A MAGICAL Bahamian Cruise Review - with Photos!

[Birms38]

Following...can't wait to hear more!

[picomullet]

Enjoying your review!! Keep it up!!

 

I know what you mean about the closets. 1st cruise on the Magic I picked the wrong closet. Learned my lesson really fast. Told DH I get the other closet next time. It was such a hassle digging in that closet for my clothes!! He was cool with that because he isn't in the closet as much!:o

 

I agree it is weird!

[<3_2_Cruise]

I am really enjoying your review. Thank you for sharing.

[bugsokc]

Great review so far.... looking forward to the rest! :)

[GuardLB]

Our gold pins were here too! TAKE THAT RED CARD LOSERS!! (Kidding) ((Not really)) (((ok really I am, I love all card colors)))

 

 

One other funny thing – I was prepared (thanks to cruise critic) and had kept my Holiday Inn room key with me so I could use it in the eco-light. But when we got in the room, there was already a taped up playing card stuck in it! Later that week we saw a stack of them on the room steward cart – sticking it to the man! Haha!

 

 

Speaking of room stewards, this is when we met our new best friend, May. She took the best care of us all week! She had real big hair, so you could always pick her out coming down the hallway. It always amazes me how fast they learn our names. They are simply the best. I wanted to take her picture but was afraid she wouldn’t like that.

 

Since there was no luggage to unpack, somehow I managed to talk my husband into taking the spa tour with me. Or shall I call it, the spa hard sell pitch. LOL! They showed and demonstrated about every service the spa has, everything from your regular hair and nail services, massages, and even weird body wrap with attached electric nodes "will shrink you inches" treatments. They also try to make it seem like everything is almost sold out, so don't delay! Order now! I mostly went to check out the aroma steam room and the room with the stone chairs and the thalassotherapy pool (I still don’t know how to pronounce that btw). It's neat, and seriously the steam room and the room with the glass tile looking chaises is really, really amazing. But it's not like you can stay in it all day right? I mean, you’d like to, but that can’t be safe right? And I don't think I would use it enough to spend $250 per couple or even $150 for myself. I'd rather buy a few frozen drinks and relax cheaper that way :) So I politely told them no thank you.

 

So, after the spa we went down to deck 5. I love love love this deck. I love the wraparound lanai, it’s great for walking anytime of day. There are a ton of deck chairs that are in the shade (a must for vampire skins like me) and quick easy access to the super cool Ocean Plaza. We read for a while and people watched and waited for muster time.

 

About 3:30 it was time to go to muster. Ours was station B4, which was in the upper floor of the Northern Lights dining room. This was my first cruise to not have to stand on the deck for muster, and it was so nice! People were mostly quiet and attentive. I think all the muster stations were indoors.

 

 

Thanks for the review! Headed on my 1st Carnival Cruise this fall. Can someone elaborate on the card for the eco-light thing?

[ryansmith18]

Thanks for the review! Headed on my 1st Carnival Cruise this fall. Can someone elaborate on the card for the eco-light thing?

 

The concept is that you use your Sail & Sign card to put into that holder in order to turn the cabin lights on. Ideally this prevents you from leaving the room without your card, and sort of forces you to turn the lights out when you're not in the room.

 

In practice, however, most people say it's just annoying. Any card with a magnetic strip (I think) will suffice. Somebody correct me on that if I'm wrong, haven't had to use one of these contraptions just yet. So you can just put a dummy old credit card or something like that in there to keep the light on.

Edited July 1, 2014 by ryansmith18

[GuardLB]

So I'm assuming that its only available on certain ships. Thanks!

[bugsokc]

The concept is that you use your Sail & Sign card to put into that holder in order to turn the cabin lights on. Ideally this prevents you from leaving the room without your card, and sort of forces you to turn the lights out when you're not in the room.

 

In practice, however, most people say it's just annoying. Any card with a magnetic strip (I think) will suffice. Somebody correct me on that if I'm wrong, haven't had to use one of these contraptions just yet. So you can just put a dummy old credit card or something like that in there to keep the light on.

 

Actually any card that fits the slot will work (no magnetic strip necessary). We used a playing card last year.

[jtxo]

Actually any card that fits the slot will work (no magnetic strip necessary). We used a playing card last year.

 

Yep, that's exactly what is in my photo above, two Carnival playing cards taped face sides together by the room stewards. I guess two for thickness.

[jtxo]

Thanks for the review! Headed on my 1st Carnival Cruise this fall. Can someone elaborate on the card for the eco-light thing?

 

 

Oh my gosh, have so much fun on your first Carnival Cruise!!! I'm sure you will have a blast, and then be sure to come back here and let everyone know how it was so we can pretend we went too! SO FUN!!

[jtxo]

Before I start day two, I found my other drawers pic! See, it's good right? Artsy AND informative!

 

[WestTxCruiser]

Lovin' your review!! I am in major cruise withdrawal right now, been way too long. Come on Jan!!!:D:D

[Taden99]

I will be on Magic in a week and I am enjoying the pictures. Thanks for the review and keep it coming.

