Cruise Review - Carnival Magic - 12/6 thru 12/13

[DH30]

Here is a review of our cruise from 12/6 to 12/13 on the Carnival Magic. Let me start by telling you a little about us. This cruise was a celebration of our 20th wedding anniversary. It was my wife and I cruising. We are in our mid 40s. I am very active and into physical fitness and an adrenaline junkie. My wife is more into relaxation. This was our second cruise. Our previous cruise was a five day cruise four years ago on the Ecstasy.

 

 

 

Day 1 - Boarding:

 

We live about 45 minutes from the cruise terminal so we drove to Galveston and parked at Galveston Park & Cruise. It cost us $85, but I felt that it was relatively secure and also convenient as it was right across the street from the terminal. We had purchased First to the Fun, which I felt was well worth the money. We arrived to the terminal at 10:00 and faced no lines whatsoever and were ready to board by 10:20. What I was not aware of, was that you could not actually board the boat until 11:30. We waited until 11:30 and visited with two people my wife knew who were sailing on the same ship. At 11:30 we were allowed to board and proceeded to our room.

 

 

 

As I stated, we had FTTF and went directly to our room which was ready. We had a cove balcony on level 2 which I loved. I utilized the balcony throughout the cruise, as I ate breakfast there most mornings. The room seemed to be a better layout than the balcony room we had on the Ecstasy. There was plenty of storage for all of our stuff. I had purchased “Happy Anniversary” decorations from Carnival without my wife knowing and they were already up in the room. There was also a cake and some chocolate covered strawberries which were delivered later in the day.

 

 

 

By this time, we were pretty hungry and went to the Lido deck and got some food from the buffet. The food was OK, not great, but OK. We then went to check out the gym which was pretty nice. From there, we went to guest services and got info on how to sign up for the internet packages. It was very easy to do. We both got the $25 “Social Media” package. This allowed us access to Facebook messenger which we utilized to communicate with each other as well as family which were not on the cruise.

 

 

 

We then went back to our room where we met our room steward, Sylvana from Macedonia. She was great throughout the cruise. Sylvana unlocked the min-bar and allowed me to move all the drinks to a cabinet and place some water in I purchased from room service (good deal by the way). I will say that I was a little disappointed in the refrigerator. It did not keep the water as cold as I like, but in the scheme of things, this was a minor issue.

 

 

 

We then took a nap and upon waking up, found that our luggage had arrived. We unpacked, got cleaned up and went to dinner. We chose the early dining time because it works best with our schedule. We also like having the same waiter and table mates throughout the cruise. We were seated with three other couples. One of the couples moved to sit with family after the second night, one couple only came to dinner one night, and we got to know the third couple pretty well through our conversations during dinner. We met our waiter, I Putu from Indonesia. He was great throughout the cruise. I had the chicken quesadilla for an appetizer, the flatiron steak for my main course, and chocolate melting cake for dessert. The quesadilla was great, the steak was tender but not very flavorful, and the cake was great. My wife had jalapeno poppers, BBQ brisket and the melting cake.

 

 

 

My wife had the “shot of the day” from a guy who brought shots around every night. His name was also I Putu, but said we could call him Iron Man. My wife bought shots every night. She liked it because you got to keep the shot glass and they were a different color each night.

 

 

 

After dinner we went back to the room and planned to go see a comedian later, but ended up going to bed early.

 

 

 

Day 2 – Sea day:

 

We awoke to rough seas on day 2. We had only been on one cruise before during which the seas were very smooth. It was pretty funny because as I walked down the hall I looked like I was drunk. I got up and went to the lido to get something to eat. I ate some oatmeal and fruit because I was going to the gym afterwards.

 

 

 

After breakfast, I went to the gym. As I said earlier, physical fitness is a big part of my life. I worked out twice a day every day of the cruise. I got to the gym around 7:45 and it was crowded. I made sure to get there earlier throughout the rest of the cruise. I got in my morning weightlifting and cardio and headed back to the room….still walking like I was drunk.

 

 

 

Once back at the room, I got cleaned up and we relaxed a little. For lunch we went to the seaside BBQ that they had on sea days. They had grilled BBQ chicken breasts, a couple kinds of sausage, and pulled pork (with and without jerk seasoning). There was also potato salad, beans, and a few other things. It was a lot better food than what I had at the Lido the day before.

