Carnival Magic at Thanksgiving - Review

Hello all! I am just back from a cruise to the Bahamas and Key West onboard the Carnival Magic. This review will probably take some time to complete, but I will post updates as I can. Please feel free to agree or disagree with my assessment of the Magic and our experiences onboard and understand that any and all of the opinions expressed here are just that- my opinions.

I’m not going to bore you much with our trip to Galveston, I live in Leander, Texas a suburb of Austin, and we are close enough to Galveston that the trip down took only four hours (and that was mainly due to restroom stops and a minor traffic slow down). I will say that if you are attempting to make the trip, I would recommend a traffic app to let you know where in Houston there are slow downs and where there are detours. This saved us a lot of grief just before Galveston where construction WOULD have meant an hour of waiting around.

Parking was a breeze though, and once at the port we had a very short and efficient line onto the ship. Two quick notes about security at the port… Firstly, Carnival allows you to bring a 12 pack of soda on board with you. We brought a 24 pack of Diet Mtn. Dew for me and my husband. Security opened our sealed carton and went through it can by can. This is not because it was a 24 pack; they did this to almost everyone. This made it much more difficult to carry the cans on as the box was ripped up. Now, I can understand security measures, but this was really inconvenient. I would humbly suggest that if you are going to tear up the boxes of soda that are permitted that it would also be a good idea to have packing tape on hand. Second, I was told by members of Cruise Critic as well as Carnival that it would be OK to bring my marriage certificate along with my passport since the last names do not match. This is true, but it requires getting into a different line and waiting a fraction longer. Not a problem for me! We were still on the ship by 2 pm, with the added bonus that staterooms were ready!

This itinerary and the fact that this was a Thanksgiving cruise meant slightly higher fares than we’re used to with Carnival. We booked early and saved a lot compared to others, there was never once a price dip that took us lower than our initial booking, so despite the added cost of the holiday we felt that we had a great value. However, that also meant staying in an interior cabin. Never again! We were on deck 8 room 8278. Our cabin steward May was there to greet us our first evening and she was excellent. The room was tiny. I mean, tiny. I haven’t been in an interior cabin on Magic and I am sure that they are representative of most interior cabins across most ships, but I was stunned. Maybe it’s just that the last cruise we were on (also on Magic) we stayed in a balcony stateroom. The lack of natural light, the fact that there is no sofa in the room, and the general closed in feeling led us to proclaim MANY times, that this is the last interior we do. Again, we got a great deal on this room, so I am still pleased with the price we paid, I just feel that going forward we’ll stick to the balconies.

Some notes about 8278… The bed was comfortable, the a/c worked wonderfully well after the first night, the bathroom was efficient and big enough for my husband and I. The only noise we heard came from people running around the halls and that was minimal. My mother and mother-in-law shared 8279 on the opposite hallway to ours and they had more noise as there were a lot of kids near them. Frankly, that’s just a risk you take on a cruise. Last year we were on deck 9 and our room was an absolute riot of sounds from the Lido buffet above us. I am a lot happier with Deck 8. We had to ask May to open our fridge for us to put our sodas in it. It was of course full of teensy but pricey bottles of liquor, cans of Sprite and Coke, and water bottles. May instructed us to move out whatever we needed to make room for our sodas. Our mothers’ cabin steward emptied their fridge for their sodas. I don’t really know what standard protocol is for this, but I felt bad moving cans of soda out because I know they probably went flat.

I ordered gifts from the Fun Shops months ago, and my husband’s Carnival tee-shirt was waiting in our room on embarkation day just as requested. The other two gifts were for our moms, Christmas ornaments that arrived Thanksgiving Day. So for those wondering about the Fun Shop gifts, I am a fan. The tee-shirt especially was so nice for a mere $10.

Our first move upon arrival was to grab a Fun Ship, the delightfully rummy punch drink that servers have on hand as you walk onto the ship. Ours came in hot pink hurricane cups that we brought home to add to our collection of Carnival cups from past cruises. A recurring theme of this vacation was that I found the drinks to be much stronger than I’d remembered. I drank very little for the most part because every time I did, I felt a little sick. That is just me though, my family members did just fine, and I am a confirmed lightweight when it comes to alcohol. So needless to say, by the time we made it to the Lido deck for a very light lunch (salads for the moms, a couple of slices of pizza for me and the hubster) I was kind of buzzed. Which did not stop me from ordering a Miami Vice (my absolute favorite!)…

Even before the Sail Away Party, Carnival is making sure everyone is having a ton of fun! They started playing line dances and my cousin, aunt, and I boogied. I was in cruise mode before the ship ever left! The best moment up till then was a young man, maybe in his early teens, who danced and lip-synched to Gangham Style to the applause of everyone on deck. This kid was an absolute nut. He was at every karaoke and dance event and he cut up. :p

Of course, muster is mandatory and we had to make our way to the Northern Lights dining room for a short (but not short enough!) safety drill. Seriously, we could have been in and out, but half the passengers seemed to try and skip it, and then they wouldn’t shush long enough for muster to begin. We booked it out of there as soon as possible for the Sail Away party, but the ship was already moving. We spent some more time on Lido, but then it was time to get ready for dinner because we had Steakhouse reservations!

I know that there are a lot of strong feelings about how to dress for dinner, but I personally enjoy dressing up a bit and for the steakhouse I wore a nice dress with heels and my husband wore a sports coat and button down with jeans. We were amongst the dressiest people in the place. I kind of think the Steakhouse should mean a little bit dressier diners than in the main dining room, but apparently when they say no shorts, they don’t really mean it. Whatever, I was happy to have my family members with me and to feel like it was a nicer dining experience. Most of you know that there is a free bottle of wine with dinner at the Steakhouse on the first night. We were there with our mothers and my sister and her fiancée. This is three cabins but they only give two bottles of wine. I was not drinking because two drinks in one day are generally plenty for me, so this was not a problem but I could see how others might get upset. I have been planning this night for so long that it was insane to be there finally! We ordered a bottle of white and a bottle of red and prepared for a delicious meal. Here’s the problem. It was hot in there, like no air, people started to sweat, hubby took the jacket off and I was gulping water like there was no tomorrow hot. There was a small crosswind that made the ship blow around a fair bit, and being in the very back of the ship meant we felt it. For the first time in 8 cruises I got seasick. I tried to ignore it and tell myself I was just overthinking things, I force fed myself a few bites of beef carpaccio and lobster bisque. My mom got through about two bites of carpaccio and had to leave. The maître d brought her a ginger ale (unasked for which I thought was lovely of him until we realized he also charged her for it) but she couldn’t even sip it. She went back to her room and as soon as my lobster came and I got a whiff of it, I headed to the nearest bathroom and was well and truly sick.:eek: I went to bed. I cannot begin to explain how sad I was about this. After we left a few dishes slid around the table and my husband said a lot of people felt sick, although apparently not as sick as my Mom and I. This was not the last time on the cruise that this happened. More on that later.

