Carnival Magic for reunion cruise July 14, 2018

We had 21 family members on a family reunion cruise on the Carnival Magic leaving Port Canaveral and sailing to the Eastern Caribbean on July 14, 2018.

Our part of the family consisted of 54 year old me, my 87 year old mother, and my sister and brother in law. We were the only ones flying from Kentucky, the rest of the Immediate family was driving. We were meeting up with our cousins who were flying in from Portland, Oregon.

Our trip started out horribly in that our flight from Lexington to Sanford was delayed 11 hours, but luckily we had scheduled to fly in the day before the cruise. We boarded the plane in Lexington on time on Friday, July 13, and backed away from the gate, only to have the pilot announce that a warning light was on and we’d have to return to the gate. A mechanic came on board and tried to fix it, but was unsuccessful. So we deboarded the plane, and Allegiant flew another plane up from Orlando. By the time the new plane arrived with fresh pilots, the flight attendants decided they were too tired, and they had to drive in new attendants from Cincinnati. When the new attendants got there from Cincinnati, the one remaining flight attendant decided he was too tired, and they had to drive in a flight attendant from Indianapolis. We finally took off at 2:30 am on a flight that was supposed to take off at 3:30 pm the previous day. Not an auspicious beginning for my mother’s first flight ever. Last time we’ll book a flight on Friday the 13th!

We finally arrived at Sanford bleary eyed and weary of airports. We had cancelled our hotel reservation when it became clear that we would not be landing prior to the wee hours of the morning, so we hung out in the Sanford airport until the shuttle arrived to take us to the port. We had originally arranged for the shuttle to pick us up at the hotel, but rescheduled it to pick us up from the airport. When the shuttle from Cocoa Beach Shuttle arrived, it was nearly an hour late, and the driver stuffed not only our party of 4 but another party of 6 into a van that already held our cousins from the hotel. There were 12 of us in a nine passenger van, and it was totally uncomfortable for the ride to the port. One of the guys from the other party (who thought they had booked a private shuttle) ended up sleeping on my sister throughout much of the trip. Needless to say, we were all looking at each other and wondering if this was an omen for our trip.

Next up—embarkation day!

Oh my. I hope things improved!

Wow

That's some vacation start!! Hoping it got much, much better!

Embarkation Day

Even though we’ve been up for more than 24 hours, the sight of the Magic and the Disney ship parked at Port Canaveral still thrilled. It may actually have thrilled more, because I know that I doubted more than once during this ordeal that we’d actually make it onboard. So, the van driver parked but told us to stay on board the van while he and one of the last guys he picked up sorted through the luggage. We just shook our heads, but complied. We finally got out of the van, claimed our 4 large bags, motorized scooter and manual wheelchair. We gave our large suitcases to the porters (with a little prayer that the Friday the 13th jinx had expired) and headed toward the terminal. Check in was a breeze and we were on the ship in 30 minutes or less.

My mom does not normally use a wheelchair and I was to be her pusher for the week, but we soon found out that I am really bad at navigating with the wheelchair. She doesn’t have mobility issues, but she has asthma and getting overly tired sometimes sets off an attack. We got the chair for her to use mainly in ports and when we’d be walking long distances. After the previous 24 hours, she was more than happy to let me push her. I did my best to be careful but got many a cross look from people who I had grazed with the wheelchair in the terminal. Thank goodness they let us go through a shorter much straighter line or there’s no telling how many people I might have mowed down. As we passed one of the windows, Mom got her first glance of the ship and said “I’ve changed my mind. That ship is too big.” I told her merrily, “sorry, too late” and continued pushing her toward the ship.