 

 

 

After lunch we hung out a bit by the Lido pool. Since I am just a kid at heart, I had to try the water works slide. I had read mixed reviews on these with some saying that there was not enough water flowing through them causing them to be a little slow. I was pleased with the slide. There was a lot of water going through the slide and it was quite fast and exhilarating. I only went once, because even though I am a kid at heart, I did not want the real kids having to wait in line behind me.

 

 

 

After spending some time by the pool, we went back to the room and took a short nap. Once we got up, we both went to the gym where we both got in some cardio. We then went back to our room to get dressed for the first elegant night. I wore a shirt, tie and slacks. I had Italian Wedding soup for an appetizer, seared sea bass for my main dish, and crème brulee for dessert. My wife had a ceasar salad for an appetizer, flatiron steak for her main dish, and crème brulee for dessert. All of this was great. She again got her nightly shot from Iron Man.

 

 

 

After dinner, we went back to the room to change clothes and then went to the comedy club to see Ronnie Bullard. He was funny and we had a great time.

 

 

 

Day 3 – Cozumel:

 

On day 3 we put out the room service breakfast card so we could get food earlier than the Lido opened up. We got cereal, bagels, muffins, and bananas. I ate my breakfast on the balcony while watching the sunrise which became my routine for the rest of the cruise. The view was awesome and I truly enjoyed it. On this day, I will say that there was a pretty good coating of salt on everything on the balcony from the sea spray on the lower level balcony. I have seen some complain about this, but I used a hand towel and had it cleaned up in no time. The seas were a lot calmer for the remainder of the cruise and salt on the balcony was not near as bad. I watched as we docked in Cozumel and we got off the ship to learn that our excursion (three reef snorkel) had been cancelled due to rough seas. We decided to go back on the ship, go to the gym and then come back ashore to eat at Three Amigos and do a little shopping. We went to the gym and got in our one hour workout and headed back to the room. Once at the room, we discovered that it was raining…..HARD. We decided that it would not be too enjoyable to get off the ship in this weather and decided to get a couples massage. Please note that this was my first massage. We got the couples hot stone massage which I truly enjoyed.

 

 

 

When we finished our massages, we were hungry and went to the grill and got some burgers and fries. These were good. Better than your average fast food burger, but not as good as a burger at some better restaurant. After lunch, we went to the room to relax and let my wife take a nap. I had a perfect vantage point to see all the people coming in late from Cozumel trying to get on the ship. I did see two running down the dock and that was pretty funny. It was obvious to me that the crew knew how many people were still off the ship because as soon as those two got on the ship, they pushed up the walkways and we were on our way to Grand Cayman.

 

 

 

When I got back from the gym, it was time to get cleaned up and head to dinner. I had Italian meat balls as an appetizer, steak tacos as a main dish, and chocolate melting cake as a dessert. This time, I asked for two ice creams with my melting cake as I felt this was a better cake to ice cream ratio. I Putu gladly fulfilled this request and knew how I wanted my melting cake for the rest of the cruise. My wife had Caesar salad as an appetizer, steak tacos as a main dish, and chocolate melting cake as a dessert. All the food was good. One of the waitresses sang Proud Mary and it was awesome. She was a tiny Asian woman with a huge voice.

 

 

 

After dinner we went to the comedy club and saw Lester Bibbs in a PG show and enjoyed it so much that we came back to see him later in the evening in his adult comedy show. He was very funny, but crude.

 

 

 

Day 4 – Grand Cayman:

 

Once again, we ordered room service breakfast, and just as it was every other time, it was delivered when I asked for it. I again enjoyed a beautiful sunrise while eating my breakfast on the balcony. From there it was off to get in an early morning workout at the gym before heading into Grand Cayman. We got off the ship as soon as they started loading tenders. We had FTTF, but there was no wait when we got off, so we got right on to a tender and was on the island in no time. The weather was perfect in Grand Cayman with mostly sunny skies and a high of 84. We had booked a trip through Fat Fish for a jet ski trip to Sting Ray City, and then to snorkel. We met the Fat Fish folks by the Hard Rock Café and were off. The driver was nice and pointed out some expensive houses along the way. He also gave us some history on the island. Once at the Fat Fish dock, we put on life vests, had a quick lesson in how to operate a jet ski and were off to Sting Ray City. I had never rode a jet ski before, but do have a 4 wheeler and have had a boat in the past. I got it down real quick and never had a problem. My wife was pretty scared and always thought I was going too fast, but I will say that we never fell off and got there safely.