Here’s a thought on this. I have never gotten sick on a ship before, but it can always happen. I think after years of cruising I became very complacent. Next time I will bring Bonine and take it. My MIL had some and it was chewable and I should have just taken it every day like she did. I DO think that the fact that the air on the ship was not very cool that first night did not help.

For me, this was the end of embarkation day. Sadly, there was no towel animal as I went to bed before May could get into our room for turn down. My husband convinced my sister and her fiancée to join him at comedy. Diane Ford made him laugh. I saw her with my sister on Ecstasy four years ago and I could tell from his description of the show that not much had changed about her act. I will talk more on that later. Thus ends our first evening on the ship. I hope I covered most of what people will want to know. Feel free to ask questions and I will do my best to answer them! ;) Coming soon… Day 1 at Sea.

OP, you're not alone on the first time being seasick thing. What was the deal with the ocean last week?! Lol! We were on Conquest for Thanksgiving to Nassau, St. Thomas, San Juan and Grand Turk. I had never been sick on a boat in my life until that cruise. I had to wear a patch, take phenergan and Dramamine (Bonine when that wore off). The first sea day was a true nightmare. I got so sick standing in the breakfast buffet. DH and I had to walk around the ship to try and find somewhere I wouldn't feel the ship rocking as bad. Our stateroom was quite possibly the absolute worst area of the ship to be. After my phenergan kicked in, I was able to eat some of my breakfast. My mother in law had an extra prescription of patches, so she gave me one. But, it takes about 12 hours to reach your system. So, during formal night dinner (the one with lobster :(), I couldn't eat. Once the patch kicked in on me, I was fine. I continued to take Bonine everyday, as well, just in case. It was so bad that my mother and father in law, who were first time cruisers, have sworn off cruising entirely.

Looking forward to this! Will be on the Magic to the Bahamas in March!

It was so bad that my mother and father in law, who were first time cruisers, have sworn off cruising entirely.

We had two first time cruisers with us as well and they both did fine. My MIL was smart and had meds and my future brother-in-law has a cast iron stomach apparently :p

So sorry that happened to you as well. It's a terrible feeling and there is no escaping from it until the ocean decides to calm down or medicine kicks in.

Woohoo! I'm happy to read your review as we are going to be on Magic for the same route this Sunday! Will definitely bring some Dramamine!

Day 1 – Sea Day

** A note to those that are reading this, I have the world’s worst cold, an unintended souvenir of the cruise that we all brought home. I am going to be slow about updating as a result and I apologize. I am going to try and figure out how to add pictures to this review and will get those up ASAP.

My husband sleeps in all the time and I never do, but I made up for it on this cruise! I woke up at a leisurely 9 am and hopped into the shower. My husband likes the temperature at just over 38 degrees but for me that is scalding! Make sure that you look at it before hopping in, or you might wake up some neighbors. :eek:

On our last cruise on the Magic, we discovered that we hated the buffet just about any time we ate there, so there was a tacit agreement between us that there would be no breakfasting at the buffet even if it meant waking up earlier. Luckily the new brunch menu means that we can have a delicious breakfast any day we’re at sea until 1pm. I tried the steak and eggs along with everyone else at breakfast (a group of us met up) and it was pretty darn good. A note about breakfast in the MDR, we found the food to be excellent and the service to be slow and spotty. If you hate waiting around, just hit the buffet because we never finished breakfast in the MDR in under an hour. But, as with this meal, we felt the extra time spent at the table was well worth it.

My husband wanted a tee-shirt from the Red Frog Pub, so that was our next stop. I love this part of the ship, not just the pub, but the Promenade deck itself. The casino was not kind to us, but I still love walking through it, the energy is great, and the various areas around there are all fun for people watching. While at the pub my husband informed me that he wanted to participate in the Master Mixologist competition. I kind of already knew he would and I had been plotting a while about a drink name. It was killer. The Babymaker. It turned out that Carnival did not approve of the implications of a name like The Babymaker so we changed it at the suggestion of Lisa, that assistant cruise director, to Baby on Board (which let me tell you, led to some unnecessary excitement on the part of family members who had not seen me drinking the day before). The way the mixologist contest worked on this cruise (and maybe all of them, I don’t know) is that Mike had to fill out a form choosing from a list of ingredients. He chose rum, pineapple juice, sweet and sour, blue curacao, and melon liquor.

Mike was chosen as one of four contestants and told to report to the Lido deck that afternoon. Since we had a little time to kill and Mike needed to change, he went back to the room and I hit the shops for a bit. My grandmother was already there getting some serious shopping done and she bought a dress for me that I love. It’s in the Fun Shops and it’s black and white stripes and can be worn a bunch of different ways. I used to sell resort wear for a living and this is a great brand (Elan) at a good price ($49 + 10% off because it was only the second day on board). Just in case anyone is looking for a good cover up or sundress while on board. I immediately decided that I wanted to wear it to the competition so I joined my husband in our stateroom and changed in a jiffy, and then it was onward to Lido!

A bunch of family members joined us to watch the competition and we all drank some raspberry daiquiris to get in the proper frame of mind. I wasn’t a fan of these; they were a bit like liquid ice cream. Mike was a little nervous about the competition but I saw his fellow mixologists and I just knew he had it. Once the competition began we met our cruise director for the first time. James Dunn is a lot of fun. He is a party person for sure. Before the competition even began he was dancing with people and cracking everyone up. He introduced the first mixologist a honeymooner and gave her a hard time about rocking the boat (but The Babymaker was out of line!). I don’t know what that poor woman put in her drink but the group judging took a sip and made some pretty bad faces. When asked what they thought it was thumbs down all around. Lady #2 wore some club wear to the Lido deck which scandalized my mother in law but made me giggle because I am really not sure how she was able to stay standing on the wet deck in tall heels (I would have fallen into the pool at the first mild breeze). Her drink was apparently OK. Mike was next and he hammed it up, he did the running man (one of his ONLY dance moves) and was generally good natured and goofy and his drink got a round of thumbs up! I was so proud of him. Next up was a male model. No seriously, I think that’s his job. Biceps the size of small children and some dance moves that had one of the judges fanning herself, I was a bit worried for the hubby. But, his drink was not up to snuff. Mike won! Obviously, as his wife, I think that this was the only outcome that was acceptable. He got some free drink coupons and for the rest of the trip his name was in the Fun Times. I could not have been happier and he basically had his trip made. :D

Afterwards we headed to the casino for a Slot Tournament. $25 per entry for the first entry and $15 for each successive entry was the going rate. I had a good start to my round but in the end my machine stopped loving me, and I was out. I almost went for another round but after watching about five members of my family fall out, I decided we’d all donated enough to Carnival for one tournament.

About this time we decided to check out a raffle at the jewelry shop. I have always privately felt that these things were scams and I still do. Not just the getting your name and getting you into the shop part of it, but the entire idea that this is nicest, most natural jewelry in the history of ever and with such GREAT prices. Please. I am not on a cruise to spend a small fortune on jewelry and the jewelry store employees were mainly obnoxious. I should mention I am only referring to the yellow diamonds and other fine jewelry pieces. I am all about costume jewelry and designer watches from the shops and find that the folks helping with this level of jewelry purchases are much nicer. That’s just my two cents and obviously everyone is entitled to disagree. We did not win anything and those that did at this particular event seemed less than thrilled with their winnings. One woman tried to give hers away to the lady next to her and the second lady turned it down. Not sure what was in that bag but apparently not to her taste. So basically, I would recommend not going to these types of events.