[kristie64063]

Awesome Review ... :)

[jtxo]

Thanks for all the encouragement everyone! On to day two, a Sea Day:

 

The next morning, the sun was up early. I got up around 7, spent a few minutes on the balcony to welcome the sunny day and say hi to the mostly calm seas. We had definitely left behind the dirty brown waters of Galveston now and were in the deep blue open sea. What a relaxing sight!

 

 

I went to lido for breakfast and decided on some fruit, banana bread, bacon, and waffle pieces. I love the waffle pieces. Most days I either had those, pancakes, or a combo of the two. And here's a pic of the bacon.

 

 

Looks funny, is kinda clumpy, but it tastes just fine. Although you do have to go through the “bacon czar” to get some, and you have to beg her if you want more pieces. I thought she might have looked a little judgmental at me a time or two. :) I sat on level 11 around the pool area for a while and enjoyed my breakfast. Here's my view.

 

 

 

I like that you can get a bit of news in the mornings out here too.

 

I watched the morning show with James (the CD) and someone else. They were entertaining. And I think they have ESP - just as I was thinking how this must be taped, they go to live lido cam views! Then I think, duh, that's built in and they just show today’s camera - but then they commented on what was on the camera! And since I was sitting right there overlooking the lido, I knew it was legit.

 

I then went down to deck 5 to check out trivia. I've never played on board but it always sounds like fun! I was surprised to see you could get a very nice continental breakfast from the taste bar too. I grabbed a cup of java and sat back to watch trivia. It was TV show trivia, so I didn't really play but enjoyed listening and watching. Ryan the British social host was leading. He was lively. And I didn't know hardly ANY of the TV theme songs! I must be too young. Except for Cheers, I would have gotten that one. And Sesame Street. HAHA. I did see one of the big groups at Trivia. Supposedly they were a family, according to their shirts at least.

 

 

I love when big groups all wear matching shirts like that. I want to be one of them someday!

[Flytko]

Very nice, I think on the eco-card deal, my wife and I still managed to leave one of our cards at one time or another, just a silly thing to get used to. Also to comment on the spa tour from earlier: on our second cruise, we did the spa tour and decided to spurge in the steam/thlasso pool package, it was worth every penny. I think my wife and I were in there at least twice a day. The only issue we had was one night we went into the main steam area with the heated chairs, and it smelled horrible. We notified the spa attendants and were able to spray some citrus stuff to neutralize the stench!!!

[ibcnusoon]

Enjoying your review! We had a spa cabin on the Splendor, although I received the room for free, I don't think I'd pay to use the TH pool and aroma rooms. Although nice, and the TH pool made my skin lovely and soft, I spent maybe 1/2 hour in the pool and a 1/2 hour in a heated lounger every other day. I did take the 1 free Yoga class but missed out on rebooking another free one.

 

Anyway, looking forward to more of your review and of the Bahamas!

[jtxo]

Enjoying your review! We had a spa cabin on the Splendor, although I received the room for free, I don't think I'd pay to use the TH pool and aroma rooms. Although nice, and the TH pool made my skin lovely and soft, I spent maybe 1/2 hour in the pool and a 1/2 hour in a heated lounger every other day. I did take the 1 free Yoga class but missed out on rebooking another free one.

 

Anyway, looking forward to more of your review and of the Bahamas!

 

Thank you so much! I'm going to TRY to get it all posted before the holiday weekend. Thanks for reading!

[jtxo]

Later in the morning I went to James’ Fun Aboard Fun Ashore show. It was actually very informative. James was funny and really does do a good job of interacting with folks from the stage in my opinion. They also made sure to say 100 times that there is nothing in Freeport, so you’d better have something planned ahead of time.

 

I stayed for the shopping show, and I even sat close enough that I could have gotten one of the coupon books for $25 (if I wanted to be trampled to death by the thundering herd), but by the time they listed all the coupons it contained I had talked myself out of it. But boy is it hard to turn down a chance to win something, especially for me. Oh well. And seriously, the free necklaces and whatnot were not cute. If they had been, I’d have snatched up that book. They shouldn’t have shown it ahead of time.

 

Afterwards we had lunch at the deli. They serve mostly hot grilled sandwiches, but that always made me want chips…. Which they don’t have. Bummer, Carnival. But it was still very good. I had basically a fancy grilled cheese and my husband had a grilled Turkey and cheese. Both delicious! Then it was back to the room for a quick reading/nap session after checking the seas and our current location. I love that channel.

 

 

 

Making progress!!

 

I wanted to go to the gemstone talk at 3 to get those free earrings. I went, got my coupon (and not just the first 50 like they advertise, they had a whole stack of the cards) and then promptly left. It was in the comedy lounge and looked like it was going to be a real drag. I snuck out the back.

 

But at some point this afternoon, you could see another Carnival ship in the distance! She was too far away to know which one, but I wanted to know so badly that I almost worked up the nerve to ask one of the guys in white uniforms.

