Carnival Magic during Hurricane Matthew

[jenjohn1]

This was our second cruise, our first cruise was a 7 day Eastern on Royal Caribbean 18 months ago and hubby wants to try all the cruise lines. We loved the Freedom of the Seas and after the first cruise we were hooked!

 

We live in St Lucie County, FL (2 hours south of Port Canaveral) and planned this cruise 9 months ago, not knowing of course that Matthew would also pick this week to visit. Our adult son took the week off to house sit, take care of our dog and cats and later in the week put the shutters up! Good job, Christopher!!

 

We had Faster to the Fun so embarkation was a breeze. My hubby enjoyed lunch at Guy's Burgers but I was too nervous about leaving while under the threat of a possible hurricane to eat. After checking out the Serenity Deck, which was my favorite place on the ship, our room was ready and our luggage delivered.

 

On Royal we had an inside cabin which was adequate, but wanted to try a balcony on this cruise and hubby chose a Premium Vista Balcony on the 8th floor. We loved it! I don't think we'll ever have another inside room. The balcony was huge, wrapped around to the right and overlooked the aft of the ship. Our cabin steward Wahyu was the BEST, serving us twice daily and left a towel animal each night. Wednesday morning on the Lido pool deck there were animal and human towel creations of all sizes! They were all works of art. I'm a kid at heart and loved it!!!

 

We had early dinner at Southern Lights and our waiter, Juan always remembered our names and drink preferences. Every dinner served was delicious with many choices available. The dancing waiters seemed to enjoy dancing as much as we enjoyed watching! We ate at the Steakhouse one night and while good (especially the cheesecake dessert!), we did not feel it was worth the extra money. We had breakfast on the Lido deck most days, twice in the dining room. I'm an oatmeal and fruit person, hubby is a full breakfast guy. So we were both happy! We loved the pizza, Guy's Burgers and once had the Bbq. I can't comment as I'm not much of a Bbq fan but hubby said it was just ok. He would have liked it better if they had ribs I think.

 

The only entertainment we needed was the Reverend Dr E!! That man is a born entertainer!! We watched him in the Magic lobby hosting the Guess the 70s and 80s songs and the next night at the Love and Marriage show in the theater. Both were SO much fun!!! He's the Best Cruise Director Ever!!

 

On Thursday Matthew was expected to hit the coast near our home as a Catagory 4 hurricane. We were in our cabin all evening. My hubby literally made himself sick with worry. We were able to IM our son and the rest of our family but really tried to stay 'unplugged' as much as possible. We still had our bottle of bubbly we brought aboard, so when at the last minute Matthew 'wobbled' and headed northbound we celebrated! That's the only time we ordered room service--They were so quick!! Nothing better than sandwiches and champagne on a balcony late at night.

 

So, Port Canaveral was still closed on Saturday which gave us an extra 8 hours aboard the Magic! I know many fellow cruisers were inconvenienced due to missing flights home but we happily spent more time on Serenity after a leisurely breakfast and lunch. Overall we loved the cruise, and the seven days flew by.

 

My only complaint was about disembarkation. There was no organization and no direction. I assumed it was due to the delay, but other reviews I've read stated the same on other cruises. My hubby's only complaint was about Bottomless Bubbles, the soda package. On Royal there were dedicated soda dispensers. On Carnival, you have to request soda from a bar and cannot get a full can, just a glass full. It was a big deal to him.

 

Lesson learned--No more cruises during hurricane season!! Would I recommend the Magic? Yes!

 

Jen

[The4Cruisers]

Great review! Our next cruise will be on the Magic and that will be a first for us. Glad you had fun.

[jenjohn1]

Great review! Our next cruise will be on the Magic and that will be a first for us. Glad you had fun.

 

Thanks, I'm sure you'll love it as we did!

 

Jen