We passed the smiling Carnival staffers welcoming us on board. I nearly knelt down weeping to kiss the lobby floor but managed to contain myself. The sight of the Magic Atrium is almost breathtaking. We stopped briefly to look up and then followed my sister and brother in law to the elevators. They are Platinum and booked in an Ocean Suite so their stateroom was ready for them even though it was a little past noon. We dropped off our carry on bags in their room. I had diligently done my research on Cruise Critic so I had told my sister we should bypass the buffet and get a meal where someone would actually wait on us. I led us aft to Deck 11 and found the entrance off the elevator to Cucina del Capitano. The smiling hostess led us to a table and helped us get the wheelchair out of the way (my brother in law who uses the scooter decided to stay in the cabin and take a nap) and I was finally able to exhale. We had made it on board! We choose our selections from the paper menu and marked our choices. The food arrived quickly. The lasagna was way different from any I’ve ever tasted, but was excellent. We enjoyed sitting down and being pampered and then wandered back down to the Empress Deck to check out our interior staterooms down the hall from my sister’s suite. I will say that the Ocean Suite is very nice, with a separate dressing area, jacuzzi tub, balcony and all, but I really enjoyed my much smaller but dark and quiet interior room.

Mom said she was too tired to walk, so we explored the ship (and terrorized other passengers with my woefully bad driving) while I pushed her in the wheelchair. Those little humps gave me fits until I discovered turning her around and taking her backwards over them worked much better. And don’t get me started on elevators. Getting started on elevators was indeed quite the problem until I followed the advice of a nice lady who advised me to go in backwards. Eureka! We managed to make our way to the Muster Drill and then up on the deck to get a few shots as we sailed out of Port Canaveral. Yay! We actually made it and the ship is actually leaving port!!

We had 21 family members on a family reunion cruise on the Carnival Magic leaving Port Canaveral and sailing to the Eastern Caribbean on July 14, 2018.

 

Our part of the family consisted of 54 year old me, my 87 year old mother, and my sister and brother in law. We were the only ones flying from Kentucky, the rest of the Immediate family was driving. We were meeting up with our cousins who were flying in from Portland, Oregon.

 

 

 

Our trip started out horribly in that our flight from Lexington to Sanford was delayed 11 hours, but luckily we had scheduled to fly in the day before the cruise. We boarded the plane in Lexington on time on Friday, July 13, and backed away from the gate, only to have the pilot announce that a warning light was on and we’d have to return to the gate. A mechanic came on board and tried to fix it, but was unsuccessful. So we deboarded the plane, and Allegiant flew another plane up from Orlando. By the time the new plane arrived with fresh pilots, the flight attendants decided they were too tired, and they had to drive in new attendants from Cincinnati. When the new attendants got there from Cincinnati, the one remaining flight attendant decided he was too tired, and they had to drive in a flight attendant from Indianapolis. We finally took off at 2:30 am on a flight that was supposed to take off at 3:30 pm the previous day. Not an auspicious beginning for my mother’s first flight ever. Last time we’ll book a flight on Friday the 13th!

 

 

 

We finally arrived at Sanford bleary eyed and weary of airports. We had cancelled our hotel reservation when it became clear that we would not be landing prior to the wee hours of the morning, so we hung out in the Sanford airport until the shuttle arrived to take us to the port. We had originally arranged for the shuttle to pick us up at the hotel, but rescheduled it to pick us up from the airport. When the shuttle from Cocoa Beach Shuttle arrived, it was nearly an hour late, and the driver stuffed not only our party of 4 but another party of 6 into a van that already held our cousins from the hotel. There were 12 of us in a nine passenger van, and it was totally uncomfortable for the ride to the port. One of the guys from the other party (who thought they had booked a private shuttle) ended up sleeping on my sister throughout much of the trip. Needless to say, we were all looking at each other and wondering if this was an omen for our trip.

 

Next up—embarkation day!

I try to avoid budget airlines like Allegiant for this very reason. So glad you did make it in time for your cruise.

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Following along—can’t wait for the rest of your review. We are sailing the Magic for a big family cruise in April 2020 to celebrate our 50th Anniversary, but the ship is repositioning to Ft Lauderdale for that cruise.

