Newbie Cruises the Caribbean: Review of Magic 3/15-22 Cruise to Bahamas

[Beachiekeen]

After dinner we went to the piano bar, but at 9:30 it was completely full. So we killed time in the Ocean Plaza, catching the end of the 70’s party before it was time for the 10:15 show at the Showtime Theater, Grooveline which was 70’s/disco music. This is sadly the only show we saw—the boys were just never that into it. I love 70’s music and I enjoyed the music a lot. However the dancing was terrrrible. I understand it must be hard to show enthusiasm night after night but the dancers were just not into it and the choreography was so basic, I think even I could have done most of it. So that was a little disappointing but I still enjoyed the show.

 

We went up to the room after the show. Towel animal #2.

 

 

Fun Times for Sea Day #1. My long nap meant we missed the Captain's Celebration. :(

 

 

 

 

Three ports in a row coming up next!

Edited March 24, 2015 by Beachiekeen

[Beachiekeen]

We were up at 7:00 am and the boys went down to the gym. I have in my notes that we went to the Lido for breakfast—all I have written down is a sad face so it must not have been very memorable.

 

I was excited that we were arriving to Key West late enough that we would be able to see the ship dock in port. We went up to the pool deck to watch.

 

 

 

 

 

Once we were off the ship, our first stop was the Hemmingway House. Then we were going to make our way down to the Southernmost point, see the Key West Butterfly Conservatory, then head up Duval on our way back to the ship, having lunch somewhere along the way.

 

We pretty much stuck to this plan. It was a beautiful day, very warm. We loved all the stops we made and we made a few other stops into galleries, etc., and the boys both bought T-shirts. We didn’t end up hitting many of the bars on my list though. By the time we were up Duval, all of the famous ones were packed and the music was blaring. That’s not really our scene. And oh man, the St. Patty’s day getups I saw were really hilarious.

 

The bars we ended up at were: Pork & Stogie, Little Room Jazz Club, Willie T’s (this whole place was covered in dollar bills!), the Lazy Geiko, and World of Beer. I found World of Beer by chance walking back to the ship and pointed it out to them since they both like beer. I had taken some allergy medicine that morning since we would be outside so much and didn’t feel that great so I only had a bellini at the Little Room. But the boys had a drink or two at each stop.

 

We ended up having lunch at a place called Louie’s Backyard because hubby had heard a bartender recommend it. It wasn’t one of the places I had on my list. The service was pretty bad and the food was just OK. We had to wait forever for a tiny glass of water and then they wouldn’t refill it unless we asked. I had wanted to go to Blue Heaven or Salute on the Beach. I also got key lime pie at Kermit’s—I’m actually not a big key lime pie fan but hey, when in Rome!

 

We saw some chickens on the way to the Hemingway House—hubby loves chickens so this was a highlight for him.

 

[Beachiekeen]

The Hemingway House was very interesting and although it was crowded we enjoyed it. It was really cool seeing Hemingway’s old studio which even still has his old typewriter. I loved seeing all the old, original furnishings. And of course the cats!

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Beachiekeen]

The Butterfly Conservatory was a must do for me but even the boys ended up enjoying it. There were butterflies literally everywhere and it had a pair of flamingos too.

 

 

 

 

If a butterfly lands on you, it means good luck!

 

 

We made our way down to the Southernmost Point for the obligatory picture. Hubby wouldn't stand in line so we just went across the street and BFF took our picture from there.

 

 

[Beachiekeen]

Here we are at Willie T's--see all the dollar bills?

 

 

We loved Key West and the boys may come back for the BFF’s brother’s 40th birthday. I feel like we didn’t really even get to scratch the surface.

 

Back to the Magic:

 

 

We got back to the ship around 5:30 and watched sail away from our window. We also watched the ship view on our TV as we pulled away--that view was much prettier. We also had a great sunset view—I was sad we couldn’t see it clearly out the window.