 

 

 

Formal night is tonight. Sorry, "cruise elegant". We have your time dining and knew that formal night would be busier but boy was it even more than I had imagined. We had to wait about 20 minutes with a pager before being seated which wasn't bad, but then service was SLOW. I mean so slow. So slow in fact, that we chose to forgo desert for a Lido ice cream cone instead. Yum! We did get showtime tonight, which did not happen on night one. I didn’t recognize the techno song they danced to.

 

After dinner and ice cream, we spent the rest of the evening in the Ocean Plaza. Can I say again how much I love this area? We watched the band "highlights" phonetically sing everything from Johnny Cash to Coldplay. It was entertaining, and interesting.

 

 

Then two of the hostess ladies came and started up 70's "Name that song" trivia which was really fun. They were just starting the 70s line dance when we called it a night.

 

But first, I have no idea what this is supposed to be.

 

 

Any ideas???

[~Christie~]

Later in the morning I went to James’ Fun Aboard Fun Ashore show. It was actually very informative. James was funny and really does do a good job of interacting with folks from the stage in my opinion. They also made sure to say 100 times that there is nothing in Freeport, so you’d better have something planned ahead of time.

 

I stayed for the shopping show, and I even sat close enough that I could have gotten one of the coupon books for $25 (if I wanted to be trampled to death by the thundering herd), but by the time they listed all the coupons it contained I had talked myself out of it. But boy is it hard to turn down a chance to win something, especially for me. Oh well. And seriously, the free necklaces and whatnot were not cute. If they had been, I’d have snatched up that book. They shouldn’t have shown it ahead of time.

 

Afterwards we had lunch at the deli. They serve mostly hot grilled sandwiches, but that always made me want chips…. Which they don’t have. Bummer, Carnival. But it was still very good. I had basically a fancy grilled cheese and my husband had a grilled Turkey and cheese. Both delicious! Then it was back to the room for a quick reading/nap session after checking the seas and our current location. I love that channel.

 

 

 

Making progress!!

 

I wanted to go to the gemstone talk at 3 to get those free earrings. I went, got my coupon (and not just the first 50 like they advertise, they had a whole stack of the cards) and then promptly left. It was in the comedy lounge and looked like it was going to be a real drag. I snuck out the back.

 

But at some point this afternoon, you could see another Carnival ship in the distance! She was too far away to know which one, but I wanted to know so badly that I almost worked up the nerve to ask one of the guys in white uniforms.

 

 

 

Formal night is tonight. Sorry, "cruise elegant". We have your time dining and knew that formal night would be busier but boy was it even more than I had imagined. We had to wait about 20 minutes with a pager before being seated which wasn't bad, but then service was SLOW. I mean so slow. So slow in fact, that we chose to forgo desert for a Lido ice cream cone instead. Yum! We did get showtime tonight, which did not happen on night one. I didn’t recognize the techno song they danced to.

 

After dinner and ice cream, we spent the rest of the evening in the Ocean Plaza. Can I say again how much I love this area? We watched the band "highlights" phonetically sing everything from Johnny Cash to Coldplay. It was entertaining, and interesting.

 

 

Then two of the hostess ladies came and started up 70's "Name that song" trivia which was really fun. They were just starting the 70s line dance when we called it a night.

 

But first, I have no idea what this is supposed to be.

 

 

Any ideas???

 

A puppy? Also I blew up the pic and looking at the way the back of the ship is designed it may be the magic or breeze

....?????

 

Sent from my XT1032 using Forums mobile app

[ibcnusoon]

I think it's supposed to be a puppy/dog. I only know that because on our cruise last week we went to the towel folding demonstration and that was one of the animals they had us construct.

[MichelleChell]

YAY following! I just switched to this route!

[jtxo]

I think it's supposed to be a puppy/dog. I only know that because on our cruise last week we went to the towel folding demonstration and that was one of the animals they had us construct.

 

Good to know! Thanks!

 

YAY following! I just switched to this route!

 

YAY!! Thanks for reading!

[jtxo]

First of all, it’s so strange having a US stop on a cruise! It is nice having phone service again for a day though, but sales tax is a bummer! We weren't scheduled to dock until about 10am, but we missed that by a few minutes. While waiting though, we had nice turquoise water!

 

Coming into Key West:

 

 

 

I believe that was the reason a few tours had to be cancelled, although it is hard to hear the announcements sometimes so I can't say for 100% sure. (Never mind, I found out later some snorkeling tours were cancelled due to wind. Here’s the view from the lido breakfast area while docking.

 

 

And Ecstasy is here with us! Notice anything funny about her side shots?

 

 

 

 

THEY ARE ALL IN LIFEJACKETS! But since they were waving at us I assumed all was ok. I think the crew were doing drills while the passengers were enjoying a lovely day in Key West, actually. At least that’s what it looked like to my untrained eye.

[ADD Boy]

Loving the review and pics!

Curious, what time did you arrive for dinner where you had to wait 20 mins? We have never had to wait more than five minutes but we usually arrive about 630.