Carnival Magic New Year's Cruise Review w/ Pics

[mattp420]

Wow..small world! If you ever get down to Old Town Spring, stop in at Simply Texas and I'll give you a free bottle of hot sauce!

 

I'll get the rest of this review done over the next day or so...it's pretty out so I hope it's gonna be a busy weekend!!

[mattp420]

We took a trip up the mountain in Jamaica...Iree Mon!!! It was wonderful. Beautiful views and lovely people. Our tour guide was the best. She made the bus ride very interesting.

 

I'm glad you had a positive experience in Jamaica. It makes me sad to see it get such a bad rap here on Cruise Critic..although I can understand how some people could get the wrong impression based just on Montego Bay.

 

I've already booked another cruise in May but am itching to get back to Negril for a week of chilling by the water all day and live reggae on the beach all night!

[tkportersat]

Love the review, glad you had a great time. :)

[bookgirl]

Great review! I also live in the Spring area and will be on the Magic in June. Looking forward to the rest of your review!

[MicksMom]

Great review!!! Thanks for taking the time to share. We have friends we met on a cruise that were onboard with you. I keeping looking for them in the background on your pics.

 

Love the pics from your balcony, we are torn between a higher deck balcony, which we love & trying the cove.

 

Looking forward to the rest.

[fer]

Awesome review! Loving your sense of humor. You and Margie seem like peeps I would love to hang with! Can't wait to read the rest of you review.

[ladiibug]

Enojying your review! I am in The Woodlands, so we are neighbors :) We plan on sailing the Magic in June or July, the same itinerary as you. Looking forward to the rest of your review.

[travelingtriumphess]

Not the usual perspective and great pictures. Keep it coming :D

[cruisetexas]

Thanks for the great review! Another shout out from The Woodlands. We're on the Magic on 2/26....can't wait!

 

We have an aft balcony, but am intrigued by the cove. We're going to check it out while onboard.

 

Have a great trip on the Triumph. It will be interesting to hear your perspective on the two different classes of ship.

 

Glad Margie got you hooked.....it's an excellent vice!

Susan

[mattp420]

Wow.. Lots of Spring/Woodlands people on here. If you're ever in Old Town Spring stop by the Simply Texas Pepper Palace and say hey!! There's a free bottle of sauce in it for ya!! :D

[snorkelgrl88]

Loving the review! Thanks for posting :)

[mattp420]

I'm still working on the last couple days..nice weather = lots of business at the store! Kinda scared what May is going to look like if I'm wearing shorts in January but its nice to have people out shopping in Old Town Spring.

 

Posting some misc pictures in the meantime..

 

Sunrise from the Cove

 

More sunrise from the Cove

 

Our cabin - 2264

 

Magic Lobby

 

Casino

[mattp420]

A few more...

 

Carnival Magic from Grand Cayman

 

Cove Balcony Exterior

 

 

Lido Deck

 

Lowering the lifeboats for maintenance/cleaning

 

More sunset

[mattp420]

still more...

 

Montego Bay public beach

 

 

The Magic docked next to HAL Noorsdam in Cozumel

 

Sunset in from tender boat in Cozumel

 

High seas from the Cove

 

BLOOD POWER!

[UtahNewbie]

Love your review! Your humor is awesome and keeps me giggling:). We are first time cruisers and will be on the Magic in June. Love the pics! Thanks for taking the time to do the review.

[tkportersat]

Love all the pictures :) Helping me to daydream......;)

[beckntom]

Love all the pictures :) Helping me to daydream......;)

 

 

Me, too! This is a very good review!

[mattp420]

Thanks everyone for all the kind words!!

 

 

DAY 6 : COZUMEL

 

Up early this morning…really excited to see Coba… Had room service deliver breakfast in the morning. I see much made about the limited choices through room service but we were always able to find something to fill us up. Ate on the balcony as we pulled into port next to the Holland America Noordam. Looked like a really nice ship. The balconies seemed HUGE. Since we were on a really long excursion we got off the boat first and headed straight down the pier and over to the next one to catch a tender boat to Playa.

