Our MAGICal Cruise

We waited a long time for this cruise to happen. By that I mean, we booked it over a year in advance. Our other cruises were booked 6-9 months from sailing. The days dragged on and on until the day was finally here. Well, night actually. My brother, Joshua, and sister-in-law, Krista, were sailing with us this time. We all thought it would be fun to drive through the night and arrive early in the morning to watch our ship arrive. We were counting on excitement to keep us going through the day. :) People asked if we thought it was worth it to arrive so early to see the ship come in. For me, it was. Does that make me a true Cruise Addict? :) It was really quite incredible to see the ship coming in in the dark. We watched it turn around and back in to the bay area, and then move sideways up to the pier. It's fascinating to watch a floating city, that is longer than the length of three football fields, parallel park on water!

Cruise details~
Embarkation Port: Galveston, Texas
Ship: Carnival Magic
Date: Sailed 5/6/2012
Length: 7 Days
Destination: Western Caribbean, Montego Bay, Jamaica/Grand Cayman, Cayman Islands/Cozumel, Mexico
(Click on a destination above to go to a detailed review for that stop!)

Embarkation~
As I mentioned, we had arrived at the Port of Galveston very early. After watching the ship come in, we went to the Starbucks that is across the street from the pier to get some breakfast and also freshen up. We did have to wait a while before we could get inside the terminal, but we didn't mind. We also knew that we would be some of the first people to get in, which meant hopefully some of the first on the ship. When we decided to go ahead and go to the terminal we drove up in front of the terminal and dropped our check luggage with the porters then parked at Galveston Park n Cruise which is across the street from the terminal. At the time it was a little less expensive than parking directly at the pier, and it seemed just as close. The attendant that greeted us as we pulled in was friendly and helpful.
Having never been to the port this early, I didn't know how long we would have to wait once we were checked in. The check in process went well, just like always, but this turned out to be the longest wait we have had. It was our fault of course. Even if we get in to the terminal and are some of the first though check in, that doesn't mean that the ship is ready for the new passengers. I think it was still worth it to get there early. Maybe not every time, but sometimes would be ok.


Itinerary~
This itinerary was the same as our cruise on the Carnival Conquest. Two days at sea before our first stop meant lots of relaxing, but also so much to do. The Magic has so many things that, at the time, were new to a cruise ship. Or at least, things we never thought we would do in the middle of the ocean. Both days we took advantage of a lack of schedule and slept in. And then the real fun began. Playing pool, working out with equipment, and doing a ropes course, all with an ocean view on an open deck, these are the things that kept us busy most of the day. The ocean looked like a sheet of glass on our first day. I have never seen it so smooth before. That made playing pool and doing the ropes course easier. Of course no sea day is complete without some time spent at one of the pools.
Our second sea day was more of the same. People watching, laying out, reading, doing nothing, and we added a visit to the water slides this time. In my five cruises, this was the first time I had ever gone down a slide on a ship. We had a great time playing around Water Works and acting like kids. At one point Krista and I accidentally stumbled on the dancers rehearsing for a show, and we were promptly shown the way out. It was funny, but almost embarrassing at the same time. Keeping the show a surprise is taken very seriously apparently. :) That night there was a deck party on the Lido Deck. I'm not much of a dancer. I prefer to watch other people and bop around in my little place. However, this time my brother decided it was a good time for me to learn how to do the Salsa. It was a very enjoyable night!

Our third morning we woke up in time to watch the ship pull in to Montego Bay. Scott and I didn't have any specific plans so we took our time leaving our room, and when we did, we got breakfast and took it up to the Serenity Deck. The view of Jamaica from an upper deck on the ship is quite beautiful. After breakfast, and after the crowds had gotten off the ship, we spent a couple hours shopping in the terminal area. That was the extent of our visit to Jamaica. Scott and I decided this visit would be a stay on the ship day. It's a good thing there's always something to do! Although, even if there wasn't, that would be ok too. We changed into our swimsuits intending to go to the waterslides, but it had started raining and the slides were closed. So we had lunch instead. After lunch the slides were still closed and it was still raining a little. I wasn't about to let a little rain stop me from enjoying my day. We spent some time in the hot tub and then, my favorite part of the day- rootbeer floats (made with rootbeer that we had brought on board on embarkation day) while sitting together in an oversized hammock, still in the rain. It was lovely. Eventually the slides opened back up and Scott and I played like little kids all over the Waterworks playground. (I don't think it's actually called a playground. That's just what it felt like to me. :) ) I have a post that includes information about our first visit to Montego Bay. Check it out, Here!
Joshua and Krista had ventured out into Montego Bay and did a little exploring. I believe they took the Hot Spot Shuttle to get around, and ended up at Doctor's Cave Beach for a little while. We all met back up for a show before dinner and finished our night with a gorgeous sunset and a delicious meal. We were all looking forward to Grand Cayman the next day!

After our last visit to Grand Cayman, when we got caught up in walking around town, I knew I wanted to be sure to make it to Eden Rock. We caught the tender boat to shore and our adventure began!
That night was the Past Guest Party followed by the second formal night. It was a good night, but we all knew more fun was to be had the next day.