We tooled around a bit in the shops, looking at watches and perfume, and then we decided to go get some fresh air (and BBQ). The grill is on deck 5 just outside of the café. It was not busy at all, but the food was tasty. Mike tried one of everything and liked the burger best, I got a quesadilla and a fajita and they were both really yummy. I will say that the spot where the grill is located does not have any shade and we all got really hot eating out there. It would have been worth our while to go back inside and watch karaoke or something. This experience led me to wonder about the Iguana Grill. It’s really a shame that the Magic doesn’t have one. I’ve heard great things about their salsas and burritos and this would be a good place for food of that nature. Also there is no Guy’s Burgers and I feel that that would be a very easy thing to add in. It’s not as if there is no good food on Magic, but I have to imagine those two options would be popular. Just an observation…

So as I’ve mentioned, this was my 8th cruise and my 4th with Carnival. There are a lot of things that first time cruisers or younger cruisers are interested in that I am just not. I do not do a lot of partying (although I did on this cruise! More later), and I don’t hang out on Lido because the music is so loud that I end up with migraines. I am there to relax and get away from what is a pretty demanding schedule at home. That said, this is one of the afternoons that my husband and I kind of just lazed. I organized the stateroom a bit (having been too sick the night before to mess with it), and then we started getting ready for dinner.

Again, I am a fan of the dressing up for dinner thing and this was our first ‘Cruise Elegant’ night! My husband and I are big on taking pictures one the Promenade and since this was a family vacation we felt it was a golden opportunity to get some great family portraits taken. For those of you who do not already do this, I really recommend it. The Pixels staff is usually top notch. We purchased a lot photos this cruise as did other family members. My favorite back drops were on deck 5 aft. This is where they set up the Titanic staircase backdrop, and a lot of the more formal ones. My MIL was annoyed with the numerous photographers who told her to pose ‘sexy’. She told them no and they moved on. A lot of times I think the photographers aren’t very versed in English and that they don’t really know how to get their message across. When they were telling her to pose ‘sexy’ a lot of the time I think they meant more relaxed and less rigid. When they SHOWED her what they meant, things went better.

I missed out on my Steakhouse lobster so you better believe that I ordered two at dinner! :p Since this was our first night in the MDR we got to meet Nelson, Jinn, and Teddy- our wait staff. Nelson was the man in charge. He wore glasses without lenses as his more formal attire and made everyone laugh by requesting that my grandfather clean his lenses for him.

Dinner in the MDR is always interesting with the whole family there. We were in the Northern Lights dining room, upper level. We had a round top table that seated the 11 of us with plenty of personal space. I had the pumpkin soup and the strawberry bisque as starters. This night set a precedent for the trip that most everyone ordered multiple starters and main dishes. I ordinarily don’t because I really can’t eat that much, but this time I indulged myself and tried not to think of all the wasted food. That pumpkin soup is so good! I ate every bit of it, had several bites of the bisque (very good as always), and annihilated my two plates of lobster. The shrimp that came with the lobster was very good too. I ate one and my husband and MIL finished the rest for me. Dessert was baked Alaska. I remember my first cruise with Royal the baked Alaska was served en flambé and while this was not quite as dramatic, it was very good. I considered getting a second helping before reminding myself that the point of the cruise was not to gain 50 lbs. in one night!

A very nice bar waiter came by to offer us after dinner cordials in cute collectible glasses. The offering was limoncello. Having had experience with this tart and VERY strong cordial I declined. However several family members wanted to try it. I reminded them that the proper way to drink limoncello is to hold your nose, shoot it and then exclaim Ciao Bella! It was a lot of fun to watch them all fall for it.

After dinner for my family generally means hitting the casino, so after we ate that’s where we headed. Craps tables were $10 minimum which is steep for me, so I watched others play. Throughout this cruise there was a couple at the table who obviously play a lot of craps and enjoy it immensely. They also enjoyed treating the table staff like absolute garbage. It is one thing to playfully rib the stick man and dealer, but these folks accused them of cheating, called them names, and generally kept up a running dialog about how bad they were at their jobs. I know that they also tipped them when they were playing well, but truthfully, I would have been glad to see them kicked out. In Vegas, they would have been. I played Keno and some video poker and lost and then cajoled my husband into heading over to the comedy shows.

Once again we had Diane Ford. She is a funny lady, no doubt. However, having seen her show TWICE on the same cruise four years ago, I was less than thrilled at the exact same routine again. She mentioned at the end of her act that her late performance would be a repeat of the one the night before. Seriously lady? Get some new material! :p

Diane was followed by Jim Brick. He was a riot. He likes to banter with the audience which was funny if not always good natured. One young man in the audience had gauges in his ears and Jim went on and on about them to the point that I actually started to feel bad for the guy. It was funny, but it was also a good thing that the audience member was so good natured.

After Jim’s show, Mike and I headed back to the room and to bed. We knew we’d be up a little earlier in the morning for Key West and we wanted to be fresh.

Next up… Key West and the Butterfly Conservatory! Also, hopefully pictures pretty soon.

Very much enjoying your review! Thanks for writing one :) Sorry the first night didn't go well for you.

Enjoying your review, we will be on the Magic again in Jan. This one is an Elvis impersonator cruise. We have seen this guy numerous times, he is really good. I went to school with his manager, which was Elvis Presley's road manager for several years.

Enjoying the review so far! We will be on the Magic in 17 short days for a Christmas cruise, so I am hanging on your every word. :) I am so very sorry for your seasickness the first night. That is my worst fear! I will be loaded down with preventatives and medicines just in case.

Enjoying your review, we will be on the Magic again in Jan. This one is an Elvis impersonator cruise. We have seen this guy numerous times, he is really good. I went to school with his manager, which was Elvis Presley's road manager for several years.

That sounds like too much fun! :D

Enjoying the review so far! We will be on the Magic in 17 short days for a Christmas cruise, so I am hanging on your every word. :) I am so very sorry for your seasickness the first night. That is my worst fear! I will be loaded down with preventatives and medicines just in case.

I think as long as you have meds with you, you'll be good. Be sure to take them before you board on the first day. A Christmas cruise sounds so lovely. I hope you'll post a review too!

Very much enjoying your review! Thanks for writing one :) Sorry the first night didn't go well for you.

Thank you! I think it was a lesson learned and I'm going to have Bonine from here on.

That sounds like too much fun! :D

We are looking forward to it, they have a private concert scheduled everyday.

Enjoying the review so far! We will be on the Magic in 17 short days for a Christmas cruise, so I am hanging on your every word. :) I am so very sorry for your seasickness the first night. That is my worst fear! I will be loaded down with preventatives and medicines just in case.

There is a compound that you can get from your druggist (requires Dr. prescription) called Scopegel, if you can get this, you will have no problems & it doesn't make you drowsy.