 

 

Hubby and I had 7:30 reservations at the steakhouse. I got a Caesar salad, a crab cake, the surf & turf, which was a 4 oz. filet and lobster tail, and hubby got the 9 oz filet, a salad and lobster bisque. It is a lot of food. For dessert I got the chocolate sampler (again, not good at all—what is up with all the bad dessert?!) and hubby got ice cream. It was all ok, again, nothing blew us away but we are getting used to that by this time. The meat quality was ok, but nothing like what we are used to in Dallas where the steaks literally melt in your mouth. They were also way under-seasoned—hubby actually dipped his steak in my drawn butter for flavor. They were cooked correctly though.

 

 

 

[Beachiekeen]

When we got back to the room, we had a note saying that we would be in Freeport until 11:00 pm while the crew did some scheduled maintenance, but that it would not interfere with our time in Nassau.

 

After dinner, we were pooped so once again we were in bed early. We are probably the most boring cruisers ever!

 

 

Fun Times:

 

 

 

[tea4ular]

Can you tell me if there are posted hours, or if it is available to hang out 24 hours a day? We'll be sailing on Magic in October and one of our favorite things to do is night sky watch. Yes, we have our own balcony, but we were thinking it might be cool to hang out there.

 

Thanks!

[Beachiekeen]

Can you tell me if there are posted hours, or if it is available to hang out 24 hours a day? We'll be sailing on Magic in October and one of our favorite things to do is night sky watch. Yes, we have our own balcony, but we were thinking it might be cool to hang out there.

 

Thanks!

 

Hmmm, I think we read that the hot tub closed at midnight. But otherwise I did not see any posted hours. There is lots of comfortable seating so it would be a nice place to stargaze. I can't imagine that anyone would kick you out for that!

[cruiser fanatic]

Thank you for the review. Sorry the food was not that great. The food is usually pretty good (except for the buffet). I don't like the chocolate sampler in the Steakhouse either. I always get the Cheesecake and it is great. Sorry you didn't have a good turnout for you meet and greet. When I help plan one and 20 people say they are coming, I only count on 4 or 5 showing up!

[Beachiekeen]

We were awakened at 6:00 am by the ship pulling into Freeport. Remember the earthquake I mentioned? Yeah, this was it. I felt like I might fall out of bed, the ship was rattling so much!

 

Today we were doing the Carnival excursion “Beach Getaway with Open Bar” and we didn’t have to be there until 11:45 am ship time so that meant we could have a leisurely morning until then.

 

The boys went to the gym and then we went down to Lido. There was hardly anyone there so I got an omelet and it was pretty ok actually. We decided to go ahead and get off the ship and check out the port.

 

 

 

 

Seeing the port didn’t take long so we went back to the ship and had a drink on the Lido deck. This is where I discovered my favorite drink, the Twilight Zone.

 

 

I want one right now just thinking of it.

 

We went down around 11:30 to get in line for the excursion and there was already a long one when we got there:

 

 

Ladies started coming by and giving us our wristbands. We hung back and were one of the last ones in line and were thus on the last bus. The buses arrived promptly at noon and I think it took 3 or 4 buses to take everyone. The buses were nice with padded seats and AC. The driver gave us some information on the island during the 25-minute or so ride.

 

Once we got there, since we were one of the last ones, there were no chairs or umbrellas. By some miracle, I found 3 chairs under a palm tree. DH and BFF have to have shade at all times. It was an ok setup, we were just a ways back on the beach, directly across the bar/atrium area. To be fair, there were ALOT of chairs, but there were also a lot of people. It was the Magic, the Victory and a few other random sightseeing tours. I think there were only two ships though and I can't imagine what it would have been like with 3 or 4.

 

Here’s the Victory:

 

[Beachiekeen]

Pictures of our day at the beach:

 

 

 

 

 

 

The drinks were weak and bad. I told the boys to stick to beer which they did. I think I only had 3 drinks total. We saw frozen drinks that looked delicious but of course those weren't included. We didn't eat any of the food either choosing instead to wait until we got back to the ship. The buffet food sat outside all day and did not look that appealing. You could also order food but we didn't. I saw the prices on a board and it all seemed expensive.

 

We arrived at the beach around 1:00 pm and were called to leave at 4:00 pm so we got 3 hours, which is what I had read in reviews on the Carnival website. Our driver back was funny and kept us entertained with songs. Overall, I liked the drivers a lot.