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My sister and brother in law fly Allegiant half a dozen times a year and have never had any issues as bad as this. I’ve had travel issues (although none like this) on the major airlines. I still blame it in flying on Friday the 13th! :-)

Looking forward to hearing about a great trip after a bad beginning

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My sister and brother in law fly Allegiant half a dozen times a year and have never had any issues as bad as this. I’ve had travel issues (although none like this) on the major airlines. I still blame it in flying on Friday the 13th! :-)

I usually don't have too many problems with Allegiant. But they just changed our after-cruise flight's time by 6 hours earlier, meaning it would be leaving 3 hours after we docked... cutting it way too close. Now we have to go through the whole ordeal of re-booking, getting a hotel room for the night instead of flying out that same day, & everything else that comes along with that.

Thanks for the report.

Nice report so far!

I usually don't have too many problems with Allegiant. But they just changed our after-cruise flight's time by 6 hours earlier, meaning it would be leaving 3 hours after we docked... cutting it way too close. Now we have to go through the whole ordeal of re-booking, getting a hotel room for the night instead of flying out that same day, & everything else that comes along with that.

I have learned to never take Allegiant again. Hope things go better for you.

Thanks for sharing! Can't wait to hear more :)

After we returned to our cabins to take a very needed shower after all the travel delays, it was off to dinner. We had pretty much informally agreed that each of the family members would entertain themselves during the days and the we would meet up for dinner at the early seating each night in the Northern Lights dining room. My sister in law had talked to group sales to ensure that we would have tables in the same general vicinity. When we reached the dining room, we had been assigned one large round table and one smaller table nearby so that our dining companions each night would be just our family.

My mother, sister, and I were a bit late getting to the dining room as she hadn’t quite grasped the concept that we needed to be on time at 6 pm as to not disrupt the staff and timing for the late dining. At any rate, after she arrived, one of the young hosts, Aleksander, escorted her to the table and then gallantly waited as she went around and hugged each of the family members she had not yet seen on the ship. He then lent her his arm to lead her to her seat at our table and then smilingly asked for a hug as well. It really got our first dinner off to a great start.

Our waitstaff in Northern Lights was great, from Julio Cesar, head waiter, Alejandro, and Elrick. They took care of both of our tables, and made sure we never lacked for anything from fresh bread, drinks, to lots and lots of food. Somehow though, we always ended up being one of the last tables to finish eating, even though their service was prompt and attentive. Alejandro, to make sure that he didn’t startle you, would make a little ringing noise before placing menus, food, etc. on the table, especially if you were distracted. It was quite endearing.

The food in the MDR was quite good. Invariably, I began each meal with shrimp cocktail (or two) and one of the cold fruit soups when available. There were many varieties of food for each taste, but I would have to say my favorite was the grilled sea bass. I hoped it would reappear on the menu later in the week, but alas, it never recurred. There was a bread basket or two on the table each night, and the bread was okay but not memorable. The portion size for the entrees and side items was adequate, and I have to say that I never left the table wanting more. I was tempted to get the scrumptious chocolate melting cake each night, but I tried a new dessert nearly every night and each was good. I didn’t take photos of the menu, but I do remember that they did have lobster the first elegant night, and prime rib the second elegant night. They always had four standard items if you were not feeling adventurous from grilled salmon, to roasted chicken, to a vegetarian dish, to something I don’t remember.

Mom and my sister had met Mom’s room steward, Philip, before they came down to dinner. I had the pleasure of meeting him early the next morning in the hall. I have to say that he was easily the best room steward I have ever had on a cruise. He gave us the choice of morning, evening service or both. Mom asked to have her bed made in the morning and the room cleaned in the afternoon with a turndown service. I chose morning service, so we both got our towel animals before noon most days. No matter how short a time we were out of the room, it seemed he had come in and magically cleaned and refreshed the room before our return. We never lacked for anything. He never failed to greet us with a smile and call us by name anytime he saw us. He also would ask Mom her plans for the day and generally made her feel like she was his only patron. He really went out of his way to make her cruise special.

We had hoped to take in a show or two, but alas, the much delayed flight caught up to us and we went to bed before 9 pm.