Day 2 - Key West

Key West is one of my favorite ports; I’ve been there twice before, although not in about a decade. Not a ton of change that I could see. Pulling at about 9 am we were already in the MDR for breakfast. I love port day breakfasts because on those days I can order cream of wheat. Yeah, I said it. I know that a lot of people think I’m crazy that with all of the yummy food available on board, I like cream of wheat almost more than anything, but it’s delicious and a pain in the rear to cook at home. I scarfed mine down while my husband tried eggs benedict (which he then proceeded to order almost every other day). I also had the corned beef hash which was yummy but pretty salty.

We were scheduled to do the Hop on Hop off trolley tour with a stop at the Butterfly Conservatory which was a very good deal and something I’d wanted to try in the past. Our tour wasn’t leaving until late in the morning so we got off the ship right after breakfast to look around the port area. Key West was HOT. Despite being November, it was very warm (in the 80’s and very humid). I live in Texas so I am used to heat but the humidity was killer! We walked (slowly) through some shops at the pier, where everything cost a small fortune and grabbed water from an ice cream parlor that cost $3 for about 16 oz.

Key West is a fun place to shop if you don’t mind spending a little more. I tend to think that the quality of a lot of the souvenirs are also better. My MIL found a beautiful sarong / wrap, and some flamingo print socks and then we had to make our way to the pier again for our tour.

We met our tour guide Frank, who looked as though he bakes in the sun just about every day, and wore sneakers with no socks. Very Key West of him if you ask me. He gave us each a sticker to allow us on and off the trolley and an adorable butterfly shaped sticker that let us in the conservatory. These butterfly stickers were so pretty that we stuck them on the mirror in our cabin and left them there the rest of the trip (they were not flat, but shaped like butterflies flying so they were easy to remove, I do NOT recommend stickers on the mirrors in any other case).

One hitch in all of this is that my Mom was with us on this tour and she has recently had foot surgery making walking difficult for her. Carnival listed this as a low impact tour but we had to walk a couple of blocks to meet the trolley and that was difficult for her. I would recommend getting a wheel chair or a pedi-cab to the trolley stop if anyone in your group has mobility issues. We all made it though and met the most delightful family from the ship with four precious little girls. We ran into them throughout the vacation after this and I have to say that they were champs. Travelling with four little ones and one still in a stroller had to be difficult but every time we saw them they were all having so much fun!

The way the trolley worked for this excursion was that the driver took us on about a 30 minute tour of Key West. I’ve been there before but this little port has so much history that even on my third trip there I learned a lot of new things! We saw a ton of chickens, a huge iguana climbing a tree, and our bus driver told us all about the pirates, local traditions, and some of the more famous buildings and homes. The first stop on the route was the Key West Butterfly Conservatory. We walked into the sizeable and beautiful gift shop and were directed past a desk into another waiting area. There were frogs and plants and lots of other things to look at while we waited including a map of world with representations of butterflies found in different areas. Frank told us a little bit about the conservatory; we were informed that we would see flamingos and turtles as well as butterflies. They also have quail. Lots and lots of little baby quail ran in and out of the landscaping so it was necessary to keep a good eye out so we didn’t squish anyone.

I cannot recommend this tour enough. The butterflies are gorgeous and literally everywhere! They landed on my clothes and on my hand and they had feeding stations where groups of them would gather. The flamingos, named Rhett and Scarlet, were beautiful. Scarlet groomed her feet nearly the entire time we were there and Rhett ate lunch and took a nap. Everything is right in front of you, beautiful plants, adorable baby quail, butterflies, flamingos. Children were able to feed the turtles (this mainly consisted of children tossing food down to the turtles who ignored them completely). There was a room of pupa and exotic birds that the conservatory just acquired. I could have spent hours in there.

Of course you exit through the gift shop. It has an entire room devoted to Christmas decorations which was perfect because my husband and I like to collect ornaments from every place we go. We found a sand dollar ornament with a butterfly painted on it that said Key West and a collection of sparkling butterflies that are going to look gorgeous hanging on the tree with the lights. There were also ornaments with actual butterflies inside them that were pricey and delicate but very beautiful. We shopped for quite a while. The shop is big and they have so much! I was happy to learn that they have a website that you can order from because some of the items were not in the budget for this vacation but I might grab some things in the future.

After we had shopped ourselves out a bit we decided to walk around the corner to the southernmost point. It was so close that we left my mom behind to wait on us because of her earlier mentioned problems getting around and because she’s been to Key West more times than the rest of us and has seen this particular spot each time. The line to take a picture at the southernmost point is long and slow but we amused ourselves taking selfies, people watching, and watching a couple of roosters try to out-strut one another. After we took our pictures we saw a HUGE iguana sunning himself on the beach and then headed back to Mom and the trolley stop.

The ship is in Key West for only a short while and we realized that we really didn’t have much time left. We hopped on the trolley and learned some more about Key West, getting off at the last stop. Thankfully the trolley had open windows that were big enough to allow us to take pictures as we made our way around.

We stopped in a small mall and grabbed some more souvenirs, and went to yet another ice cream parlor that advertised key lime pie. We grabbed a slice and it was well worth it, but even better was the key lime FUDGE. Holy moly was that stuff delicious. I finagled a basic recipe from the guy at the counter and then when I got home looked it up online. This will be a Christmas treat for the family this year for sure. We were really running out of time at this point so we had to kind of rush back to the ship, pausing to look at the life size sculptures (and one giant one of a couple dancing) as we went. Getting back on the ship was a long line with a bunch of hot and cranky cruisers! Also, we were not adequately informed on the ship that we would need a photo id with our sail and sign cards to get back onboard. This slowed us down a little because only half of our group brought theirs.

Usually people are pretty nice about elevator etiquette on the ships, but this day was a mess. The elevators filled up quickly and people were not shy about pushing their way onto them. We waited at one, got on, and then a crush of people came on behind us. The elevator beeped to indicate it was too full and people absolutely refused to get back off. Even though my husband, MIL, Mom, and I were on first, we all got back off (except Mom). We waited again, got on first again, and the same scenario repeated, only this time a family had ridden the elevator down from another level with no intention of getting off. My MIL hopped off and the elevator doors closed before Mike and I could follow. All I have to say about this is that if you aren’t the first one on the elevator (barring a circumstance where someone pushes you back which DID happen), you need to get off the elevator if it beeps. Everyone was hot, tired, and ready to get back to their rooms. This was just a level of rudeness I had never seen on any previous cruises.

That’s the end of my elevator rant… almost. Just because this is a good time to mention it as any. We saw a lot of kids pushing elevator buttons in the hallway or on the elevators themselves for the sole purpose of holding the elevators up. I never saw a kid in the presence of their parents do this, so if you’ve got young ones on the ship with you, you might mention to them that this is not allowed. Some days this made a noticeable difference in wait times for elevators.

Ok, elevator rants over for real.