 

The DJ was loud and the music thumping the whole time. So this is a place for people who want a party atmosphere. There was a water trampoline that was very popular with kids.

 

I loved just being at a beach but I wish we had gone to the Grand Lucayan instead. If I went to Freeport again, that is what I would do. The open bar part of this excursion was not worth it. I believe it was $49.99/per person.

[Beachiekeen]

Back to the ship, we are all starving so after freshening up in our rooms, we headed to Off the Grill for a hamburger, which I ate every bite of, cafeteria burger or no. We then decided to go to the Serenity deck for one of the prettiest sunsets I’ve ever seen.

 

 

I got a Mocha Chocolate Getaway:

 

 

After sunset, we decided to try our luck in the casino again but not surprisingly, Lady Luck was not with us this time!

 

Back to the room to this little guy:

 

 

Fun Times:

 

 

 

[tea4ular]

Hmmm, I think we read that the hot tub closed at midnight. But otherwise I did not see any posted hours. There is lots of comfortable seating so it would be a nice place to stargaze. I can't imagine that anyone would kick you out for that!

 

Cool - the hot tub doesn't interest us (we will have access to the spa) - but night sky watching is a treat. Our last cruise we saw over 20 shooting stars and a lightening storm, with no rain.

[Beachiekeen]

We were up at 8:30 a.m. and the ship was already in Nassau. The boys went to the gym and breakfast but I planned to skip breakfast and have an early lunch at the British Colonial Hilton where we were going to spend the day.

 

We had pre-paid a deposit for the day passes since we knew there was a chance they could sell out of them since it was spring break and there were four ships in port including the Magic. But I had read that the hotel was very good about not overselling and that it shouldn’t be a problem. I had wanted to go to the bigger Melia hotel for the day but hubby wanted to just be able to walk to the beach so I agreed.

 

We disembarked and made our way through the crowded port, avoiding the hawkers wanting to take us to Atlantis, etc.

 

 

 

I had really wanted to spend the day at Atlantis, but I had read reports that it gets crazy crowded and that it is so big, if you don’t know your way around the property, you could spend all day wandering around. I pictured us standing forlornly with our beach towels not knowing what to do. Plus it’s a very expensive excursion. But part of me is still sad we didn’t try.

 

We arrived at the BCH at 10:00 local time. We went to the front desk and I heard the people in front of us get told that they had sold out of passes. I wondered what this would mean for us but I guess since we prepaid, they allowed us in and gave us our wristbands.

 

We go outside and it all looks very nice:

 

 

 

 

We quickly discover that there are no chairs to be had anywhere, either at the pool or on the beach. It’s a small place and a small beach and it was full to capacity. More importantly, there are no towels either and since our receipt said they would be provided, we did not bring ours from the ship. So we can’t even swim or sit down or really do much of anything. Bummer.

 

We go get a drink at the bar while we contemplate what to do and the manager comes and offers us a refund which we decide to take. I thought about suggesting we go to Junkanoo Beach but again, with no towels, it wasn’t an option. And hubby said “absolutely not” to going back to the ship, getting towels and walking the 15 minutes back. *sigh*

[Beachiekeen]

BFF was thrilled because he loves spending the day on a ship when it’s in port. Which was really our only option now. So after getting a slice of pizza, we spend the day on the empty Serenity deck lounging, getting in the hot tub and drinking.

 

 

I tried a Bahama Mama:

 

 

 

The boys even went down the water slides.

 

 

That's DH coming down the Twister.

 

For lunch, I wanted to try the deli and hubby discovered the Tandoori. Both were good but the Tandoori was so good, I had hubby go get me some after I ate my sandwich.

 

While it was fun to be on an empty ship, I was pretty bummed about missing the beach. I was thinking of how we still had two long sea days left so we were going to be seeing a lot of the ship and I had really wanted to be at the beach all day. So this was definitely the worst day for me and at this point, I was a little disenchanted with cruising.