 

 

 

Once at Sting Ray City, we got off and were immediately surrounded by sting rays. We got to feed them and hold them. It was pretty cool. I have wade fished in the local bays quite a bit, so I was not as nervous around them as some were. Once my wife got over the nervousness of being around them, she really enjoyed it.

 

 

 

From Sting Ray City we took the jet skis to a reef where we snorkeled for a little while. It was not the best snorkeling, but it was a small reef and had some fish to see. We also saw a barracuda which my wife at first thought was a shark.

 

 

 

From Sting Ray City we took the jet skis to a beach where there were lots of star fish. We got to see and touch them before heading back to the dock.

 

 

 

We then went back to the ship. Once again, there were no lines to get on a tender and we were back on the ship in no time. We were hungry by this time and I went to the Mongolian Wok and my wife went to the Lido buffet. I can say that even though the line was short at the Wok, it did take a long time to get my food. The food was good, but I would hate to do it if the lines were any longer due to the wait.

 

 

 

After lunch we took a short nap and then I headed to the gym for my afternoon cardio session……again.

 

 

 

After my workout, we got cleaned up and went to dinner. I had the steak skewers for an appetizer, short ribs for my main, and chocolate melting cake for dessert…….with two ice creams. My wife had a Caesar salad for appetizer, fried chicken for her main, and chocolate melting cake for dessert. The steak skewers were the best appetizer I had all week. All the other food was good.

 

 

 

We decided to stay in and rent a movie and do some laundry on this evening. I was lucky as the self serve laundry room was very close to our room and there were two empty washers when I got there. The pay per view movies were reasonably priced and there was a decent selection.

 

 

 

Day 5 – Montego Bay

 

I once again got up early to watch the sunrise in Montego Bay. It was quite spectacular as we were coming into the island and the sun was coming up over the mountains of the island. I again had ordered cereal, bagels, muffins and fruit from room service using the card which I had put on our door the previous evening. Once again, our breakfast was delivered at the time we requested.

 

 

 

After finishing breakfast on the balcony, I headed to the gym for my morning workout. By this time in the cruise, the gym was not as crowded. While I was in the gym, my dad sent me the hourly forecast for Montego Bay and I saw a Jekyll and Hyde forecast. It showed sunny skies with a high around 84 with 0% chance of rain…….until noon at which time there would be cloudy skies with a 90% chance of thunderstorms. After my workout, I went back to our room and told my wife that we needed to get going if we wanted to enjoy good weather in Montego Bay. There were no excursions which we were particularly excited about and based on my research here on Cruise Critic, I decided to go to Doctor’s Cave Beach. My wife decided she wanted to stay on the ship, so I got off the ship a little before 9:00 am. Once off the ship, I found Jutu Tours by George Reid and they agreed to take me to Doctor’s Cave. Once on the tour bus, the woman tried to sell everyone on some shopping, lunch and then the beach. Since I knew it was supposed to start raining around noon, I asked to be taken directly to Doctor’s Cave. Others negotiated down their price, but I paid her $15 to drop me off and then pick me up at 12:30 when she had asked for $14. I was at Doctor’s Cave beach in just a few minutes.

 

 

 

It cost me $18 to get in to Doctor’s Cave Beach and rent a chair and umbrella. I had not even gotten settled in when some guy came by and asked me if I wanted any “smokes” and I am certain he was not selling Marlboros. I told him no and he never came by again. One of the woman’s selling points on going shopping first was that the beach did not get active until later. I can say that I am glad I got there early. My chair was close to the water where those that came later were stacked up behind me. The beach was beautiful. The water was so clear that I could stand in waist deep water and see my feet like I was in a swimming pool. There were a few others who came by trying to sell snorkeling or parasailing trips, but once told no, they moved on. After enjoying several hours on the beach, I left and went to a nearby shop where I bought a shirt and shot glass.

