What was it like sailing on a magic themed cruise? I was glad that we had planned to book two weeks on the Sun Princess because so many things were scheduled related to the Magic Castle Conjurer's Cruise the first week that I felt we didn't get the full experience of an average cruise on this new ship. If after reading this summary, you find yourself wanting to sail on the next Magic Castle Conjurer's Cruise, the next one is scheduled for September 27th - October 4, 2026 and will be on the new Star Princess (sister ship to Sun Princess) sailing from Vancouver, B.C. along the California coast to Los Angeles. Bookings are open now for this specific 7 day Pacific Wine Country itinerary and I'd be happy to recommend a wonderful travel agent if anyone is interested. If it's also your first experience with Princess Cruises, I'd love to extend a referral bonus for you to enjoy on the cruise.
Several months prior to the cruise, Princess announced that they would be offering specific packages for an extra cost that would grant you certain perks and activities to enjoy while on the cruise. There was no restrictions on booking the cruise itself and there were no cabins set aside for those who booked a package. While some venues may not be available to you and/or you might have not had as much daytime activities or nighttime shows scheduled as you normally would, there was nothing stopping you from enjoying this cruise without any of the Magic Castle Conjurer's Cruise packages. In fact I was quite surprised at how much was available for those without packages. In retrospect, I give credit to Princess for arranging things the way they did. Rather than blocking off whole venues onboard for most of the time, they instead offered the same activities with better seating or a more intimate location to those with packages. Those with the top tier packages got certain things included that was otherwise an extra cost or priority reservations to events that had a finite availability.
Everyone on board this cruise received a nice brochure printed on thick cardstock breaking down the events of the cruise not only by day and location but also by which package holders could attend.
One of the things I wondered about pre-cruise was whether we'd miss out on anything scheduled while we were out enjoying the ports. The schedule was heavier on sea days with limited offerings mostly in the evening hours on port days.
If this was an event that all could attend regardless of package, it was listed as "S" for Shipwide or Open To All Guests. The cheapest package one could purchase was listed on the schedule as "A" for Apprentice. This package costs $275 per person. This tier included access to the welcome reception and farewell social with the magicians, a guided tour of Spellbound by Magic Castle president Erika Larsen, a commemorative lanyard, lapel pin, deck of cards, and early access to open seating in the Princess Arena for magic performances. Each package received a lanyard that was a slightly different color scheme than the other packages and said the name of the package purchased. This served as our way to carry around the necessary medallion and helped crew easily confirm who had the right package to access each event.
Above: Back of the Conjurer Package lanyard. Note the Magic Castle's owl logo on the back of the medallion. Below: Prince S showing off the front of the lanyard where it says Conjurer.
The top two tier packages were known as Enchanter ($545 per person) and Conjurer ($795 per person). Each package as you moved up included the previous package's perks but added a little more for the increased price. Enchanter got to also attend a Magical Gathering Breakfast with Erika Larsen and the magicians, preferred seating in the Princess Arena for magic shows (aka the center section of raised off the floor fold down seats), a late-night cocktail party and magic show in Spellbound, and the Spellbound experience without dinner. Those on the Conjurer package included everything from the cheaper packages plus a Mix & Mingle Spellbound Cocktail Soiree with Michael Carbonaro (our headlining magician) and entire cast of magicians, a magic class taught by one of the magicians, welcome swag, champagne and chocolates in your stateroom, reserved seating for magic shows in the Princess Arena (folding chairs on the floor of the theater in front of the stage), and a photo signed by all the magicians. As the cruise grew closer, Princess decided to also include the Spellbound experience with dinner to those in the Conjurer package.
Our stateroom chocolates:
The "welcome swag" left on my bed on embarkation day - the schedule brochure, a card welcoming us, two Spellbound themed sets of playing cards, two crossbody zippered bags with the Magic Castle Conjurer's Cruise logo, two neckties with the logo and two mugs that are temperature sensitive so the logo shows up when you add liquid. Only thing missing was a logo pin that was given out to those who went through the normal embarkation check-in inside the terminal.
Conjurer's Cruise Kick Off Show open to all in the Piazza:
Lecture on the History of Magic Castle given by Erika Larsen - president of Magic Castle Enterprises. Our view from the Conjurer folding chairs on the floor in front of the stage.
A small glimpse into 49 Boxes: A Magic Puzzle Experience. We worked as a small group and combined our efforts with other groups to solve puzzles. Our group would solve our own puzzles to get keys and combinations to open our own boxes. Once each group solved their group of boxes it revealed a key to use on the box at the front that held a lock for each group to open. The boxes contained historical artifacts from the magic community. This activity was open to everyone on board but only the top two tiers got priority reservations. For everyone else it was based on whatever space was left.
We spent a few evenings checking out the Spellbound area during the Enchanter and Conjurer only Cocktail Hour. We did sip from a few of the different drink options but mostly ordered ones I knew would be a unique presentation.
The drink menu is literally the size of some of the tables in the bar area.
You can also order standard alcoholic drinks plus a couple non alcoholic themed cocktails from the Spellbound bar.
The Smoke But No Mirrors Non-Alcoholic Cocktail - also has an alcoholic version
Escape From Houdini's Chest - comes with the same smoke effect released from a small treasure chest. Inside are handcuffs that our server had me put on before whisking them and the treasure box away.
