A Magic Vacation (8/19-8/26 2017; Eastern Caribbean)

[dctravel]

Hello everybody! We just got home from an amazing 7 days in the Eastern Caribbean on the Carnival Magic. The weather was fantastic, the ports fun, and the ship in excellent shape with a ton of fun activities (driven by the good Reverend Dr. E's high energy).

 

I really enjoyed doing a day-by-day review of our Dream cruise last year, so I am going to do one for the Magic this year. Please feel free to ask questions as I go. I review to help out other cruises (I have really enjoyed other's reviews) and to help me remember what we did (I print out the review and put it in our photo book :D).

 

First, a little about us. We traveled as a family of 4 (me, by DW, and two kids, a 9 year old girl and a 6 year old boy). We stayed on the Lido deck in a four person interior (10234) with two pullman beds. Both my son and I have food allergies, so we were in the allergy protocol program. I am allergic to beans and my son is allergic to dairy. I will talk more about the allergy protocol as we experienced it in a later post, but am happy to answer questions about our experience.

 

Since we live outside of Washington, DC, we flew to Orlando the Friday before and stayed at the Hyatt Regency Orlando on International Drive. We chose the hotel for its central location and its pool. We thought about staying in Cocoa Beach, but decided we wanted to be in Orlando and not at the beach. We rented an SUV from Hertz to shuttle ourselves to the Disney Character Warehouse (outlet store), Publix, and out to eat. We ate at Bahama Breeze and Miller's Ale House on Friday and enjoyed an excellent breakfast at the Hyatt on Saturday morning before drive to Port Canaveral.

 

I think this is enough of an introduction. Our embarkation day is next!

[riclop]

Looking forward to it.

[easyboy]

Will be following along.

 

 

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[itolduso]

Thank you for doing a review. Looking forward to your review!

 

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[dctravel]

And here we go!

 

On Saturday morning, we woke up in Orlando and made our way to Port Canaveral. We had a 11 am check in time and FTTF, so we wanted to be on board as early as we could, without having to wait in the terminal too long. Traveling with an impatient 6 year old can be challenging at times, and we ended up leaving Orlando a little later than we meant to. We were on the road by about 9:45 and pulled into Hertz in Port Canaveral (after getting gas next door at Racetrac) about 10:45 ish. The drive was very easy. Make sure you have $4.25 in cash for tolls.

 

While the price was right for Hertz ($80 for a Nissan Pathfinder), the Port Canaveral location seemed overwhelmed that morning. They quickly took our keys (they had other people who needed cars to go back to Orlando), but the line to get a receipt was really long. I chose to skip the receipt (Hertz #1 Club Gold gets them by email), we got on the shuttle bus and headed toward the pier after a short wait.

 

First we dropped off a family for the Disney Fantasy and then we were off to the Magic. We walked into to the terminal building at about 11:45. With FTTF (and a pit stop), we were able to walk right on board at about 12:15 and put our stuff in our room! It was so fast. We couldn't beleive it! The expedited embarkation and having the room available was really the best. It was so nice not to have to carry our luggage until 1:30.

 

I had read so much about Guy Burgers, so we decided that is what we wanted for lunch. As others have reported, there was a bit of a line, but it moved very quickly. Those burgers are really tasty! It is something about the mix of meats (80-20), the flat top, and whatever seasonings they used make them so yummy. My kids kept going back over the course of the week for lunch! I found the fries to be okay. They were a little undercooked for my liking. The toppings bar was great. So many choices of fixins (to steal a name from another burger place) and sauces.

 

After lunch, we played a round of miniature golf (a favorite for my son), checked out the ship, and then headed back to the room to unpack. With FTTF, our suitcases arrived in the first wave. It was really remarkable how quickly they came. On our cruise on the Dream, they did not arrive until after early seating dinner. On the Magic, with FTTF, we had them before the Muster Drill. We also met our cabin steward, Gilbert. He was great all week. He asked about once or twice a day service, we chose both. Our room, considering we had four people in an inside cabin, was kept clean and as neat as possible. He also happily supplied us extra towels, glasses, and wine glasses as we needed them.

 

While my wife started unpacking, I headed to guest services to rent a medical cooler for my son's medication, which needs to be refrigerated. The mini fridge in our room never got very cold, so the medical cooler was the way to go. Guest Services puts a $75 hold against your sail and sign account for the cooler, they checked to make sure it was working, and with the FTTF line, I was back in our room in short order to cool down the meds. One other note about the medical cooler. It needs to be plugged in, so a power strip of some type is a must. On the Magic, there are two "American" outlets under the mirror in the main cabin. If one has the cooler, then there is only one available.