Nice review so far. Glad you didn’t let the snafus discourage you. You had to know that good things were to come after all of that.

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This is WONDERFUL! Thank you!

Enjoying your review! Sorry your vacation got off to a rough start...just goes to show others that flying/driving in the day before is ideal- anything can happen! We sail her on 8/25 and will be driving down the day before.

Enjoying your review! We sail in October!

Marsha

Enjoying your review! We loved the Magic. A wonderful ship.

Enjoying your review :)

We sail the Magic in March.

SEA DAY

A little personal info before I start in. At home in Kentucky, I am the sole caregiver for my 87 year old mother. We booked side by side interior cabins because during the last family reunion cruise 9 years ago, I didn’t sleep the entire 5 day cruise. I would have rather avoided the solo supplement (aka egregiously expensive rates) to have a room to myself, but I like sleep. And cold staterooms in which to sleep while she prefers the warmest temperatures known to man. At one point, Carnival was spot checking the AC on Empress Deck and thought there was a problem with Mom’s AC. Nope, that’s the temperature she likes. But I digress.

While Mom was drinking her coffee from room service, I ran up the stairs to check out the Lido buffet and to make sure we were actually out in the ocean as expected. Yep, couldn’t see land in any direction from the deck. Hey, with the trouble we’d had getting there, you couldn’t blame me for being a little nervous. I ran back down the stairs and asked Mom if she wanted to try walking around the ship instead of using the wheelchair. Undoubtedly convinced by my atrocious piloting of her wheelchair, she said she’d try walking. She spend the rest of our time on the ship only using the wheelchair off the ship.

We decided to try out the Lido buffet for breakfast. It was a nice selection of both continental type food such as pastries, cereal and fruit, and hot food such as scrambled eggs, bacon, pancakes, French toast and other goodies. Even though we enjoyed it and found way enough food to satisfy, we ended up eating in the Southern Lights dining room for most of the rest of the cruise since we decided we liked having people bringing us food instead of having to wait in line to get it.

I will admit that the previous day, I was developing a dislike for Cookie, the cruise director, and what I felt were his attempts to be funny in his announcements. He was trying just a little too hard. Despite that, we decided to go to his morning show and the cruise excursion show that followed. Overnight, Cookie had gotten much funnier and more engaging. Or maybe I was grumpy from the travel travails the Saturday. At any rate, by the end of the cruise, we thought Cookie was one of the better cruise directors we had experienced.

Later, we met up with my sister and wandered from trivia show to game shows and just thoroughly relaxed and enjoyed ourselves. Although I have to say I was singularly bad at trivia on this cruise after winning 4 trivia contests on the sleepless-on-Carnival cruise years before. As a family, we had decided to wear our custom made family reunion t shirts on sea days, so yes, if you were on the cruise, that was our little group in our baby blue family reunion cruise t shirts wandering the ship. We did ditch our matching tee shirts to get dressed elegantly for dinner. Dinner was lovely with lobster on the menu this night. I wasn’t feeling lobstery so I ordered a fish dish that was quite tasty, and then hurried to the theater for the show. I thought the show was good, and that the entertainers were quite talented. We tried to make it to the comedy show but as it is in the smallest space on the ship, it was packed 30 minutes before the show so we missed the comedians on this night.

Next up—Amber Cove

EXCURSIONS AND LUNCH

Because my sister was planning on taking care of entertaining Mom while I explored, I booked three excursions prior to the cruise. The only port I had not booked an excursion in was Grand Turk, as I had wanted to see how I fared with kayaking, snorkeling and other activities prior to booking another excursion that included both. I ended up not booking an excursion in Grand Turk, and I definitely regretted that choice as Grand Turk, as a port, does not have a lot to do if you are not interested in hanging out at the gorgeous big pools at Margaritaville or shopping.