 

We went to Red Frog and got ice cream at Swirls and then decided to go freshen up in our rooms. We met back up at 4:00 for 80’s Trivia in the Ocean Plaza which was fun—I’m a child of the 80’s and hubby is a musician so we did really good on the second part of the trivia which was 80’s music. We got 18 out of 20 but there was someone who had all 20. So no ship on a stick for us.

[Beachiekeen]

We went up to Deck 5 for sailaway and sunset:

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Beachiekeen]

After two nights away from the MDR, we decided to go back and give it another shot. We were pleasantly surprised to find that the menu did not match what was on the TV at all (because we had had that menu already earlier in the week). This night I got a steak and short ribs (with my baked potato and salad) and what do you know, it wasn’t bad at all.

 

I forgot to upload my picture of my steak but here is my salad which was the best one yet:

 

 

Dessert was apple pie and ice cream—still not great but definitely an improvement.

 

 

I forgot to mention that the bread in the MDR was really good and I ate a ton of it. I never turned it down once. I think I owe the two pounds I gained to the bread and Twilight Zones.

 

The only bad thing about the late dining was that by the time we were done, we were really full and tired. I think if I had it to do over, we would have done Your Time Dining. Sometimes it was really hard to wait until 8:15 also.

 

So once again, we go back to our rooms. Schindler’s List was on so we watched that in our room and went to bed at 12:30 am.

 

My favorite towel animal yet—look at those ears!

 

 

Fun Times:

 

 

 

[Tannison]

I don't think I have ever seen a Twilight Zone, but it looks yummy....what's in it?

[Beachiekeen]

I don't think I have ever seen a Twilight Zone, but it looks yummy....what's in it?

 

It's basically a piña colada with blue curaçao. I remember the ingredients were rum, pineapple, coconut cream and blue curaçao.

[Tannison]

It's basically a piña colada with blue curaçao. I remember the ingredients were rum, pineapple, coconut cream and blue curaçao.

 

 

Thanks! I will definitely have to try one on our next cruise.

[Beachiekeen]

We slept in until around 8:30 and then just relaxed in bed watching TV. I became obsessed with the Carnival channel that shows all the different ports. I watched it whenever we were in our room. By now, I was over my Nassau beach disappointment and seeing all the Caribbean ports almost made me want to book another cruise right then (I’m sure that’s the idea behind this channel!)

 

For breakfast, we all decided to do the Sea Day brunch which was in our Southern Lights dining room. I had thought about getting the steak and eggs I had heard so much about but decided against it since I had just had steak for dinner. Instead I got two eggs with hash browns and chicken sausage. And oh yeah, REAL orange juice!

 

 

Hubby got the blueberry pancakes which looked delicious but he wasn’t a huge fan of them.

 

 

I really enjoyed the brunch and it was a much nicer environment than the crowded, noisy Lido. I was looking forward to coming back to tea at 3:00.

 

Hubby had gotten too much sun on the Serenity deck the day before so he wasn’t up to doing much. We decided to find a shady spot to lounge in and I wanted to read my book. We ended up on Deck 5 by the Lanai hot tubs. BFF got me a Twilight Zone from the casino bar and it was the best one yet.

 

 

At one point, the boys went to Oceanside BBQ for a snack.

 

 

It was nice to relax in the shade but we chose a very noisy area apparently since we were so close to the hot tubs. Almost every adult that tried to go in said it was too cold and left but all the kids loved it.

 

The boys went to Red Frog at then hubby joined me for Tea Time at 3:00.

 

 

I was really looking forward to this—but it was disappointing. The servers could not keep up with the amount of people. I never got any cream—at one point I saw a guy just get up and get it himself. And our two pots of (lukewarm) water ran out so that I only got a cup and a half of tea. I got a cucumber sandwich and a scone which were pretty good. I would have loved more but no one even offered to come by and give us more water.

 

Hubby needed a nap so he went back to the room while I found a shady lounger on the Panorama Deck where I read for an hour or so before going back up for a nap myself.

[Beachiekeen]

We all met back at 6:30 on Deck 5 for sunset:

 

 

Even though I had no makeup on, I went ahead and asked BFF to take our picture.

 

 

I told hubby we should plan to dress up for the last sunset and take pictures—but I’m glad I took this one because hubby ended up missing the last sunset.