 

 

 

When I exited the shop, I was approached by someone offering a taxi ride. When I told him no, he asked if I wanted to get high. Once again, a simple “no” and he moved on. Several others repeatedly offered me taxi rides and told me that Jutu would not be back to get me. They were very pushy, but a firm “no” and they would move on…..at least for a while. I had gotten to the meeting point in front of Doctor’s Cave Beach about 15 minutes early just to make sure I did not miss him. A woman from the ministry of tourism came by when she saw these taxi drivers trying to get my business. She asked who I was waiting for and when I showed her Jutu’s card, she said that if he said he would be there at 12:30, he would be there. Sure enough, at 12:32 Jutu’s bus drove up and I was on my way back to the pier. Mere minutes after getting on the bus, it started to rain and continued to rain for the remainder of the day. I was pretty proud of myself as I had a great day in Jamaica and by doing it all myself, I spent only $33.

 

 

 

Once back on the ship, my wife and I went to get some lunch and decided on burgers from the grill by the Lido. The burgers and fries were again good. After lunch, we headed back to the room and took a nap. As was our routine, before dinner we headed to the gym for our afternoon workout. After our workout, we went to dinner. I had beef and barley soup as an appetizer, grilled pork chop for my main, and once again chocolate melting cake with two ice creams for dessert. My wife had the shrimp cocktail for an appetizer, lasagna for her main dish and chocolate melting cake for dessert. The one female waitress sang again this night. This time she sang “Edge of Glory” by Lady Gaga and once again she was awesome.

 

 

 

After dinner we decided to meet some friends at the piano bar. We spent some time talking with them and enjoying the company. I will say that I was not impressed with the piano bar singer. That being said, there were several people around the piano who seemed to be having a good time.

 

 

 

Day 6 – Sea day

 

Once again, I started my day by enjoying the sunrise from our balcony. We again had cereal, bagels and muffins delivered by room service. The guy who brought it was very polite in telling me that they were out of bananas, but offered to bring me something else if I wanted it. I told him it was OK. Once I got inside, I realized that I forgot to put milk on the card. No worries though…..I picked some up from the Lido on my way back from the gym. After eating a muffin, I headed to the gym for my morning workout. From the gym, I stopped by to get that milk and then back to the room to get cleaned up.

 

 

 

After that, we chilled for a bit and then headed up to deck 5 to see what all was going on. I again stopped into the seaside BBQ which was again awesome. From there, we went to the Lido to hang out and watch the ice carving. It was cool to watch. After the ice carving they had “Last Woman Standing” which was a kind of scavenger hunt. It was also entertaining. After spending some time on the Lido, we went back to change and then head to the gym for our afternoon workout. From the gym, we went to get cleaned up for dinner.

 

 

 

At dinner I had pasta fagioli soup for an appetizer, filet minion and short rib for my main, and chocolate melting cake for desert. My wife had stuffed mushrooms, filet minion and short rib, and then some type of cake for dessert.

 

 

 

After dinner, we went to see one of the shows, “Win.” My wife played a little bingo before the show. We enjoyed the show. I am sure it is not up to Vegas show standards, but I was entertained.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Day 7 – Sea day

 

Big surprise….I know…..sunrise followed by room service breakfast followed by the gym.

 

 

 

 

 

After my workout, I met up with my wife to find that she was not feeling well. I hung out with her in the room watching TV for a while and then at the encouragement of my brother, went to the Southern Lights dining room for sea day brunch. I was seated at a table for 10 with some teens from New Mexico, a couple from Boston, and a couple from Utah. I am a person who can make conversation with most people and we all had a great visit getting to learn about each other’s lives. The couple from Boston was planning on staying in Houston to see the Patriots play the Texans on Sunday. As it turned out, they got to see their Patriots put a whipping on the Texans, so congrats to my friends from Boston and be safe once you get back home (he is a firefighter). I had scrambled eggs, has browns, and sausage which was great.

 

 

 

After brunch, I wandered around the ship for a while before taking some soft serve ice cream to my wife in the room. We then got cleaned up and went to the gym for our afternoon workout. After the gym, we got cleaned up and went to dinner. I had flatbread BBQ chicken for an appetizer, pork loin with jerk seasoning for my main, and……you guessed it……chocolate melting cake with two ice creams for dessert. My wife had flatbread BBQ chicken for an appetizer, shrimp Creole for her main, and banana bread pudding for dessert. Once again all the food was good.