 

After the muster drill (inside (for us the balacony of the theater), no life jackets required), we watched sail away from the mini-golf course, finished unpacking, and changed for dinner. We had early seating in the Southern Lights Dining Room at the aft of the ship. We sat with Elbert, who was wonderful with the kids. He and his assistant's service all week just kept getting better as they learned our preferences and quirks.

 

As I mentioned in the first post, we were in the allergy protocol because of my allergies to beans (and soy) and my son's dairy allergy. Thankfully, neither of us is anaphylactic, but we take the allergies seriously, and for my son, he really, really needs to stay away from dairy (although cross contamination (e.g., why he could have Guy's burger for lunch earlier in they day) is not a concern).

 

Earlier in the afternoon, we had talked with the dinning room staff (they do special requests and such in the Northern Lights on embarkation day), and they knew we were coming and said they were prepared for our issues. This was only partially true, unfortunately. What it meant is that our first dinner took forever (nearly 2.5 hours), as my food was prepared seprately and was missing several ingredients because the chef misunderstood what I can and cannot eat. For example, the fish I ordered (mahi mahi) came without a sauce, becasue it must conain either soy sauce or soy oil. I can eat those things, but not soy flour or actual beans. While the fish was still tasty, it took until after the meal with the manager to explain what I really needed (desserts, etc...). To compound the first night slowness, my kids's meals came out super fast, way before the adult entrees. This meant that they had to wait a long time while our entrees were served. This was not ideal, and once we explained to Elbert that we wanted the kids meals paced with the adult meals (we got them fruit as an entree if there was nothing from the adult menu they wanted to try), everthing was much better moving forward. I know that some familes like their kids to eat and then head to the kids club, but we like to have everyone eat the whole meal together. This was the only night that was a problem, as we explained to Elbert what we wanted and the meal was better paced after that.

 

On the allergy protocol, we ordered food for my son's breakfast (to be eaten in the dining room) and dinner each evening at dinner with Seleshia, one of the assistant maitre d's. She was great. She made sure that my son had almost anything he wanted over the course of the cruise. This included all kids of breakfast foods and desserts (dairy free cookies were a hit for a few days, as was the sorbet from the steakhouse that they had delivered to the dining room). I also ordered my desserts and any appetizer or entree items that contained breadcrumbs, bread, etc... (for example, stuffed mushrooms... so good!) ahead, as many of them have soy flour in the cake mix they use.

 

After dinner, we tried to watch the movie on deck, but the screen wasn't working. We ended up in the Red Frog Pub playing fooseball and shuffleboard. It ended up being one of our favorite places.

 

Day 1 at sea is next! Sorry for the long post.

[mrpayroll]

We have been on Magic once before and really enjoyed it. Will be going again the end of September on Western. Looking forward to your review.

[bUU]

We have been on Magic once before and really enjoyed it. Will be going again the end of September on Western. Looking forward to your review.

And I'll be looking forward to yours! Especially if you include scans of the daily newsletters and menus. :)

 

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[dctravel]

And I'll be looking forward to yours! Especially if you include scans of the daily newsletters and menus. :).

 

 

I didn't take pictures is the menus, sorry. I do have the fun times. Let me see if I can figure that out. If nothing else, I can scan them at work when I get back in early September.

 

 

 

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[bUU]

They'll be greatly appreciated!

 

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[SharkCruiser24]

Thank you so much for doing this review I look forward to the rest of it!! Random question: you don't happen to remember which night the MDR served gazpacho do you? Trying not to miss it when reserving the steakhouse.

 

 

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[mandykat9270]

I look forward to seeing the rest. Sailing on the 7 day Magic Nov 4th and we are so excited!

[Florings]

Looking forward to more!

[ryano]

Thanks for this review! I will be on Magic again in about 40 days! No Dr E though this time :(

[dctravel]

We were on the typical 7 day Eastern Caribbean schedule (Sea Day, Amber Cove, St. Thomas, San Juan, Grand Turk, Sea Day). I always like when a cruise starts with a sea day. It gives you a chance to get acclimated to the ship and the rhythm of vacation.

 

Traveling with kids does not necessarily allow for sleeping late, and when my son was up for the day (around 7 am), he and I headed for the buffet and to play miniature golf. While it is one of his favorite activities aboard, I also find it strangely relaxing, especially in the early morning when nobody else is playing. When my daughter got up, she joined us for a light breakfast snack and then we woke up Mommy to head to the main dining room for breakfast.