We just had time to order room service (yummy beef sandwich to split), take showers, and get ready for dinner. I noticed that despite not being in the sun for very long at all, I definitely had a minor burn on my arms and chest. It’s not really a cruise until I get a sunburn anyway so I was fine. Dinner consisted of jerk pork loin for me and the hubby and fig cake for dessert. Everything was good and the entertainment at dinner was fantastic. There is a waitress who sang every night we were in the MDR and that gal had the best voice. It makes you wonder why she wasn’t working in one of the lounges or something.

I read several good things about the Pub Quiz at the Red Frog Pub and I wanted to check it out. I knew we would need a team so I gathered a group including Mike, me, my sister, her fiancée, my Mom, my MIL, and aunt and uncle, a cousin, and my Grandmother. We called ourselves Team Hook Em’. We’re from Austin after all. The quiz was all about beer and alcohol (clever Red Frog, very clever!). We did OK, but with the help of our good friend and bartender Dwayne, we killed the competition. There was an extra two points awarded if you tipped a waitress $2, but we had Dwayne running back and forth and he got all of our tips. Even without the bonus points we won amid much booing from the Aggies and the OK fans at the tables next to us. Our prize was a fishbowl, it was one of the best darned drinks at TRFP the Painkiller! Order one y’all. You will thank me. I had one in front of me so I let the other members of my team try the fishbowl and we all took photos of our glory.

With the exception of some more time in the casino in which Carnival got richer and we got poorer that did it for our first port day.

Next up…. Freeport

I was on the same cruise and I will say a bunch of us from the FB group came back with some kind of chest cold. I blame the fresh air.

And OMG that girls heels at the mixology contest were something else IDK how she walked in them!

Enjoying your review and looking forward to more of it.

I was on the same cruise and I will say a bunch of us from the FB group came back with some kind of chest cold. I blame the fresh air.

 

And OMG that girls heels at the mixology contest were something else IDK how she walked in them!

Sorry that y'all got sick too! Things DO tend to spread quickly on the ships. I hope y'all had a lot of fun!

Enjoying your review and looking forward to more of it.

Thank you! :D

Ugh, the elevators. I can't for the life of me figure out how some can be so rude on these things....It is a big reason for most of my cruises I have opted to take the stairs because I don't even want to deal with it. However, we now have a 4 year old. For his first two cruises he was in an umbrella stroller and coming back from port we would wait for an elevator, people would get on board and literally run on to the elevators in front of us after we had waited patiently. I can't tell you how many times on those first two cruises with him that I would have to grab the handles of the stroller and my husband would grab the wheels and we would have to cart him up several flights of stairs and try to catch another elevator.

How can people be so awful and selfish??

Day 2 - Key West

Key West is one of my favorite ports; I’ve been there twice before, although not in about a decade. Not a ton of change that I could see. Pulling at about 9 am we were already in the MDR for breakfast. I love port day breakfasts because on those days I can order cream of wheat. Yeah, I said it. I know that a lot of people think I’m crazy that with all of the yummy food available on board, I like cream of wheat almost more than anything, but it’s delicious and a pain in the rear to cook at home. I scarfed mine down while my husband tried eggs benedict (which he then proceeded to order almost every other day). I also had the corned beef hash which was yummy but pretty salty.

We were scheduled to do the Hop on Hop off trolley tour with a stop at the Butterfly Conservatory which was a very good deal and something I’d wanted to try in the past. Our tour wasn’t leaving until late in the morning so we got off the ship right after breakfast to look around the port area. Key West was HOT. Despite being November, it was very warm (in the 80’s and very humid). I live in Texas so I am used to heat but the humidity was killer! We walked (slowly) through some shops at the pier, where everything cost a small fortune and grabbed water from an ice cream parlor that cost $3 for about 16 oz.

Key West is a fun place to shop if you don’t mind spending a little more. I tend to think that the quality of a lot of the souvenirs are also better. My MIL found a beautiful sarong / wrap, and some flamingo print socks and then we had to make our way to the pier again for our tour.

We met our tour guide Frank, who looked as though he bakes in the sun just about every day, and wore sneakers with no socks. Very Key West of him if you ask me. He gave us each a sticker to allow us on and off the trolley and an adorable butterfly shaped sticker that let us in the conservatory. These butterfly stickers were so pretty that we stuck them on the mirror in our cabin and left them there the rest of the trip (they were not flat, but shaped like butterflies flying so they were easy to remove, I do NOT recommend stickers on the mirrors in any other case).

One hitch in all of this is that my Mom was with us on this tour and she has recently had foot surgery making walking difficult for her. Carnival listed this as a low impact tour but we had to walk a couple of blocks to meet the trolley and that was difficult for her. I would recommend getting a wheel chair or a pedi-cab to the trolley stop if anyone in your group has mobility issues. We all made it though and met the most delightful family from the ship with four precious little girls. We ran into them throughout the vacation after this and I have to say that they were champs. Travelling with four little ones and one still in a stroller had to be difficult but every time we saw them they were all having so much fun!

The way the trolley worked for this excursion was that the driver took us on about a 30 minute tour of Key West. I’ve been there before but this little port has so much history that even on my third trip there I learned a lot of new things! We saw a ton of chickens, a huge iguana climbing a tree, and our bus driver told us all about the pirates, local traditions, and some of the more famous buildings and homes. The first stop on the route was the Key West Butterfly Conservatory. We walked into the sizeable and beautiful gift shop and were directed past a desk into another waiting area. There were frogs and plants and lots of other things to look at while we waited including a map of world with representations of butterflies found in different areas. Frank told us a little bit about the conservatory; we were informed that we would see flamingos and turtles as well as butterflies. They also have quail. Lots and lots of little baby quail ran in and out of the landscaping so it was necessary to keep a good eye out so we didn’t squish anyone.

I cannot recommend this tour enough. The butterflies are gorgeous and literally everywhere! They landed on my clothes and on my hand and they had feeding stations where groups of them would gather. The flamingos, named Rhett and Scarlet, were beautiful. Scarlet groomed her feet nearly the entire time we were there and Rhett ate lunch and took a nap. Everything is right in front of you, beautiful plants, adorable baby quail, butterflies, flamingos. Children were able to feed the turtles (this mainly consisted of children tossing food down to the turtles who ignored them completely). There was a room of pupa and exotic birds that the conservatory just acquired. I could have spent hours in there.

Of course you exit through the gift shop. It has an entire room devoted to Christmas decorations which was perfect because my husband and I like to collect ornaments from every place we go. We found a sand dollar ornament with a butterfly painted on it that said Key West and a collection of sparkling butterflies that are going to look gorgeous hanging on the tree with the lights. There were also ornaments with actual butterflies inside them that were pricey and delicate but very beautiful. We shopped for quite a while. The shop is big and they have so much! I was happy to learn that they have a website that you can order from because some of the items were not in the budget for this vacation but I might grab some things in the future.

After we had shopped ourselves out a bit we decided to walk around the corner to the southernmost point. It was so close that we left my mom behind to wait on us because of her earlier mentioned problems getting around and because she’s been to Key West more times than the rest of us and has seen this particular spot each time. The line to take a picture at the southernmost point is long and slow but we amused ourselves taking selfies, people watching, and watching a couple of roosters try to out-strut one another. After we took our pictures we saw a HUGE iguana sunning himself on the beach and then headed back to Mom and the trolley stop.