When Joshua and Krista first told us they would be joining us on the cruise, and then when I realized our day in Cozumel fell on Krista's birthday, I knew exactly what we should do for the day. I talked it over with them, and we all agreed a day at Chankanaab Park was the BEST idea. Joshua and Krista had not been before, but I had shown Krista some pictures of our previous visit and told her about the other stuff that we hadn't been able to do, and she liked what she saw. We got off the ship as soon as we could and quickly made our way to the taxi area. One of the really neat things I experienced this time was when Krista would speak spanish to the locals. It was so neat. Especially to hear her interact with our taxi driver. During the 10 minutes drive down the highway we were listening to them. It turns out we were getting a deal on our entry fee to the park! If you haven't seen it before, take a look at the fun times we've had at Chankanaab.
We took a taxi back and got dropped off at the port shopping area. Joshua and Krista went their separate way for a little while. We got back together at dinner time and continued the celebration of Krista's birthday with presents from Joshua, a cake from Scott and I, and singing from our waiters! I must say, I'm actually pretty jealous of Krista's birthday. :)
Our fun continued after dinner with a comedic juggler, time spent on deck under the stars, and finished with the Midnight Mexican Buffet. With such a full day, I was glad we got to have one more day at sea before we would be getting back to Galveston.

The final sea day we spent time inside and out doing anything and nothing at all. We were trying to get some last minute laying out in and out of nowhere it got so dark and crazy windy. We barely made it inside and they rain came down. I guess that was one way to make sure we got our packing done. First though, we pacified the sad fact that our cruise was coming to an end with some treats from the coffee shop. While we packed the rain cleared up and we were treated to another beautiful sunset before dinner. The Carnival Legends show was after dinner. It's always a fun time to see other guests participating in the show with the professional singers and dancers. With that, our cruise was over. We went to bed anticipating our long drive home the next day.


Debarkation~
We chose the Relaxed Debarkation option, so our bags had gone outside our door the night before debarkation. In the morning the four of us went up for breakfast and planted ourselves at a table by the windows on the Lido deck. We figured it would be a good place to wait, since we didn't know how long it would take for our section to be called. Turns out it was a while. I believe it was 10:30 or 11 before we were called, and then we made our way down to deck 3 and off the ship into the terminal. Scott and I found out luggage, but Joshua and Krista were missing a bag. When we got to customs their bag still hadn't been found. There were Carnival representatives doing their best to help out. Scott and I waited outside the building for a little bit because we weren't allowed in once we got through customs. When Joshua and Krista came out they said that we would go ahead and leave. Carnival would call when the bag was found and they would mail it to their house. We got to the car and got on the road. About 20 minutes later Krista got a call from Carnival saying they had found the bag. So we turned around to get it. Carnival was great in a situation that they did not have to be. The process of getting off the ship and out of the terminal took longer than I expected. This was the second time we had done the relaxed option, but the first time we did it and left when our section was called. (The first time we chose to stay onboard until the very end.) I don't know how long I thought it would take, but I realized that staying on the ship while waiting for debarkation only prolongs the inevitable drive home. (Side note, that is the last time we have done the relaxed option. We definitely prefer to carry off our own bags and be off the ship earlier.)


This and That :) ~
The Ship
We chose this cruise because of the ship. The Carnival Magic was only a year old when we set sail and had only been sailing from a US port for about 6 months. If you've done the math, that means that we booked this cruise pretty much as soon as she sailed for the first time in the Mediterranean. When the announcement was made that the Carnival Magic would be sailing out of Galveston once it sailed across the Atlantic, I knew our next cruise would be on her. I planned and saved for a long time to make sure that happened. :)
Most of the draws to the Magic were outside activities. The Waterworks on this ship are much bigger than on the Ecstasy (the only other ship we have been on that had Carnival Waterworks). I was most excited about the ropes course though. The first ropes course at sea is on the new Sports Square. Each section of the course has 2-3 different levels of difficulty in order to cross to the next platform. It was nerve wracking and exciting, and I had a blast doing the course! Also on this ship are outdoor weight machines. All in all, I can't imagine a better place to workout all the amazing food we ate. :)

The Food
I decided to try something new every day while I this cruise. If I'm going to be eating food I wouldn't normally eat at home, but I REALLY try something I wouldn't have at home? Our first night at dinner I had creme brulee for dessert. It was nothing short of decadent! While that was more minor I also really went out on a limb and tried alligator. It's surprisingly good. I drew the line at frog legs though. ;) One night I had some duck. It was yummy also. I really have yet to try something I didn't like while cruising. My favorite dinner is always on the first formal night when we get lobster tail and shrimp. I'm not ashamed to say that I ordered two for myself this time. :)


Our Cabin
Something that I found pretty exciting about the Magic (and other ships in the Dream Class) is that they have added Cove Balconies. Cove Balconies are balconies on deck 2 that are a little more enclosed than a typical balcony on a higher deck. We were in stateroom 2252 which is towards the front of the ship. It was really quite amazing being in a balcony on a lower deck. It felt like we could touch the water. Of course, we couldn't, but we just felt so close. I would love to have a cove balcony again some day.


Entertainment
The best show of this cruise was the illusionist. He was flown in from Las Vegas and worked with the Carnival singers and dancers to put on a fantastic show! Another night there was a comedic juggler. He told a story through videos and juggling and kept us laughing the whole time. Of course on the last night there was the Carnival Legends show. This one can be hit or miss depending on the guests that make it into the show. At the very least it's fun to see the costumes the guests get to wear. :)


Cruising on the Carnival Magic was incredible. Every ship needs to have the updates that she has. We were definitely left with a longing for our next cruise. Whenever that would be!