 

Since we were on the allergy protocol, we had preordered my son's breakfast the night before and were instructed to check in at the hostess stand in the Southern Lights dining room and to tell them and our waiter that we were on the allergy protocol and had made a special request. This was the one time that we had a major issue with food and my son's dairy allergy. We checked in, told everyone we needed to tell about a dairy free pancake request, and the waiter still brought my son regular pancakes with dairy (even after being asked several time by me and my wife if these were dairy free). Well, this set us both off (thankfully he is not anaphylactic and we didn't have a life-threatening situation on our hands), but the consequences are still serious.

 

The managers took this quite seriously once we notified them, and from that point forward we were given a dedicated breakfast server and table. Roy, our waiter, was wonderful. He made sure my son's special requests (things like dry toast, special non-dairy french toast, etc...) were prepared correctly for him and brought out with the rest of our food. He was really great! The managers, Diago and Davar, gave us their cell phone extensions and asked us to call before we headed to breakfast so they could make sure Roy was ready for us (we appeared to be his only table). That made everything 100% better and we had great breakfast experiences after that.

 

For the rest of the day, we sent the kids to the Camp Ocean for a couple of hours and spent time reading on the Serenity deck. I was quite surprised that there was ample seating during the heart of the day. On our Dream cruise, it was hard to find seats, on the Magic (at least this cruise), it was never very crowded.

 

For lunch, the kids grabbed guys burgers and my wife and I checked out the pasta bar. It was quite good. After lunch we play yatzee in the Ocean Plaza (deck 5) with the fun squad, tried out the pools (too crowded) since it was too windy for the water slides, and played some more mini-golf. Since he had early seating, we then got ready for dinner (first formal night), took pictures around the ship, had a drink in the Red Frog Pub while the kids played foosball and shuffleboard, and then had dinner. I didn't take pictures of the menus, but it was regular first formal night fare: prime rib and lobster tail. They were both good, although my prime rib was a little more cooked than I would have prefered.

 

That night the show was Flick. Dr. E did a great job with a red carpet event in the main lobby before the show, and it was really cool how they wove the movies in with the singing and dancing. The current cast on the Magic is certainly talented and they demonstrated their diversity over the course of the week with four very different shows.

 

The next day was Amber Cove, and my son is an early to bed kid, so my wife took him back while my daughter and I listed to some music before hitting the hay. A big day, including the eclipse, was on tap for tomorrow.

[jen&samcantwait]

Looking forward to more. Will be on Magic in just 10 days!!!!! ;p

[dctravel]

Looking forward to more. Will be on Magic in just 10 days!!!!! ;p

 

 

 

I hope to get back to it soon. Currently in a tow lot waiting omg for another tow to get my car fixed. I want to be back on the Magic!

 

 

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[jen&samcantwait]

I hope to get back to it soon. Currently in a tow lot waiting omg for another tow to get my car fixed. I want to be back on the Magic!

 

Oh no. Hope it goes well.

[dctravel]

Thank you so much for doing this review I look forward to the rest of it!! Random question: you don't happen to remember which night the MDR served gazpacho do you? Trying not to miss it when reserving the steakhouse.

 

 

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Unfortunately, I do not. In fact I don't specifically remember gazpacho, by then again I don't General look for soups, except the French onion :).

 

 

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[dctravel]

Oh no. Hope it goes well.

 

 

 

It is just a time suck at this point. Blew a tire on the NJ Turnpike and the wheel lock key is missing. Each tow company can only do so much, so I wait. I could certainly use a Thirsty Frog Red right about now.

 

 

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[PH8]

 

For lunch, the kids grabbed guys burgers and my wife and I checked out the pasta bar. It was quite good. After lunch we play yatzee in the Ocean Plaza (deck 5) with the fun squad,

Small world.........I also,played Yahtzee.......were you the ones up next to the stage on the right(as you look from the coffee bar?).......

[dctravel]

Small world.........I also,played Yahtzee.......were you the ones up next to the stage on the right(as you look from the coffee bar?).......

 

 

 

We were the family from Maryland with the little boy and slightly bigger girl. I think we were the green team and were on the coffee bar side near the stage.

 

 

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[PH8]

We were the family from Maryland with the little boy and slightly bigger girl. I think we were the green team and were on the coffee bar side near the stage.

 

 

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And we were right behind you.

I forget the color.

[ILCruzr]

Looking forward to the rest of your review.

 

I sail on the Magic in November and cannot wait! We are doing the western route tho, but I love eastern! Going eastern in Jan on a different cruise :)

[buddylover]

We, too, sail the Magic in early November.....and are looking forward to 'more' of your review. Great job!!

[dctravel]

We, too, sail the Magic in early November.....and are looking forward to 'more' of your review. Great job!!

 

 

 

More starting tonight! This week has been harder to write the review than I thought. I will have more time once I am home again [emoji41]

 

 

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