The ship is in Key West for only a short while and we realized that we really didn’t have much time left. We hopped on the trolley and learned some more about Key West, getting off at the last stop. Thankfully the trolley had open windows that were big enough to allow us to take pictures as we made our way around.

We stopped in a small mall and grabbed some more souvenirs, and went to yet another ice cream parlor that advertised key lime pie. We grabbed a slice and it was well worth it, but even better was the key lime FUDGE. Holy moly was that stuff delicious. I finagled a basic recipe from the guy at the counter and then when I got home looked it up online. This will be a Christmas treat for the family this year for sure. We were really running out of time at this point so we had to kind of rush back to the ship, pausing to look at the life size sculptures (and one giant one of a couple dancing) as we went. Getting back on the ship was a long line with a bunch of hot and cranky cruisers! Also, we were not adequately informed on the ship that we would need a photo id with our sail and sign cards to get back onboard. This slowed us down a little because only half of our group brought theirs.

Usually people are pretty nice about elevator etiquette on the ships, but this day was a mess. The elevators filled up quickly and people were not shy about pushing their way onto them. We waited at one, got on, and then a crush of people came on behind us. The elevator beeped to indicate it was too full and people absolutely refused to get back off. Even though my husband, MIL, Mom, and I were on first, we all got back off (except Mom). We waited again, got on first again, and the same scenario repeated, only this time a family had ridden the elevator down from another level with no intention of getting off. My MIL hopped off and the elevator doors closed before Mike and I could follow. All I have to say about this is that if you aren’t the first one on the elevator (barring a circumstance where someone pushes you back which DID happen), you need to get off the elevator if it beeps. Everyone was hot, tired, and ready to get back to their rooms. This was just a level of rudeness I had never seen on any previous cruises.

That’s the end of my elevator rant… almost. Just because this is a good time to mention it as any. We saw a lot of kids pushing elevator buttons in the hallway or on the elevators themselves for the sole purpose of holding the elevators up. I never saw a kid in the presence of their parents do this, so if you’ve got young ones on the ship with you, you might mention to them that this is not allowed. Some days this made a noticeable difference in wait times for elevators.

Ok, elevator rants over for real.

We just had time to order room service (yummy beef sandwich to split), take showers, and get ready for dinner. I noticed that despite not being in the sun for very long at all, I definitely had a minor burn on my arms and chest. It’s not really a cruise until I get a sunburn anyway so I was fine. Dinner consisted of jerk pork loin for me and the hubby and fig cake for dessert. Everything was good and the entertainment at dinner was fantastic. There is a waitress who sang every night we were in the MDR and that gal had the best voice. It makes you wonder why she wasn’t working in one of the lounges or something.

I read several good things about the Pub Quiz at the Red Frog Pub and I wanted to check it out. I knew we would need a team so I gathered a group including Mike, me, my sister, her fiancée, my Mom, my MIL, and aunt and uncle, a cousin, and my Grandmother. We called ourselves Team Hook Em’. We’re from Austin after all. The quiz was all about beer and alcohol (clever Red Frog, very clever!). We did OK, but with the help of our good friend and bartender Dwayne, we killed the competition. There was an extra two points awarded if you tipped a waitress $2, but we had Dwayne running back and forth and he got all of our tips. Even without the bonus points we won amid much booing from the Aggies and the OK fans at the tables next to us. Our prize was a fishbowl, it was one of the best darned drinks at TRFP the Painkiller! Order one y’all. You will thank me. I had one in front of me so I let the other members of my team try the fishbowl and we all took photos of our glory.

With the exception of some more time in the casino in which Carnival got richer and we got poorer that did it for our first port day.

Next up…. Freeport

 

How can people be so awful and selfish??

I have no answer for this. This is a situation I haven't run into until this cruise but I was dumbfounded by the way people behaved. You would think this was basic manners, but apparently not.

I guess consider yourself lucky because it has happened to me on a few occasions but the worst was the NCL Spirit cruise we took out of New Orleans. ME first seemed to be the mentality of a lot of the cruisers we encountered. It really made me sympathize with folks in wheelchairs, at least a stroller can sometimes be light enough to lift and carry.

After our first all inclusive this summer and the lack of crowds, the elevators and buffets are the two things I'm not looking forward to. I'm hoping folks will be on their best behavior ;)

I have no answer for this. This is a situation I haven't run into until this cruise but I was dumbfounded by the way people behaved. You would think this was basic manners, but apparently not.

Day Three – Surprise Sea Day!

Waking up to a lot of movement on the ship is never a good thing on a port day. Mike and I had an excursion booked to snorkel and spend the day on a beach, so we were up early and waiting on the dining room to open about 15 minutes till. Last year we had a similar morning in Grand Cayman and we were pretty sure that snorkeling would be a no go. The water was choppy as we looked out the window at breakfast, and I ate a bowl of cream of wheat and nothing else because I felt certain that I’d get sick on a catamaran if I ate more. We talked it over and decided that we’d check with the excursions desk to see if snorkeling was cancelled and if it was we’d switch over to the bus tour and straw market excursion our mothers and my grandparents were going on.

Sure enough, all snorkeling tours were cancelled. It was easy enough to switch to another excursion and we went upstairs to change out of swimsuits and cover ups and into shorts and tees. Just as we were leaving the stateroom the captain came over the intercom. Due to weather conditions being unsafe, we would NOT be able to go to Freeport. Ugh.

We changed clothes AGAIN, back into swimsuits and headed upstairs to the Lido deck to meet the moms and lay out. As I’ve said, I don’t lay out at the main pool because of the noise level so we went to the very back of the buffet where the Indian food and the deli are and found chair there. One flight of stairs up from Lido there is a small area with very cushy chairs and ottomans that we elected to chill on. It was around this time that my husband decided we should try the Steakhouse again. Since we didn’t get to go to Freeport, we had the excursions we’d purchased as well as port fees reimbursed and he and the moms thought it would be a nice treat for everyone that wanted to go. I was not going to argue!

I’d hoped to get a little sun, but the weather really was pretty bad and after less than an hour of laying out, we were washed out by rain. Back to the stateroom we headed to change again! Mike wanted a watch, we’d found a great deal on a Citizen and he was going back and forth on it, but I wanted him to have it, so after changing clothes, we headed to the shops. We bought the watch and then ran into my grandmother – who was shopping AGAIN. That woman never stops. About this time my MIL found us and told us there would be Star Wars trivia outside of the Red Frog Pub. My husband is a HUGE Star Wars fan so he ran off to join her, and I (not so much a Star Wars fan) dawdled to visit with my Grandad.

Eventually I made my way to the Promenade deck and grabbed a spiked coffee while I listened to the end of the Star Wars trivia. Mike lost to a guy who was wearing a Star Wars tee shirt (thus the bigger fan I guess). Clearly, since we were supposed to be in Freeport, the ship had to scramble a bit to entertain us all. This meant a day of trivia. Star Wars was followed by Big Bang Theory (which was super hard!), and that was followed by Frozen trivia. The Frozen trivia was the most fun because a bunch of little ones showed up and they clearly didn’t entirely understand the point of trivia. Whenever they knew an answer, they would shout it out. It was kind of funny to watch parents get disgruntled about it. When it was all said and done almost all of the players won a ship on a string. I don’t think a single child missed a single Frozen question.

