Booked the Magic

Just booked me and my Dad's second carnival cruise, our first 7 day. Eastern Carribean January 28, 2017.

What is a not to miss thing to see and do on the ship, or in the ports? We are not drinkers.

What about a pre cruise hotel at Port Canaveral?

Our only other cruise was January 2016, 5 day on the Paradise. How different is the Magic?

The Magic just completed an overhaul and added a number of so-called Fun 2.0 upgrades.

You might like Guy's Burgers at lunchtime, the SeaDay Brunch (sea days only) in one of the Main Dining Rooms, Guy's BBQ (sea days only -expect LONG lines), entertainment in the Ocean Plaza mid-ship and the evening Comedy Shows in the Aft Lounge. Maybe dinner at the Cuchina above the Buffet.

Magic is much larger and newer than the smaller and much older Paradise. Lot's to do aboard ship. Checkout EXPLORE | SHIPS | MAGIC at Carnival.com!

A number of cruisers recommend La Quinta Beachfront Hotel. There are a number of Hotels in nearby Cocoa Beach. Some of these Hotels participate in a program offering a 40% off voucher for parking at the Cruise Port. We're staying at Holiday Inn Resort across from the CruisePort.

Watch your e-mails - Carnival may be starting staggered (scheduled) check-in at Port Canaveral one of these days.

Excursions aren't available yet - maybe 90 to 180 days before sailaway.

Are you flying or driving?

Ken

Just booked me and my Dad's second carnival cruise, our first 7 day. Eastern Carribean January 28, 2017.

 

What is a not to miss thing to see and do on the ship, or in the ports? We are not drinkers.

 

What about a pre cruise hotel at Port Canaveral?

 

Our only other cruise was January 2016, 5 day on the Paradise. How different is the Magic?

We will be on this cruise ! We stay at comfort inn & suites (park n cruise package). It will be our fifth time staying there and have always been very satisfied! Decent breakfast...ride to and from the ship.

Checkout the Carnival Hub smartphone APP for when you cruise (might or might not be available/operational on Magic by January 2017 cruise!): http://www.carnival.com/cms/shipboard/funhub/funhub-landing.html

ken

 

 

Excursions aren't available yet - maybe 90 to 180 days before sailaway.

 

Ken

You may want to go ahead and check on excursions. We cruise on the Magic in December, and, our excursions are already available. :)

Just booked me and my Dad's second carnival cruise, our first 7 day. Eastern Carribean January 28, 2017.

 

What is a not to miss thing to see and do on the ship, or in the ports? We are not drinkers.

 

What about a pre cruise hotel at Port Canaveral?

 

Our only other cruise was January 2016, 5 day on the Paradise. How different is the Magic?

We love the Eastern Caribbean itinerary. So much that we are doing it again on the Magic in 3 wks. (Then going again in Dec on the Magic, but, doing the Western itinerary that time).

I'm assuming your ports will be San Juan, St.Thomas, Grand Turk, and Amber Cove?

We absolutely love San Juan! Lots to do without booking an excursion. You can explore the forts either by walking or taking the free trolley, explore Old San Juan, shop, etc.....

St.Thomas has beautiful beaches. The sky ride to Paradise Point is also nice and is within walking distance from the ship.

Grand Turk, you really don't have to book an excursion here either. There is Margaritaville and a beach there to the left of where the ship docks. Jack's Shack and more quiet beaches are farther down. Right of the port is the conch graveyard.

Amber Cove is a new port. There is a company developed pool and zip line area plus shops right there at the port. We are going for the first time in 3 weeks and booked the Serenity VIP excursion based on the good reviews it has. It would probably be best to book an excursion here through Carnival as I've heard it is not an area that you would want to walk around freely. (My son's girlfriend is from the Dominican and she has some stories to tell! She made us promise not to go off on our own here.)

The Magic will be a lot different from the Paradise! I'd suggest that you go online and explore the ship to get familiar with her. That's what I did, and, it was a big help. I like to be familiar with a ship before I get on it.

There are a lot of hotels in the Port Canaveral area. This time we are driving down and actually staying in Titusville as it is on the way (only about a half hr from the port) and much cheaper to stay here than at the port.

Hope you enjoy your cruise!

We have Magic booked for Eastern for Oct. For San Juan just do the free trolley to explore. For St. Thomas you have great beaches or do a sailboat snorkel excursion. For Grand Turk just a DIY beach day. For Amber Cove we just planned to look around port and then back on ship. It's the port we really don't have anything to do.

Magics drydock has added Guys Burgers, Blue Iguana Cantina, alchemy bar and Guys BBQ a plus other bars. The Cantina is not only great for lunch but also for breakfast. These places are not to be missed.

You may want to go ahead and check on excursions. We cruise on the Magic in December' date=' and, our excursions are already available. :)[/quote']

 

As mentioned, not available yet! We'll do self-guided walking tour and lunch in OSJ, probably just the Paradise Point SkyRide in St Thomas, Beach Day in Grand Turk (so far we're the only ship scheduled there), and a Beach Excursion (or maybe stay aboard ship) in Amber Cove.

Looking forwrd to Guy's BBQ, but not the expected line!

Ken

we stayed at Hampton Titusville and hit the 40 percent discount parking voucher. It's a perfect port fit parking. And being able to get right on the road is great when you have a 10 hour drive ahead of you.

The Magic just completed an overhaul and added a number of so-called Fun 2.0 upgrades.

You might like Guy's Burgers at lunchtime, the SeaDay Brunch (sea days only) in one of the Main Dining Rooms, Guy's BBQ (sea days only -expect LONG lines), entertainment in the Ocean Plaza mid-ship and the evening Comedy Shows in the Aft Lounge. Maybe dinner at the Cuchina above the Buffet.

 

Magic is much larger and newer than the smaller and much older Paradise. Lot's to do aboard ship. Checkout EXPLORE | SHIPS | MAGIC at Carnival.com!

 

A number of cruisers recommend La Quinta Beachfront Hotel. There are a number of Hotels in nearby Cocoa Beach. Some of these Hotels participate in a program offering a 40% off voucher for parking at the Cruise Port. We're staying at Holiday Inn Resort across from the CruisePort.

 

Watch your e-mails - Carnival may be starting staggered (scheduled) check-in at Port Canaveral one of these days.

 

Excursions aren't available yet - maybe 90 to 180 days before sailaway.

 

Are you flying or driving?

 

Ken

Thanks for the response. We will be driving down. It is about a 10 hour journey.

Wow, thank you all for all the wonderful responses. I was going to respond to each individually, but I hate that when I am reading someone's trip report and it is interrupted by 10-30 individual responses, most of which are the exact same.

Ok, rant over. Yes the itinerary is Amber Cove, St. Thomas, San Juan, Grand Turk. I didn't know there was so much free stuff to do in the ports. I hope they post excursions soon. We booked our January 2016 vacation on the Paradise to Cozumel and Grand Cayman on April 2, 2015 and the excursions were already posted. Maybe soon. Based on current offerings, we are planning the Ocean World day pass in Amber Cove, beach day at St. Thomas, Peurto Ricos favorites (Rainforest Drive and the fort in one) in San Juan, and possibly snorkeling in Grand Turk. Neither of us has snorkel end before.

About the dining onboard. I read that she has the American table. I'm a little nervous, as I have read so many bad comments about it. Do all the ships that have the American Table have the some menu. Someone posted the menus from a recent Glory cruise that was American Table, it didn't look bad to me. They didn't post the dessert menu though. Does anyone know if they still have the Baked Alaska? It was Dads favorite from the Paradise.

Thanks for the response. We will be driving down. It is about a 10 hour journey.

Hotels that participate in the 40% CruisePort Parking Voucher Program are listed at: http://www.portcanaveral.com/PortCanaveral/media/Cruise-Assets/Parking-Voucher-Program_5.pdf I'd call to confirm same.

A poster on a December Magic cruise indicated that their excursions are now available!

Ken

Are there any significant pros/cons to staying in a Cocoa Beach hotel versus right at Port Canaveral the night before the cruise?

I am searching for our October cruise and am finding pretty decent prices on hotels dot com. To the OP, you may want to check rates on that site. I just cannot decide which area I should book in.

We have Magic booked for Eastern for Oct. For San Juan just do the free trolley to explore. For St. Thomas you have great beaches or do a sailboat snorkel excursion. For Grand Turk just a DIY beach day. For Amber Cove we just planned to look around port and then back on ship. It's the port we really don't have anything to do.

 

Magics drydock has added Guys Burgers, Blue Iguana Cantina, alchemy bar and Guys BBQ a plus other bars. The Cantina is not only great for lunch but also for breakfast. These places are not to be missed.

We are on the same cruise!

We just returned from the Magic this past Sunday. Had a great time.

"Dive-In" movies was pretty cool.

As for the long lines at Guy's BBQ, we didn't experience that. There were short lines and they moved quickly. Perhaps we accidentally showed up at the right time.

Have a great cruise!

About the dining onboard. I read that she has the American table. I'm a little nervous, as I have read so many bad comments about it. Do all the ships that have the American Table have the some menu. Someone posted the menus from a recent Glory cruise that was American Table, it didn't look bad to me. They didn't post the dessert menu though. Does anyone know if they still have the Baked Alaska? It was Dads favorite from the Paradise.

We recently cruised the Magic. I thought the American Table was fine. There was no Baked Alaska though.

We recently cruised the Magic. I thought the American Table was fine. There was no Baked Alaska though.

I second that.

Are there any significant pros/cons to staying in a Cocoa Beach hotel versus right at Port Canaveral the night before the cruise?

 

I am searching for our October cruise and am finding pretty decent prices on hotels dot com. To the OP, you may want to check rates on that site. I just cannot decide which area I should book in.[/

 

I would stay wherever the room is priced right.

We recently cruised the Magic. I thought the American Table was fine. There was no Baked Alaska though.

New to cruising...what is the American Table?

New to cruising...what is the American Table?

"American Table" is a new menu Carnival has rolled out. It has caused some controversy with those that have been cruising for a while; some feel it's not as extensive or as good as the old menus. This was my seventh cruise and I thought it was just fine.

Wow, thank you all for all the wonderful responses. I was going to respond to each individually, but I hate that when I am reading someone's trip report and it is interrupted by 10-30 individual responses, most of which are the exact same.

 

Ok, rant over. Yes the itinerary is Amber Cove, St. Thomas, San Juan, Grand Turk. I didn't know there was so much free stuff to do in the ports. I hope they post excursions soon. We booked our January 2016 vacation on the Paradise to Cozumel and Grand Cayman on April 2, 2015 and the excursions were already posted. Maybe soon. Based on current offerings, we are planning the Ocean World day pass in Amber Cove, beach day at St. Thomas, Peurto Ricos favorites (Rainforest Drive and the fort in one) in San Juan, and possibly snorkeling in Grand Turk. Neither of us has snorkel end before.

 

About the dining onboard. I read that she has the American table. I'm a little nervous, as I have read so many bad comments about it. Do all the ships that have the American Table have the some menu. Someone posted the menus from a recent Glory cruise that was American Table, it didn't look bad to me. They didn't post the dessert menu though. Does anyone know if they still have the Baked Alaska? It was Dads favorite from the Paradise.

No baked alaska on any of the ships we've been on the last 3 years (at least I don't remember seeing it)

The american table menu choices are ok although we preferred the old menu. Port of call dishes are pretty good. It really depends on what you like. On our last cruise this past February, there were 2 nights that we probably should have checked out the Lido deck but didn't. We couldn't get the daily menu on the tv in our cabin & never thought of checking it out during the day.

The desserts were good - they have a different pie every night and sometimes your server won't mention it so you need to ask. Ohhh and though not advertised and NOT only for kids, you can order a banana split :)

Mary & Terry

London, ON

We were on the Magic several years ago, it was great. One our our favorite daily activities was getting a bite from the Sushi Bar (now the Taste Bar), taking it to the Ocean Plaza bar and getting a pre-dinner drink. There was usually music being played in the Ocean Plaza and the promenade was right there to get a great view of outside.