 

Margie and I laughed at Carnival’s description – “A leisurely 30-minute ferry ride”. That boat was SUPER rocky. We didn’t have any seasickness but several people around us did. Again, I can’t say enough about these darn Seabands. They’re getting sort of annoying on my wrists at this point in the cruise but they saved my bacon – literally.

 

After the leisurely ride we docked in Playa and went straight to our tour bus. We went to a resort outside of Playa del Carmen for our honeymoon and it was nice to come back…good memories from 14 year ago. Do they still do bullfighting in Mexico? I remember the guy at the excursion desk pushing this on us..we didn’t seem interested so he upped the ante. “They kill the bull senor!” Ummmmm….no.

 

We decided to go to Coba instead of Tulum primarily because you can still climb some of the ruins..including the Nohoch Mul pyramid. Another reason…crowds. They had FOUR busloads of people from our ship loading up to go to Tulum and only ours heading to Coba.

 

Our Mayan guide Raul was born in Chichen Itza and is extremely passionate about the history of his people. The hour and a half drive went by extremely fast as we were given a very interesting history of the Mayan people. After a quick stop at a Mayan gift shop for restroom break and snacks, we arrived at Coba.

 

The site is still remarkably undeveloped and unexcavated…a small shopping area outside of the entrance is the only place you will encounter vendors, unlike Chichen Itza where they followed us everywhere. The ruins are quite spread out…the Nohoch Mol pyramid is about 2 miles into the jungle from the entrance. You can either opt to walk, rent a bike, or hire a two person tricycle with a driver. We opted for the driver since it would enable us to have extra time at each site without getting lost in the jungle on a bicycle. It’s taken me 6 days to figure out which side of the ship my room is on so I wasn’t too keen on trucking off into the jungle on our own.

 

The tour was pretty rushed…the site is massive and with travel time, we only had a couple hours to see the whole thing. As a result, we rushed through quite a few of the structures – the observatory, the palace, and the ball court. Thankfully, Coba is not crowded at all. There were a couple other buses there but compared to other sites we’ve been to, it was deserted.

 

Nohoch Mul

 

Time to climb Nohoch Mul. Wow!! I wasn’t expecting to be this intimidated…this is much taller than Chichen Itza with much less renovation. It’s hard to tell by the pictures but most of the pyramid is still unexcavated and still covered in overgrowth. Without too much thought, we started the climb. I was doing pretty good until I looked back to check on Margie. SHEEEEIIIITTTT!!! We were up high. Alright…just keep heading up. Don’t look down. I look back down again to take a picture. DON’T LOOK DOWN YOU IDIOT!!

 

Don't look down.

 

Up at the top. It was SO worth it! The view is so beautiful it’s hard to describe…a lush jungle canopy with glimpses of unexcavated pyramids peaking through. So pretty…so peaceful. We hung out for a bit up at the top, got some photos and caught our breath. What an amazing experience.

 

Almost there!

 

View from atop Nohoch Mul

 

After scooting down the 120 steps on my butt, we were shown one of the Mayan carvings that was the origin of the 12/21/2012 conspiracy theory. Without getting into too much detail, we’ve booked a cruise for 2013 so I’m thinking we’ll still be here. Running a little behind schedule so time to hustle back to the bus.

 

Coba Stela 1 - one of the sources of the 2012 conspiracy

 

The Chicago Riot!

 

All loaded up, time crunch to meet the tender back to Cozumel. VERY GLAD we did a Carnival excursion. No lecture on the ride back to Playa…instead we got a DVD of ‘80s music videos. Mostly Michael Jackson and Madonna, it had a few truly odd songs sprinkled in…stuff I haven’t heard in 25 years. “Tarzan Boy” anyone?? I totally forgot about that song but it’s on my cruise playlist now and will forever remind me of Coba. “One Night in Bangkok”?!?! I think our favorite was MC Miker G and DJ Sven doing “The Holiday Rap.” Youtube it…you owe it to yourself.