My future brother-in-law, Oscar really wanted to play bingo the entire cruise. Having been on Carnival and played bingo once or twice, I am pretty much convinced it’s the biggest racket ever. But, there wasn’t much else going on and they were running a special of 5 games for the price of 1… so we went. This event was the one that made it most evident that the Magic staff was not prepared for a day at sea. The lines to purchase tickets started late and were SLOW. Then when bingo finally began the screens that showed the numbers stopped working and they had to go to the big screen, which cut off the B numbers. It took a loooong time to get through the five games and by the third one; I was completely annoyed at myself for agreeing to go. We finished up with just barely enough time to get ready for the Steakhouse round 2!

I was so excited to get to do a redo of the steakhouse! I promised myself I would try some new things and I started off with escargot and the onion soup. I love escargot and I know that it’s not everyone’s cup of tea, but holy moly was this amazing. They serve the escargot two ways, first on a piece of phyllo dough with some sort of herb on top. It literally melts in your mouth, this flaky, slightly briny bite with a fresh herb finish. There is also a potato soup, kind of like escargot chowder. I guess the idea is to dip the first presentation into the soup, but I ate them separately. I could have had about five more plates of this and been good. My onion soup… not so much. It tasted very strongly of wine and was just sort of meh. My husband had the shrimp cocktail and enjoyed it so much he barely spoke until it was finished, then he had the ahi tartar, another winner apparently. I couldn’t try the tartar because of an allergy to avocado, but the moms took a bite and loved it. For my main course I had the surf and turf. I thought that I might have a bite or two of steak and of course annihilate the lobster. My Mom ordered lobster and asked if she could have a bite of steak. When our food got there I split the steak with her. The surf and turf is served with a petite filet mignon. It was so good. I ate every single bite of my main course and left my baked potato side untouched. My husband was not terribly thrilled with his New York strip steak, but he said it was ok. I ordered the chocolate sampler for dessert and took very small bites of everything. The banana and chocolate with guava sherbet was to die for, the tiramisu was also very good. The other two would probably make any chocolate fan happy, but I was too stuffed to enjoy them much. In all, the second trip to the Steakhouse was well worth it in my book and I was SO glad we had the chance to do it again.

So I am sure that if any of you have ever cruised with family before, you are aware that there comes a time where you can feel a little ready for alone time. The comedy club manager, Mark, hosted a magic show in the Showtime Theatre and we knew everyone would be there. After taking some pictures on the Promenade, we begged out of the show so that we could have some time for just the two of us. We changed out of dinner clothes and lounged a bit, then went to the Cherry on Top and bought candy like a couple of children. That place is dangerous! We were stuffed from dinner but still managed to fill up a bag with goodies. Then we hit the casino (lessons were not learned quite yet). I wanted to play craps but the same couple who liked to harass the dealers were there and the table was cold anyway. Instead, I hit up a blackjack table. It turns out that I am not suited to blackjack. The dealer got annoyed with me for putting my chips in the wrong spot and I accidently did the motion for hit instead of stay! Yeah, so that effectively ended my attempt at blackjack.

After watching Mike wipe out on a slot, we decided to go to Guest Services and get a printout of our statement (funny how a little time in the casino can remind you about the bill). I also wanted to check out whether or not they thought we’d be able to dock in Nassau the next day. We were pleased to see our shore excursion reimbursement already on our statement and GS said they thought we’d be fine for Nassau. We decided that we’d spent enough money for one night and headed for the room. There was a Mardi Gras party in the atrium that night that went on until midnight. It was so loud that on deck 8 in our room, we could clearly hear everything that James was saying to the crowd. I’m not sure if the party was meant to be in the atrium or if it was changed to that location because I cannot imagine why they would do it there where it would carry through so many staterooms. Even so, we fell asleep with fingers crossed for the next day.

Up next… Thanksgiving in Nassau! :cool:

Addendum: I forgot to mention that we ate lunch at Tandoor on Day 3. It was spicy and delicious and not to be missed! The homemade naan is enough for me, never mind the slow roasted meat.

Day 4 – Thanksgiving in Nassau

There was a certain sense of déjà vu this morning because we were up and at the dining room early again. This time it was clear that we would be docking at Nassau. We gulped down some breakfast and it was time to debark!

One of the reasons that I tend to prefer smaller ships is that debarking takes a lifetime on bigger ships (Magic being the biggest I’ve been on by far). We wound our way through stateroom hallways and down to the gangplank and found ourselves at a smallish but pretty port. It was overcast and cool out and we all began to fret that we were underdressed for a day at the beach. But there wasn’t a ton of time to worry because several men in uniforms started to lead us away from the ship.

I will say that I’d been nervous about Nassau for some time. I work for a government agency and I knew there’d been problems in the Bahamas. There’s been an increase in crime against tourists and I’d read several notices urging travelers to keep their personal belongings close. This was kind of a bad start to our morning because I knew for a fact that the 500 or so people crowded at the port could not all be going to Balmorals Island with us. There was no clear direction, just a few people to follow and as we went along my grandfather had to grab a little boy who, after becoming separated from his family was walking directly towards the water. We got him to his parents (who seemed bemused that we were concerned about him), and finally we arrived at an area where tenders were picking up groups to take them to their destinations. Here we split with some difficulty (because it was hard to hear directions). We waited while one tender filled up and then boarded the next one.

When we booked excursions I rather insisted on the Balmoral Private Island Beach Day through Carnival for several reasons. First, as I mentioned, I knew Nassau was not the safest place and I wanted us to book through the cruise line because it made me feel better about our safety. Second, Paradise Island (The Atlantis Resort) was expensive and I’d heard it was overrated. Third, this being Thanksgiving, I wanted us all to be together. So, I fully expected that this would be a fun and relaxing day. Queue the foreboding music…

As I said it was overcast. It was also very windy. Our little tender was built like catamaran, flat on the bottom, squarish in shape. It was very, very full as we made our way towards the island. We were told it would be about a 30 minute trip and that we’d get a tour of the harbor. Our guide was a guy who looked so much like Sean Combs that I wondered if he ever got asked for an autograph. He was funny and informative and did his best to get us all excited for the island. It was an uphill battle, let me tell you. The wind made the water choppy and inside the sea wall we were bobbing merrily enough that people began to get a little unsettled. Once we were past the sea wall it was like being on a rollercoaster. Everyone grabbed seats and poles and each other to keep from falling out of our seats and one side of the boat became thoroughly drenched. Our 30 minute journey became almost an hour. The best thing I can say about it is I was too scared to be sea sick! Our tour guide tried gamely to get us to cheer as we pulled up to the island; I think a few people muttered ‘Yay’.