We chose to attend the late show of Michael Carbonaro Live in the Princess Arena. The show was open to everyone but the Enchanter and Conjurer groups had reserved seating. Our seats on the floor were right in the middle of the action during Michael's mind reading rope trick.
Throughout the ship they had treats that had the Magic Castle logo as decorations.
All three magic packages were able to sign up for a Behind the Scenes of Spellbound session where we were led through the Spellbound venue and learned the history of how the Magic Castle in Hollywood came to partner with Princess Cruises. As we walked through, they pointed out the several small effects and artifacts they have running routinely that you may have never noticed while enjoying the cocktails and bar magic.
A model of the original Princess Patricia that simulates a thunderstorm at sea.
One of these books comes out from the shelf.
Pick up this phone to hear a secret message and also learn about your car's extended warranty.
These gears in the picture behind the bar rotate routinely to form the face of Artemis the Owl
Note the important caption on this artifact.
In the magic theater space, the painted walls are actually shades that can be raised to reveal windows that look out on the outside deck.
When it came to the Menagerie breakfast with the magicians, I think they were a little unprepared for how many were in the top two package groups. It was held in one of the main dining rooms and they didn't have as many tables set as there were diners. Service was notably slower at our group of tables. We shared a table with a lovely woman who was a member of the Magic Castle in Hollywood but was only on the cruise as a passenger. It took nearly all of our meal before the roaming magicians reached us. Unfortunately, the magicians performed the same tricks for each area of the dining room. I commend them for making it to every group of tables but it was a bit of dejavu to hear a trick done at your neighbor's table and then have it done all over again at your table two steps away.
The Princess Magic Class was held all at the same time but split up into various venues based on your package. The Conjurer group got to sit in the small theater inside Spellbound for our class but the packed in rows of folding chairs to accommodate everyone made things a bit uncomfortable. We were each given a regular deck of cards and shown a few sleight of hand and under the table tricks to show our friends at the next dinner party.
Time for the Spellbound experience with dinner! Make sure you look for these invitations left in your cabin as they tell you what group you've been assigned and the times to arrive for each part. They keep every part to a tight schedule since only so many people can fit in the dining room and the magic show theater space. I know there's been debate about what constitutes "Formal Attire" but we were fine wearing slacks and dress shirt/blouse. If you'd rather wear a tux and evening gown, go for it.
The menu - for those with food allergies and dietary restrictions - other items were offered such as salad and fruit for those who couldn't have shellfish.
The Spellbound cocktail they jokingly called salad in a glass because it was based on a Bloody Mary with the celery stalk being turned into the foam on top. Wine was offered but they were happy to bring you any non alcoholic drink you wanted.
The Vanishing Chilled Jumbo Shrimp
Bamboozled Butternut Squash and Apple Soup
They came around to each person and pour the liquid portion over the bowl's contents from a little carafe.
Then you have your choice of the three main entrees - I went with the Prestidigitation Beef Tenderloin with Lobster Dumplings.
A palate cleanser drink
White and Dark Chocolate Ganache with Yuzu
Our escort came to the dining room to pick us up but agreed to stop on the way when all those wine drinkers needed a potty break.
After our introduction inside the Spellbound's entrance with some magic words, we were granted access through the secret passageway into the bar space. We next visited the piano playing ghost named Isabella. She is the cousin of piano playing ghost Irma who resides at the Magic Castle in Hollywood. Isabella takes requests but we didn't get the chance to linger before being ushered over to the bar.
Next we were encouraged to gather around the bar while a couple magicians did some close up magic for us. They interacted with several passengers and included the ones seated at the bar in the tricks.
The Artemis in the Moonlight - the other non alcoholic cocktail. This one was a little tart and only slightly sweet. I found it really nice and drank about half before it was time to move on to the magic show.
Our Spellbound experience was held in conjunction with the Conjurer only Spellbound Soiree where Michael Carbonaro was super nice and took the time to chat with everyone.
Nearing the end of the first cruise, I found it odd that we hadn't received the signed photo of all the magicians. I went to the Magic Castle hospitality desk set up during certain hours outside of Spellbound to ask about it. They told me that some passengers complained about getting a photo signed by all the magicians as they didn't want certain magician's signatures. The Magic Castle's solution was to tell only those who asked, that if we wanted a signed photo at all, then we had to go to the onboard photo department, pick out a print for free, and then run around trying to find all the magicians we wanted to have sign it. If this was to be the plan, it would have been much better to let passengers know well before the last day. It would have been much easier to have the photo (or a voucher to pick one up at the photo department) delivered to our cabins early in the cruise and then we could have the magicians sign it as we attended events with them all week. Some of the magicians were only onboard for part of the cruise after flying in and out in between other scheduled appearances. Or at least have both a signed photo and a plain photo from which passengers can choose.
I am pleased to see that after sharing this news with my fellow cruisers on social media so they knew to get the photo if they wanted it, I came back to the cabin and discovered a signed photo from all the magicians still on board. Several other cruisers shared that they too had found photos left in their cabin. Thank you to Princess and Magic Castle for making it right.
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