 

Made it back to catch the tender…or maybe they were just forced to wait for us. Another rocky boat ride back to Cozumel…saw three or four people lose it over the back. By the time we made it to the pier we had no time to do any shopping – straight back to the boat. We were on the pier side this time so were hoping to catch a few pier runners but everyone did pretty good…except for one couple who must not have made it. Heard them call over the intercom a few times before and after sailing so someone had a bad night.

 

We were bushed. What an awesome day. Didn’t make dinner or the show…just grabbed some quick food at the buffet and had a few drinks at the Red Frog. I’m ready to get home at this point…missing my dogs and my house, thinking about the store and how much work has piled up over the last week. The cabin seems to be getting smaller…

[pbxtech]

Great Review

[mattp420]

DAY 7 : SEA DAY

 

 

I’m not the best at ending vacations. I start thinking about how the trip is ending when it’s just starting. I think I almost like anticipation of vacation more than vacation itself.

 

Woke up on Saturday morning feeling bummed. Although I wanted to see our pups and the house, I didn’t want this great time to end. I went into this vacation pretty skeptical but I’ve been won over to the cruising life.

 

What better way to get over this than booking another cruise? We went down and bought a Future Cruise Certificate and started making plans. Ahhhh…something to look forward to. Feel better already! Plus…we have a sea day with sunny, warm weather.

 

Finally time to put on the swim trunks and go enjoy the sun. We made a lap around the Serenity deck but by that time (11am) it was pretty jammed up. Finally settled on some seats right outside the serenity entrance underneath the waterslides…a great spot to people watch. I think they might have been open while in port but the waterslides and ropes course was closed for the bulk of the cruise due to high winds so they were completely swamped with people. Looked like a lot of fun and will definitely be trying them out on our next cruise on the Magic.

 

 

Met a couple from the Woodlands who were close to our age and enjoyed spending a few hours visiting with them with and doing some serious drinking. I’ve had more alcohol in 7 days than the last 18 months combined and it’s been AWESOME!

 

 

 

I pushed it too far. Time for a nap. We lounged around a lot for the rest of the afternoon. I was officially finished drinking. Finito. Pickled. DONE. We had a great time just chilling out on the balcony and plotting our next trip.

 

I was still pretty woozy and in no mood to put on a suit for dinner so it was back up to the buffet for dinner. Tonight is the Legends show and we’re both looking forward to that. The ship seems to collectively be bummed out. Everyone seems very subdued and sort of glum. Really glad we just have to get in our car tomorrow morning and drive home…no plane, no muss, no fuss.

 

After dinner we went back to the cabin. The sunset was beautiful...the best on our trip by far. This is what I love the most and will remember the most about cruising...the beauty of the ocean and the peaceful feeling of being right in the middle of it.

 

 

 

Time for Legends. These people have guts…you couldn’t pay me to get up and do this in front of a whole crapload of people, strangers or otherwise. I was actually really surprised at how good most of them were. A few were obviously included because they were laughably bad but for the most part these people could really sing.

 

What’s the deal with “Sweet Caroline”? I guess I’m a little young to remember Neil Diamond in his heyday but I had no idea this song caused such a hullabaloo. The ladies LOOOOVE “Sweet Caroline”!!! Bah Ba Dah!

 

A little more balcony time and then we had to do it…pack. What a bummer.

[Klo n Rox]

My husband and I are LOVING your review!:p We're from San Antonio and will be cruising on the Magic in 25 days.Your review is helping us count down those days. Glad to hear you had a great time, but sad that your review is coming to an end.:(

[GenericUserID]

One Night In Bangkok is one of my FAVORITE songs!! I remember singing it into our hairbrushes at slumber parties in jr high.

 

Your writing style is wonderful and this review has definitely aroused my anticipation level for our trip this July. We'll also be in a cove cabin, just 5 doors down from yours...

