this is a Disney ship, but as TCM had chartered the ship, many of the usual Disney elements, such as Disney Characters and Disney music and all the kids, were thankfully missing.
Gifts in our cabin from Disney and TCM
Leaving Port Canaveral
A windy day on the top deck
The main lobby
The pool area of the ship
Later in the cruise, one of us dared to use the water slide, which starts with a trapdoor opening and a straight drop down, before ending in a water trough. Guess who did and who didn't !
The water slide with one brave individual about to drop down
It was all over in a few seconds
The main reason for being on the ship, of course, was to see as many films as possible and to go to as many interviews as possible. The TCM events started with a "Welcome Aboard" party on the main deck.
Ben Mankiewicz introduced the hosts and some of the guests. This was the only time he wore a suit.
During our five night cruise, we watched eleven films:
The films were in the order we saw them:
Devil in a Blue Dress - 1995
Sunset Boulevard (just the last hour) - 1950
Midnight Cowboy - 1969
Groundhog Day - 1993
Crimson Tide - 1995
Flower Drum Song - 1991
Capricorn One - 1978
Emperor of the North - 1973
Choose Me - 1984
Heaven Can Wait - 1978
One True Thing - 1998
We also attended a series of interviews with guests. In most cases, the guests had appeared in at least one film that was shown on board.
Keith Carradine - Actor in "Emperor of the North" and "Choose Me" with Ben Mankiewicz
Stephanie Powers (Actor) with Jacqueline Stewart
Carl Franklin (Director of "Devil in Blue Dress" and "One True Thing") with Eddie Muller
Stephen Tobolowsky - Actor in "Groundhog Day" with Ben Mankiewicz
Jennifer Grant, daughter of Cary Grant,talking about her father in "Heaven Can Wait" with Ben Mankiewicz
Nancy Kwan - Actor in "The Flower Drum Song" with Alicia Malone
Brenda Vaccaro - Actor in "Midnight Cowboy" and "Capricorn One" (no photographs)
We also attended a quiz " So you think you know Hitchcock" and a seminar "How TCM Intros are Made" given by Alicia Malone.
We stopped twice on the cruise. The first Nassau, a port we had visited many times before. We walked to the British Colonial Hotel for a drink.
The lobby of the British Colonial Hotel
The second stop was at the Disney private island, Lookout Key. It was a long walk from the ship to where we boarded the tram to take us to the beach.
We spent a couple of hours on the beach, which wasn't terribly crowded and then headed back to the ship for the afternoon. Fortunately when the tram dropped us at the end of the long pier we managed to get a ride back to the ship in a golf cart. Later in the afternoon it rained, so our early start was the right choice.
On another day (Day 3) the ship held a "Hollywood Canteen Party" on the main deck. Many people dressed in 1940's style clothes.
Last, but not least, we ate in a different restaurant each night, but with the same dinner companions and the same waiters.
Our dinner companions for the cruise
After five nights, we arrived back in Port Canaveral, left the ship almost immediately and were home by mid morning. Easy peasy !