AMBER COVE

We were blessed with great weather throughout the cruise, and Amber Cove was no different. It was really windy but comfortably hot with the sun brightly shining. I booked the La Casa En La Playa-A Select Retreat excursion based on my desire to try out kayaking, snorkeling and stand up paddle boarding in small doses. When we docked at 9 am, the Carnival Horizon was already in port. My excursion was booked for 10:30, so I took my time in departing the ship. It was easy to find the excursion departure site in port with all of the excursions in one spot with signs for each excursion at different posts. We gathered, waited for our excursion to be called, and we soon made our way to a large, air-conditioned Greyhound-type bus. The bus driver was silent as we made our way to the site, a private beach house, per the brochure, leaving us to form our own views of the countryside. When we arrived, our hostess, Galen aka Mama, got on the bus and welcomed us and told us that there were 40 people from the Horizon already on site but that there was plenty of room and food for us all. She made us feel very welcome and told us about the activities we could choose to do and about the authentic Dominican buffet that would be ready in about an hour. Upon entering the house, we were greeted with a smile and the offer of a rum punch. I explored the beach and splashed around in the ocean for a while, while watching the kite surfers playing down the beach. No one really called us when lunch was ready, we all just kind of ambled over when we were ready and got in line. The food was terrific, with a nice selection ranging from jerked meat to lettuce for salad and everything in between. There was an open bar with several alcoholic beverages available, as well as bottled water and Coca Cola products. After lunch, I ventured down to the beach and told the guys manning the equipment stations that I would like to try kayaking and that I had never tried before. He got me into a life jacket and then showed me how to maneuver the kayak via pantomime. It took a little while but I finally figured out how to turn the kayak and how not to turn the kayak into circles while paddling. It was great fun. After my arms were sufficiently exhausted, I returned the kayak and thought about paddle boarding. It was pretty windy that day, and I was a little leery of trying to paddle board, so I passed, instead finding a nice hammock on the beach and relaxing. The Horizon excursioneers left a couple of hours before we did, but at no time did the house or beach seemed overcrowded with ample lounge chairs and umbrellas, hammocks and snorkeling equipment for us all. We boarded the bus for the drive back to the ship and Mama boarded the bus with us. As we drove slowly (the roads were unpaved with lots of potholes except for one main road leading back to the port but the driver took great care to go slowly so as to not make the trip too rough), Mama told us about her country in great detail. I would give this excursion 10 stars out of 10 stars for a very enjoyable day. I made it back to the ship just in time to get in line to board before departure.

CHARLOTTE AMALIE, ST THOMAS, US VIRGIN ISLANDS

Again the weather was beautiful with only a few small clouds in the blue sky. We docked at 11:30 and I had an excursion booked for 12:30 pm for Turtle Cove Sail and Snorkel with Open Bar. It was easy to find the excursion departure site in the port. We gathered and walked quite a distance to the catamaran which was to be our vessel for the day, the Castaway Girl. We walked down the pier to the catamaran and took off our shoes before boarding and put them in big plastic bins for safekeeping. Once aboard, Jolene, our captain, welcomed us on board and gave us our necessary safety briefing and explanation of the marine toilet. As we motored out to Turtle Cove, the crew came by and gave us snorkel vests, and snorkel masks and fins and showed us how to use them. The boat was filled to capacity but there was ample room for us to find a place to sit, or find a place along the rail and stand as we made our way to the cove. When we arrived, there were already three large catamarans at anchor. We were given the choice of jumping into the ocean or taking the stairs down into the water. The vast majority of us took the milder way of taking the stairs. When we all got in the water, it was very crowded, and we were given the option of joining the guided tour by one of the crew members or venturing off on our own. There were experienced snorkelers in our group as well as those like me, who had snorkeled a little but still felt like a novice to those who had never snorkeled at all. It was a bit difficult to enjoy as at every kick, a fin or an arm or a leg was in your face. Our guide led us across the cove and pointed out large sea turtles on the bottom multiple times as well as other sights in the water. After we made our way back to the catamaran, it became evident that with the rocking of the boat due to the waves, it was going to be a bit more difficult climbing back up the stairs than it was getting into the water. But we all managed to make it back aboard. Before we left, each crew member counted multiple times to make sure that we had all made it aboard the proper vessel and then they raised the sails and we sailed back to port. While we sailed, the crew passed out little plastic cups of snack mix (which we were invited to refill as much as we wanted) and rum punch (or sodas or water for us non-drinkers). Despite the crowded feeling in the water, I would give this excursion a 9 stars out of 10 stars. We were made to feel very safe, and it was very relaxing and educational. Our guide in the water told us a bit about the ecosystem and the turtles while he led us about the cove. We made it back to the port in ample time to do a little shopping for tee shirts and souvenirs before having to be back on the Magic. We departed port around 7 pm (while we were at dinner).