 

I've seen alot of info on the ship itself, but I really appreciated all the info and photos of the boarding/embarkation process.

It's supposed to rain this weekend, but I need to pick up a birthday present for my dad. Maybe we'll cruise over to Old Town Spring and see what's available in your shop.

[jigger]

Love it !1

[TheSailinSOB]

An easygoing “No thanks brother” is all it takes…something many tourists don’t seem to get. Respect is a huge deal in Jamaica and ignoring someone who is talking to you is seen as disrespectful. I guess it can get annoying having to constantly be hit up for things but it is what it is. That’s Jamaica.

 

After a little souvenir shopping we made our way back up the Hip Strip to the Pork Pit. YUMMMMMMMM. A quarter chicken and grape soda (with real sugar not HFCS)…probably the best thing I’ve eaten since I was last in Jamaica! This place is awesome and I can’t recommend highly enough for someone who wants real Jamaican jerk chicken in an authentic atmosphere. This is where the locals eat.

 

AWESOME! I love Jerk.. I also love Jamaica. I think the people are so fun and friendly. I am glad to see you say that about just taking it for what it is. Yes they ask you to buy stuff etc, But I always sit and talk to people and just say "no disrespect but no thanks" and they are totally fine with that. It's when people are rude like you said that they can get rude back. =) Your getting me excited for Magic

[mattp420]

I really appreciate all of your kindness...I've had a good time writing this.

 

DAY 8 : DEBARKATION

 

One of the things I found most appealing about taking a cruise from Galveston was that I would wake up on Sunday and be home…no waiting around at the hotel all morning for an airport transfer followed by a wait at the airport, flight home, etc. We just wake up, get off the ship, pass customs and get in our car to drive home. NICE!

 

It didn’t quite turn out that way.

 

We opted for self-assist so got up pretty early to take a shower and get ready to go. We’re stopped. A quick look outside tells us why…totally fogged out. Sinking feeling…but maybe it won’t last too long. We went up for some breakfast and heard the announcement that the port was closed until further notice due to fog. What can you do?

 

 

It hung around for quite a while. We ate and went back to the room…I’m a little Funshipped out by the point. Sat out on in the cove and watched the fog. It started to lift a little and Woah!! The Mariner of the Seas is anchored just a short distance away..appearing like a ghost ship. The Cruise Director kept us informed and updated us of the situation all morning and the sun started to come out so the fog seemed to be easing up a bit. The staff opened up all the restaurants and the pool…showed movies in the theater and generally tried to keep everyone happy. We were just waiting to get off and make a short drive so it didn’t cramp our style too bad…I can imagine those that had to catch flights had quite a bit more stress.

 

 

We began to head into port around noon or so…not too bad. It was turning into a beautiful day in Galveston...mid-60's, all sun. Just beautiful. We waved to the people riding the Bolivar ferry and enjoyed the balcony one last time...one last time.

 

 

By the time we made it up for self assist debarkation, level 3 was a madhouse. The staff was trying to corral everyone into an organized line but people were coming from all directions, all anxious to get off the boat and not listening too well. Even with the mass crush of people, the line moved really fast once it started to move….we were off the boat 10 minutes after they cleared us to debark. I was shocked at how many people who opted for zone debarkation and had checked their luggage went ahead and got off during self-assist. LOTS of people standing around in customs without their luggage. Weird to me that they would prefer standing around instead of waiting on the boat.

 

We were through customs very quickly…definitely glad we have passports as the line for Birth Certificates was already getting super long. Passed customs and across the street to get our car 30 minutes after we starting debarking from the ship. Given the delay I thought it went really REALLY smoothly. Across the street to Galveston Park N Cruise to pick up our car and on our way home!!

 

So good to take a trip but always good to get home!! One of the best vacations I’ve taken…enjoyed it so much that we booked another cruise THAT NIGHT!! We’re heading out on the Triumph May 12th and I’m really interested to see how the two ships compare and which I prefer.