 

 

 

After dinner we packed our luggage, put them outside our room and went to see “Legends” at the theater. This was mostly guests singing songs as various famous singers. Some were horrible, some were average, and two were fantastic. The two who were really good were a woman who sang “I Will Survive” as sung by Gloria Gaynor and a man who sang “I Did it My Way” as sung by Frank Sinatra.

 

 

 

Day 8 – Galveston

 

I got up early to get to the gym, eat breakfast and get cleaned up before needing to be out of the room by 8:30. We went to the theatre where we waited for about an hour before being let off the ship. We got a luggage porter who took us to customs which we cleared quickly. It was pouring rain so I left my wife with our luggage while I went and got our truck. It took a while to get back to passenger pick up, but we got our stuff loaded up and headed home.

 

 

 

Final thoughts:

 

The one thing that I like about cruises is that they are what you make of them. You can be lazy and take naps, sit by the pool, eat tons of food, go to the gym, go to comedy shows, go to production shows, play bingo, play trivia, get drunk, dance, and many more options. You also have multiple choices at the ports. For me and my wife, it is awesome. She likes to rest and relax and I like to be on the go more. With a cruise, we could both have what we wanted.

 

 

 

As far as food, I was satisfied. I felt that there were multiple choices at any given time. I found multiple things that were good. We enjoyed the main dining room as they always offered something worth eating. I like it because I will try new and different things at the main dining room, because if I don’t like it, I can get something else.

 

 

 

I felt that the staff was great. Our waiter, I Putu was great and always took good care of us. Our room stewardess, Sylvana was awesome. She granted all our requests in a timely manner.

 

The ship was great. It was nicely decorated for Christmas. The elevators were very busy the first day, but we're fine after that. I always took the elevators that looked over the atrium as I enjoyed the view and rarely had to wait long.

 

 

 

We are hoping to take another cruise during the summer to celebrate our oldest son graduating high school.

 

 

 

Feel free to ask any questions, and I will try to do my best to answer them.

[DH30]

I forgot to mention that when we left Cozumel, the rain had stopped and there was a rainbow next to the ship. It was pretty awesome.

[SMSACE6]

Great review! Thanks for taking the time to post it. Now I know why I gain weight on cruises. I have not yet ever been to the work out room:D I am considering the Magic for my next cruise, and when she sails from Port Canaveral. Thanks for the review:)

[pcvtmom]

Great review! I agree with your assessment of cruising...something for everyone.

[okgirl]

Thanks for a great review.....the Magic is my favorite homeport ship. I've sailed on her 4 times.

 

I'm surprised that you didn't have Lunch at Cucina del Capitano at least once. I rarely eat at the buffet, but always have embarkation day lunch there. It's like no one has discovered it yet.

 

Another tradition on the Magic for us is to have some Pub Grub in the Red Frog. There is a $3.33 charge but it's really good.

 

I'll be sorry to see the Magic leave Galveston in March, but I'm thrilled that she's being replaced by the Breeze which is even better.

[queeniesgirl]

What cabin did you have and was there much noise? I've heard sometimes under the galley or dining rooms, the cabins have a lot of noise during the night. Thanks :)

[DH30]

2393. I had heard the same thing. We were not disturbed by any noises from above. There were some loud guests on our floor, but they were few and far between.

[Uncwrn93]

Thank you for the review. We are on her in 17 days and can't wait.

[laumicmah]

Thanks for sharing! We are booked on the Magic and also chose early dinner seating. What dining room is it, Northern Lights or Southern Lights? And what level of the dining room to you enter (bottom or top level)? Thanks!

[DH30]

We were in Northern lights on the upper level (deck 4). I think that the northern lower was used for anytime dining. I think they also had early assigned dining in the southern lights as well.

 

Early dining is at 6:00. I have seen some on CC complain on it taking up to two hours to eat at assigned dining. Our average dining time was one hour with the longest taking about one hour and ten minutes.

[DH30]

...

Edited December 20, 2015 by DH30

[DH30]

Thanks for a great review.....the Magic is my favorite homeport ship. I've sailed on her 4 times.