SAN JUAN PUERTO RICO

We arrived in port at 8 am, and the ginormous Harmony of the Seas was already docked when we arrived. I appreciated how big the Harmony is, but didn't realize how small the Magic looks in comparison until I was looking through my photos from the trip. I managed a shot of the two ships docked side by side. The Magic looks like a dinghy in comparison.

I booked the Puerto Rico's Favorites for this port, as I wanted to see El Yunque as well as some of the sights around San Juan. As my excursion was scheduled to leave at 8:15 am, I hurried to the buffet for a quick bite and made it off the ship with the first group of departees. It was a bit different in San Juan since the port features a terminal unlike the other ports which had outside areas in which the excursions met. As we departed the Magic, personnel helped direct us to different spots where the muster points for the various excursions were. We were then divided into groups and led to tour vans. The vans were air conditioned and very comfortable. Our driver, Angel, introduced himself and as we began the 45 minute drive to the rain forest, he pointed out items of interest and offered historical information about the island. When we arrived at El Yunque, he noted that only one of the 12 trails had reopened since the hurricanes of the previous year. As we got off the van, he told us how much time we had at each stop. We saw a beautiful 80 foot waterfall at La Coca Falls Viewing Area, and we made several stops to get out and take photos and look around. It was somewhat appropriate that the only rain we got on the cruise was while we were traveling in the rain forest and it was while we were traveling between stops. We made a stop at The Broken Bridge, and clambered down the bank to the river bed. Angel demonstrated some ways to make colored paint from the rocks and, at the questioning of one of our party, discussed some of the political issues in Puerto Rico. We then boarded the van and drove back to San Juan as Angel told us about the series of islands that makes up Puerto Rico. Our last stop of the day was Castillo San Cristobal, a very large fortress. We were given 45 minutes to explore on our own, but as Angel told us, as large as the fortress is, we could have spent all day or even several days exploring. We returned to the bus, and by request, Angel dropped most of the tour off for shopping while a few of us opted to return to the Magic. The tour ended a little after 1, so we had a few hours to explore Old San Juan on our own if we desired before the Magic departed at 4 pm. I opted to return to the ship so that I could grab a burger and relax before the ship left San Juan. I would give this tour a 10 out of 10. Angel made sure that he made the tour entertaining as well as educational.

Because I had excursions that were off ship during lunch time, I ended up bypassing the buffet for a quick bite at the Deli most days on the Magic when I returned from my excursions. The sandwiches at the Deli were pre-made, but they would heat the sandwich up for you in a toaster oven. Most of the time, they would not allow any substitutions from what was on the sandwich board. The line moved fairly quickly most days.

While I did have a Guy's Burger one day (and thought it was a bit overrated), I regret that I missed the BBQ place on the cruise. I had so wanted to try it, but never found a time to go when it was open. I was a bit underwhelmed with the hot selections on the buffet and never actually had lunch from the hot selections on the menu. As noted, I ended up eating lunch at the Deli most of the time.

The Sweet Spot is definitely worth a mention. I did manage to restrain myself from having multiple desserts at lunch every day, but the cakes and pies at The Sweet Spot on the buffet were fantastic. I normally would ask for a thin slice of two of the selections so that I could try these beautiful looking and tasting desserts. Drink selections at the buffet were unsweetened tea (yuck--I am from the South and unsweetened tea is just not my cup of tea, so to speak) and lemonade. The lemonade was good, but a bit tart after having dessert.