 

After sunset, we went back to get ready for the second Elegant Night. I had brought a short cocktail dress and was going to leave my hair down and everything—but I wasn’t really up to it and hubby didn’t feel like wearing a suit. So he wore dress slacks and a shirt and I wore a long maxi dress but wore dressy jewelry to jazz it up.

 

 

Dinner was chateaubriand—I loved it and ate almost every bite. I ate so much, I finally skipped dessert.

 

 

Dessert was baked Alaska and BFF asked if they would flambé it at the table, but our waiter said no, they didn’t do that anymore so he skipped it. Hubby was disappointed because he said they still do it on Royal Caribbean!

 

I squealed with delight when I saw my towel animal!

 

[Beachiekeen]

Fun times:

 

 

 

[Beachiekeen]

We were up at 8:00 and went and had cereal on the Lido for breakfast as we weren’t hungry enough for brunch. Hubby and I decided to browse the Fun Shops since we hadn’t seen them. I told hubby I found my Christmas present—a pink Rolex for $8,500. I don’t think I’ll be seeing it under the tree, however.

 

Hubby and BFF wanted to stay out of the sun and BFF wanted to pack of all things. So that left me to my own devices and I thought about going to the spa and seeing if I could get a spa pass or maybe go lounge on the Serenity desk. But on a whim, I went down to Deck 11 to see if I could score one of the coveted cushy chairs in the shade that overlooks the pool. And what do you know, there was one on the end with my name on it—perfect!

 

 

I camped out here for the day, reading and people watching—the only thing that made it not so perfect is that you can smoke there. But luckily no one was smoking right next to me and I moved the ashtray on my table to a table by the rail.

 

I knew at 12:00 the chocolate buffet was going to open on the Lido deck below so I just decided to stay there and then watch the pool games that were going to start at 1:00. Eventually of course, I got a Twilight Zone, although this one was a little icy and not as good:

 

 

The boys joined me eventually and saved my chair while I went and got some pizza. I checked out the chocolate buffet but it was a madhouse and it didn’t even really look that great so I skipped it.

 

We stayed and watched the pool games and I thoroughly enjoyed my day there, but around 2:30, I was tired of loud music and smoke so we went back down to the shade on Deck 5 where we had been the day before. It was less crowded this time and a lot quieter, maybe because it was cloudy. I got another Twilight Zone from the casino which was much better:

 

 

Hello, my name is Beachiekeen and I have a problem with Twilight Zones!

 

The clouds rolled in and it started to rain which chased us away from our lounge chairs. We went to Red Frog and then to the Pixels gallery on Deck 4 to look at our one measly picture on Elegant Night where my eyes were closed.

 

BFF went down to the lobby bar and got a drink and we stayed and watched the game Up, Up and Out which really made no sense to me. You start on the glass elevator on Deck 4 and have to answer questions to try and make it to Deck 11. Getting on an elevator and answering questions was not my idea of fun but there were several who thought it was apparently.

 

We wandered down to the casino but someone was camped out at our WOF machine so we gave up. We went to the room and started packing (bummer) and hubby laid down and fell asleep and I didn’t have the heart to wake him just for sunset so BFF and I went down together and saw what was probably the prettiest sunset of the whole trip:

 

 

[Beachiekeen]

BFF was skipping dinner since he didn’t want to eat heavy before our long car drive home the next morning. So DH and I went to the dining room alone so we could see our waiters one last time. We tipped them each $20 and they were so grateful but they had done so much for us, we wanted to give it to them. Once we got back to the room, I immediately regretted not getting a picture with them.

 

For dinner, I had panko crusted jumbo shrimp and hubby had the bacon mac & cheese topped with chicken. Dessert was grand mariner soufflés and it was all good and we enjoyed it. The MDR definitely ended on a high note.

 

 

 

Back in the room, we had our lovely swan waiting for us.

 

 

We didn’t see our room steward too much—BFF never let him clean the room and he would tease him about it if we saw him. But he always knew just when to come in and out and I loved the towel animals he made for us so we left him a $20 tip also.

 

Last Fun Times: