Carnival Magic April 8th Eastern Caribbean Cruise Review

I’ve recently returned from the Carnival Magic April 8thcruise to Amber Cove, St. Thomas, San Juan, and Grand Turk with my family(myself, husband, and 11 year old boy/girl twins). We had a great time and made lots of greatmemories. Below is just a quick tripreview with some info, tips, and photos. I always had a good time reading other trip reviews in the months beforeour vacation so I wanted to pay it forward.

I booked this vacation in April 2016 so I had plenty of timeto plan and organize everything J We chose thiscruise because of the port, water park, ports of call, and the timing of theschool breaks. We also decided to get abalcony room (specifically a cove balcony room #2306) for the first time and Ican honestly say I don’t think I’ll ever be able to cruise without a balcony again. I really enjoyed being able to drink wine andread my book while the kids slept or if I just wanted to get away from the millionsof other kids on the boat.

I’ll try and answer any questions you may have but I’ll forewarnyou…I didn’t do everything on the boat. Ididn’t have nearly enough time to discover everything. Or maybe it’s because I’d rather sit and reada book than wait in a line for 30 minutes for some bbq chicken.

On to the review! :cool:

The day before the cruise...

Friday we flew into Orlando, FL around 7pm. Several months earlier I had booked theHomewood Suites by Hilton near the airport (5425 Gateway Village). We decided on this hotel for a few reasons:1) it was near the airport, 2) It was one of the hotels that Cortrans ShuttleService stopped at, and 3) it had good reviews. I also wanted to make sure I could book a room that had a pull-out sofaso my kids could have their own sleeping space…they always sleep better if theyaren’t kicking each other in the face! I have nothing but great things to sayabout this hotel. After getting ourluggage I called the hotel to let them know we needed a shuttle to the hoteland they arrived in less than 15 minutes. When we checked into the hotel theygave us a coupon for the Bonefish Grill for a free Bang Bang Shrimpappetizer. So after dropping off ourbags in our room we headed to get some dinner. Shrimp was awesome…I don’t even remember when I ate afterwards :-p

It was late by the time we finished dinner so we just headedback to the hotel and went to bed.

Tip: If you stay at this hotel don’t forget to ask for theBonefish Grill coupon.

Tip: This hotel offers a free shuttle to/from the airport AND anywhere within a 3mile radius of the hotel. It’s a great perk if youwant to stop by a liquor store and get a couple of bottles of wine to bring onthe ship with you OR if you want to stop by the nearby Walgreens because youforgot your shampoo J

Doing the same cruise in October. I love Magic and am looking forward to your review :)

Saturday, April 8th 2017

After eating breakfast at the hotel in the morning we playedin the basketball court and then went back to the room to make sure we hadeverything packed for the cruise. Acouple of months ago we decided it would be best to get a shuttle to the portinstead of renting a car so after some searching we picked Cortrans shuttleservice. Their scheduled pick up time atthe hotel was between 10 – 10:15am. Around 9:50am we headed down to the lobby with our luggage to wait forthe shuttle. It arrived right on time at10:05am and we loaded up and headed to the port. Note: You do not prepay for this shuttle. You can pay with cash or credit card when the shuttle picks you up. It’s $20 a person.

As soon as we got on the boat we headed to the room to dropoff our luggage. They do keep the doorsclosed for the hallways to the cabins but I just walked right in like I knewwhat I was doing! After dropping off ourstuff we went to Lido for lunch. I can’tremember what was on the buffet but we left full so it was a success. The next thing we did was stop at Camp Oceanand had the kids check the place out. They got their muster station bracelets and some other goodies and wewere off to the pool. I had my firstdrink of the cruise (Kiss on the Lips and the hubs had a rum punch).

The kids were very excited about WaterWorks. We talked a lot about it in the monthsleading up to the cruise…it was probably one of the things the kids lookedforward to the most on the boat. We getthere and there is only one slid open. Ithought, OK, maybe they don’t have everything working on the first day. The kids go down the slid and report backthat the rest of the park is closed for repairs. WHAT! They were very disappointed but I tried toreassure them that hopefully they could fix it soon so they could enjoy itbefore we left at the end of the week. Soon it was time for the muster drill. Blah blah blah…muster, muster, muster. Good, glad that is over. Back tothe pool! We enjoyed the pool in theback the most. It was a little less busyand a little quieter. The hot tubs werealways overflowing with children….I assume it was because it’s springbreak/Easter time. I enjoyed a Pinacolada and watched as we sailed away.

At some point we headed to dinner. We had anytime dinning in the Northern LightsDining room. Anytime dinning has it’spros and cons. We only had the same waitstaff twice…otherwise it was different every night…some good, some bad. I do like the option of being able to go todinner when I want to BUT I missed having the same table and wait staff duringthe duration of the cruise…oh well…it didn’t stop me from stuffing my face.

When everyone was sleepy enough we put the kids to bed andheaded to the iron room to iron everything we needed for the elegantnights. Tip: If you can, iron all yourstuff ASAP or you’ll be waiting in a line the night of elegant night with therest of the people that thought they could just run down and iron a shirt quick…ha..ha..ha. Here is a pick of the iron room I used:

We are dong magic in January. Until then, I have to live through others! Thanks for sharing!

Saturday, April 8th 2017

 

When everyone was sleepy enough we put the kids to bed andheaded to the iron room to iron everything we needed for the elegantnights. Tip: If you can, iron all yourstuff ASAP or you’ll be waiting in a line the night of elegant night with therest of the people that thought they could just run down and iron a shirt quick…ha..ha..ha. Here is a pick of the iron room I used:

 

 

This is a great tip!! Where was the iron room located??

Thank you for this review! Its off to a great start and I look forward to the rest!!

I apologize for some of the pictures being the wrong orientation. Photobucket is driving me nutz!

Cabin #2306 – Cove Balcony

We decided on this room because we thought it was a good first balcony option. There are certainly pros and cons. I loved that we were very close to the water; however, being that far down also has it’s disadvantages. During our first day on the boat we had to use the stairs several times because the elevators were being used to haul luggage. The first time I had to climb 9 flights of stairs to get to the pool was funny by the 3rd time I was annoyed.

I’m not positive what the noise was; however, I would guess that it was the waves crashing against the side of the boat. While I tried to sleep I would hear a LOUD BOOM and then vibration from below. It was enough to keep me from falling asleep several of the nights. Once I finally did fall asleep it never woke me up. I enjoyed the rocking of the ship at night…I find it relaxing…and then…BOOM. Oh well…vacations aren’t for sleeping, right?? Zzzzz zzzzzzz ;p

Our Room:

The view:

My favorite:

Inside:

This is a great tip!! Where was the iron room located??

 

Thank you for this review! Its off to a great start and I look forward to the rest!!

The iron room closest to my cabin was on the 1st deck across from 1423. There are also rooms located on deck 6 across from 6360 and on deck 8 across from 8395. You don't have to iron it yourself. Carnival is happy to do it for you...at a price :cool:

Enjoying your review! Thanks for doing one. DH and I will be on the Magic in July and I just switched our cabin to a cove balcony on yesterday! It will be our first balcony also.

Nice review so far we are going on the magic in 2 days april 22, 2017 and Im so excited I cant stand it .

Anyone want the schedule for Camp Ocean Sharks (Ages 9-11)? I'll attach it below :cool:

Camp Ocean Sharks Op.pdf

CampOceanWristbands op.pdf

Great review!! WIll be boarding her next month so following with excitement!!

Anyone want the Fun Times? Part 1

SaturdayFT OP.pdf

SundayFT OP.pdf

MondayFT OP.pdf

TuesdayFT OP.pdf

Anyone want the Fun Times? Part 2

WednesdayFT OP.pdf

ThursdayFT OP.pdf

FridayFT OP.pdf

Monday – Amber Cove

After breakfast we headed to the dining room where we were supposed to meet for our excursion for the day.

The Outback Terracross Adventure was the first excursion we booked because I thought my kids would LOVE it and I wanted something other than a beach excursion so we wouldn’t get “beached” out. Below is the description for the excursion:

Take a thrilling countryside adventure on these 'go anywhere' Terracross buggies. You will explore countryside trails well off the beaten track. Hear snippets of cool information about the Dominican Republic and stop for a breather where you'll drink fresh coconut water pretty much straight from the tree.

Bring your swimwear and cool off "Dominican style"in a natural swimming pool. Note: Bring water shoes or sports shoes and sunglasses or goggles and a bandanna to cover your face. Bring sunscreen,insect repellent, cash for snacks, drinks and souvenirs.

Our excursion was called almost immediately so we were off the ship in no time and met Juan just off the pier where the shops were. Once everyone was accounted for they loaded us on the bus and away we went.

When we arrived we had just enough time to go to the bathroom and apply sunscreen and bug spray. They showed us to the terracross vehicles where we secured our items in the back and away we went. Tip: You don’t get lockers for your things so the only space to keep them is in the back of your terracross vehicle. You get muddy, and so do your things….plan accordingly.

It had rained a lot the night before so to say this was muddy would be an understatement…it was a hell of a mess. But it was crazy fun. I noticed that we stopped a lot along the way…I assumed that it was so others behind us could catch up. I later found out that some of the vehicles were prone to stalling. One of them was my husband/son’s. They didn’t even make it out of the Outback Adventure parking lot and needed to get a different vehicle. Several others had problems…if I were them I’d be annoyed.

We stopped about half way through at a beach. The beach was nothing special and we were only there for about 10-15 minutes before we were on our way back.

When we returned they had a big hose you could clean yourself off with if you’d like. We then sat down for lunch. I’m not going to lie…I didn’t enjoy lunch…not because it wasn’t good. It was because I was covered in Dominican mud. Oh well….

During lunch Juan gave everyone some samples of the pineapple wine and rum that are produced on the island…both were delicious. After lunch we had just a little bit of time to look at their gift shop before we were on our way back.

I was a little annoyed that I was gross and muddy but then Juan started handing out rum punch and I didn’t give a $% any more!

Back to the boat to take showers, more pool time, and dinner.

Following. We are on Magic inSeptember. I can't wait.

We were on Magic this past December and will be on it again this coming December, love this ship! Will miss it when it leaves PC but looking forward to booking the Breeze our of PC for at least one cruise next year.

This review bringing back super good memories and pix, we were in regular balcony on deck 7, midship port side, perfect!

Cant wait for rest of review...

On to the review! :cool:

Awesome! There will be a group of 26 of us on the Magic in July!

Subscribing! We are on the Magic in July. I hope they got Waterworks fixed for your kids!

Following! I'm going on the Magic on May 13th!

Thanks for the review. Following for further updates

Following.

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Following! My group of 14 will be on the Magic April 29th.

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Its great to read about the cruise and see the kids schedules and fun times. We were booked on this cruise and had to cancel because 3 of the 5 of us got sick right before we had to leave (one had the flu and 102 degree temp). We were bummed of course so its cool to be able to read about someone else's adventures. Thank you for sharing!

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