 

 

 

I'm surprised that you didn't have Lunch at Cucina del Capitano at least once. I rarely eat at the buffet, but always have embarkation day lunch there. It's like no one has discovered it yet.

 

 

 

Another tradition on the Magic for us is to have some Pub Grub in the Red Frog. There is a $3.33 charge but it's really good.

 

 

 

I'll be sorry to see the Magic leave Galveston in March, but I'm thrilled that she's being replaced by the Breeze which is even better.

 

 

I did not know about Cucina or Pub Grub. Tell me about these.

[crusinpsychRN]

How did you like the food in MDR?

[DH30]

How did you like the food in MDR?

 

 

It was all good. A few highlights for me were the chocolate melting cake, creme brûlée, grilled pork chop, steak tacos, skewered steak appetizer, chicken quesadilla appetizer, and steak and short rib. My wife had good things to say about the lasagna and shrimp creole as well.

[cruisemom67]

Thank you for the review. We are on her in 17 days and can't wait.

We are, too!

 

Thanks for the great review, good info in it. That's what we like, something for everyone.

[lynnesm36]

Thank you for the nice review. It was nice to hear about the ports of call. I am sailing with three first time cruisers. I sailed, The Golden Princess, about 12 years ago...so I'm assuming the expert role. I remember a lot about the last cruise but not too many details. We will be sailing January 24th.

 

 

I have a few questions you maybe could help me with?

 

How expensive is a domestic beer and a decent drink? We are thinking of getting the drink package that you pay per day a flat fee. I don't know if I would get my moneys worth. I would probably have 5 drinks a day at the most. I remember that drinks where not too expensive on Princess.

 

How many ports did you tender into? Is that a big hassle? I never did this on the last cruise.

 

We are arriving at different times. Is it true you have to wait until all are present to check in?

 

We have anytime dining. What is that all about? Did you notice any bad times to go to eat?

 

 

We are looking forward to our vacation. There will be something for everyone to do. I like to work out. I'm happy to hear the facilities are good.

 

I appreciate any information you can offer.

[DH30]

Thank you for the nice review. It was nice to hear about the ports of call. I am sailing with three first time cruisers. I sailed, The Golden Princess, about 12 years ago...so I'm assuming the expert role. I remember a lot about the last cruise but not too many details. We will be sailing January 24th.

 

 

 

 

 

I have a few questions you maybe could help me with?

 

 

 

How expensive is a domestic beer and a decent drink? We are thinking of getting the drink package that you pay per day a flat fee. I don't know if I would get my moneys worth. I would probably have 5 drinks a day at the most. I remember that drinks where not too expensive on Princess.

 

 

 

How many ports did you tender into? Is that a big hassle? I never did this on the last cruise.

 

 

 

We are arriving at different times. Is it true you have to wait until all are present to check in?

 

 

 

We have anytime dining. What is that all about? Did you notice any bad times to go to eat?

 

 

 

 

 

We are looking forward to our vacation. There will be something for everyone to do. I like to work out. I'm happy to hear the facilities are good.

 

 

 

I appreciate any information you can offer.

 

 

Drink prices: I don't drink, so I am not much help. My wife had a few drinks and I think shots were about $8 or $9 and mixed drinks were about $11.

 

Tenders: we tendered into Grand Cayman. It was no big deal when we went. We got off right as they started the tenders and walked right on. We had to wait about 15 minutes for the tender to be full. When we came back it was the same. I can say that when it was almost time to leave, I could see a long line of people waiting to get on the tenders.

 

Checking in: I am not sure if you could check in before your whole party was there.

 

Any time dining: This is more like a traditional restaurant dining. It is open for a certain time frame and you can come any time during that window. In my opinion, the advantage is that you can eat on your timetable and the disadvantage is that you would not have the same table mates and wait staff (if you like that). We had early dining, so I don't know if there are better or worse times to dine.

 

Working out: There is enough to weight train, but not necessarily have a lot of variety per body part. With adjustable benches and dumbbells up to 100, I can work most any upper body muscle group. I could not work legs due to a hernia which I had repaired the day after I got back. You would be limited to a few machines for legs.

 

Enjoy your cruise.

[lynnesm36]

I appreciate the good information