GRAND TURK

I procrastinated and never did book an excursion for this port, and I really wish that I had. I am not much for shopping, and really that is the only thing to do in Grand Turk other than hang out at the ginormous pools at Margaritaville. We docked at noon. After a leisurely lunch, my Mom, sister, brother in law and I all got off the Magic. We made it as far as Margaritaville before my sister and brother in law decided to enjoy a nice beverage at the bar, while I went wandering around the stores and took a walk on the beach. I did enjoy the display regarding the splashdown of one of the NASA space capsules. We made it back to the ship way before our expected departure time. I wandered around the ship and then just spent some relaxing time with a book on the Serenity deck. We departed Grand Turk around 6 pm.

LAST SEA DAY

The last sea day is always bittersweet. We enjoyed ourselves on the cruise, but we know that our time on the ship is drawing to an end. I got the Fun Times and marked a few things that I wanted to attend, including a few more trivia events to prove exactly how much I don't know (!) as well as the disembarkation talk. We enjoyed one last Seaday Brunch in the Southern Lights Dining Room, but this time, a larger group of us had breakfast together. I enjoyed the varied choices on the Seaday Brunch menu, and had the french toast with carmelized bananas. I ordered chocolate milk (as I normally do each morning) but this morning, I had a tough time making them understand I wanted cold chocolate milk. After four attempts at getting chocolate milk, I finally acquiesced and drank hot chocolate instead, and picked up a carton of cold chocolate milk at the buffet on the way back to my room. It was a quirky way to end our last served breakfast together on the cruise.

After a fun day of games, fun and frolic, it was time to go to the room and began the process of packing before dinner. I hate this part of cruising, but it is a necessary evil. After one last formal dinner together with the family, I returned to my room and finished packing and set my suitcase in the hall. I went to my mom's room and helped her pack her large suitcase, and made sure that we had each set out an outfit to wear off the ship the next day. We would be picking up a rental van at Hertz and heading to Jacksonville to visit with my sister's oldest son and his family before heading back to Kentucky. Before I could finish with Mom's suitcase, my suitcase had already been picked up by the crew. Not sure that I would see Philip in the chaos the next morning, I tracked him down to convey my thanks for his stellar work during the cruise for myself and my Mom. He really made our cruise the very best experience that it could have been, which was very welcome considering the way our trip had begun in Lexington.

DISEMBARKATION DAY

I am one of those people who checks, double-checks and then checks again to make sure we have not left anything behind. So, after a quick breakfast at the buffet, we made sure we had everything ready to go. As my sister is Platinum, we had Zone 1 tags for our luggage. I had to try to remember all the lessons I had learned about pushing Mom in the wheelchair for our trip off the ship, but we made our way to the Lounge and one of the Carnival employees took over pushing Mom in the disembarkation process. Although we had dutifully filled out our Customs forms, when we exited the ship, they didn't even ask for the forms. We found a porter fairly quickly, and he helped us through the lines to exit the terminal. When we exited the terminal, the porter told us he could only take us to a certain point, but he pointed to a spot where the Hertz shuttle picks up and it was only a few feet further on. We thanked him for his assistance, and made our way to the shuttle. We shared a shuttle with a couple and their young son who had been on a Disney cruise to the Hertz building and made it there just in time for them to open and rent us a van. We were on the road by 9 am.

A FEW PARTING THOUGHTS

After a rough start to our trip, we had a fantastic time on the cruise ship. I can't say enough about the Carnival personnel who all made our trip so fun and relaxing. In talking to the other members of our family, they each had a great time on the Magic, and in fact, my oldest nephew and his family have already booked another couple of cruises. The food was good and plentiful, and the entertainment was well done. My only real complaint was not being able to see many of the comedy shows, but this is a common complaint due to the size of the showrooms.

If anyone has any questions I will be happy to try to answer them. I did not keep my Fun Times, although I wish I had, nor did I keep a copy of the menus.

Thank you for the review! It really made me excited for my cruise in 2 weeks!