OK, we were off to a bad start. But I for one was ecstatic to be on land again! As we walked along the wooden deck towards the beach, I was really taken with how pretty Balmoral is. White structures that housed bars, restrooms and a food court framed the beachfront with plentiful lounge chairs. The impression was of a clean, relaxing space. To the left of the deck was an enclosure with stingrays and another next to it with dolphins. There were signs posted to tell us where things were and what times the tenders would be back.

First things first though. I was excited about the advertised Starbucks on the beach, as I am a coffee addict. Mike and I followed the signs to the food court where there was… not a Starbucks. A surly woman in a green apron showed us a menu of ridiculously expensive brewed coffee. Mike ordered a ‘Frappuccino’ that consisted of brewed coffee and syrup blended with ice. NOT a Frappuccino. I ordered an iced coffee that turned out to be 90% milk. We located our family members and grabbed lounge chairs. This is a beautiful beach. It was cooler than I expected, probably not quite 70 degrees. Even so, I was able to lay out with a book and read happily. There was a DJ by the pool who played interesting music considering the number of children on the island, and who every now and then enthusiastically pressed a button that made the sounds of dolphins chattering play over the music. My future brother-in-law and I had a laugh over this, as it was weird and always played at random moments.

Several members of our group got into the water and floated on noodles or swam a bit. My husband spent a long time in the water (I attribute his resistance to the cold to his being a Yankee). I tried but only ventured as far as my feet before escaping the cold water and resuming my reading. With the exception of the cool weather, it was a pleasant enough morning. There was a lot of grumbling all around that the advertised shops on the island sold sunscreen and $5 cans of soda instead of souvenirs. I was disappointed about this too, but I knew there would be time to shop once we left the island so I didn’t dwell on it. Mike wanted a drink and I decided a Blue Hawaiian wouldn’t be amiss so he went to the bar with my sister. Warning, the drinks are double what they cost on the ship. One of the draws of this island was that we could pay with our sail and sign cards and we could, but we didn’t dare order more than one drink. The island does not allow straws either, so my frozen drink was mainly eaten out of a spoon. It WAS good though!

At around 12:30pm we decided that it was a little too cold to stay and we boarded another tender. This time, the ride was just as bumpy, but the boat was much faster than the first one, so it was mercifully short. Once back at the port, we followed the crowd through a courtyard and onto a little boulevard of shops. At this point everyone split up. It’s just too hard to keep a group of 11 together on busy streets. Mike and I tried to stay close to our mothers but we ended up splitting up with them for a while too.

My impression of the shops were that they were overpriced and full of chintzy souvenirs similar to those you’d find in Jamaica or Cozumel. People jostled other people and salespeople followed us around and tried to sell everything our hands brushed up against. It was stressful. We wanted to look at the straw market and so we followed the signs and met up with our mothers at the entrance. This is a tourist’s one stop shop. Tee shirts, baskets, wooden figurines and like items are packed in from floor to ceiling. There are very narrow aisles that are dimly lit and mazelike to shop through.

My mother wanted to buy some presents for coworkers. As we made our way through the market, we bought a sea turtle figurine, tee shirts, and an ornament for our collection. Mom struck up a conversation with a sales lady about some small woven ornaments. They were $5 a piece but Mom asked if she bought ten, could they come down to $3. After some back and forth the price was agreed upon. Mom paid the sales lady and we started to leave. Seemingly from nowhere, two women blocked our path. One started shouting at my mother.

“Those are $8, you can’t have them.”

Confused my mom explained that she’d just paid for them and the sales lady, still holding her money told her, “You have to pay $8 for each.”

Apparently this was her boss, and she was not authorized to change the price. I am not someone who loses her temper all that easily, but the feeling of being boxed in and watching these women scream at my mother did the trick.

“She paid, you put her items in a bag,” I told the first sales lady, “We are leaving.”

I am not sure what all was said because so many people started yelling at once. I know one person told us we couldn’t leave. My mom handed the bag back and took her money, still trying to explain that she’d asked for a discount and been told it was ok. I suddenly had a very bad feeling. I grabbed my mom’s hand and told her to come on. The boss lady was STILL shouting. At this point, they had their merchandise back, but apparently she still expected us to pay the $8 per ornament. I turned to her and told her in no uncertain terms to leave us alone. She paused a minute and looked around, other tourists were everywhere. She smirked at me and said, “Have a nice day.”

My mom, MIL, husband and I turned and started to leave and she KEPT following us. I don’t know what her intention was, but I absolutely lost it. I turned and started screaming at her to stop following us. My husband had to practically drag me away, telling the woman to stay away from us. Finally she stopped following us. I had to get out of there. I could barely breathe. I don’t know why exactly but this confrontation scared me really badly. All I wanted was to go back to the ship. My mother insisted on stopping at some more shops along the way, one Christmas store was beautiful and we all found some things to buy, but the afternoon was ruined for me.

The problems we had getting back on the ship in Key West didn’t reoccur thankfully and we were all able to get back to our rooms. As I told my husband, I am glad we went to Nassau, and I don’t care if we ever go back.

We decided a rest was in order. And boy did we rest! We woke up with about thirty minutes to go until dinner and were glad that on this cruise day 4 was NOT a formal night. I always bring a pair of jeans and a nice top for one night’s dinner because I KNOW that one night I will not feel up to a dress. This was that night.

As we made our way to dinner we stopped outside of the jewelry store where there was a sale that night on costume jewelry sets. These are so pretty. They are marked at over $100 which is ridiculous but on this night they were $19.95. We grabbed a lot of jewelry. Like I said, as long as it’s not being advertised as the finest jewelry ever, I am ok with purchasing it on the ships. I bought a really pretty owl necklace that I put on right there and wore to dinner.

I’ve been on Thanksgiving cruises before and I’ve learned the hard way that I don’t like the cruise ship version of Thanksgiving dinner. I was queasy that night, as we were in some windy weather once again, but I ordered corn chowder and steak béarnaise. The chowder was one of my favorite things I ate on the ship. However by the time my main course arrived, I was headed back to the room to take a Bonine. I could not believe I was seasick again! Luckily this time was much easier to get past and I was able to go back to the table and each some dessert with everyone. They had a gingerbread pumpkin pie that I thought was amazing.

We left dinner late and the men had to run to the casino to check the status of the Longhorn game. I went with my MIL back to the jewelry shops to pick up yet another set for her. This one was a pretty pearl set that broke as soon as she got it back to the room. It was also the last one of that set on the ship so she had to get a refund, which was no problem.

After establishing that the Longhorns were losing, we headed to comedy. Pat Godwin was the new act on the ship and I absolutely loved him! He played his guitar and sang dirty songs that were hilarious. He riffed with the audience, and had everyone in stitches. Mike was tired though, so after his show we headed to bed.

Even though Nassau was not what I expected, I had a good day overall. Anytime that I can be with my family and experience new things (I’m overlooking the fight at the straw market here), I feel blessed. I’ve travelled a bit, and I’ve come to accept that I won’t like every place I visit. I was thankful (see what I did there?) to have had the opportunity to visit Nassau.

Next up… Party on the ocean.

Great review, I'll be on the Magic during spring break! 3/29-4/5

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