MAGICal Anniversary Review 2/26-3/4

[SuntanaGirl]

Background: Me 28, second cruise; husband 28, first cruise. Booked #2277 a Cove Balcony, forward starboard side. Itinerary: 1 day at sea, Cozumel, GC, MBJ, 2 days at sea. No kids, celebrating our 4th wedding anniversary. I cruised in college 9 years ago so I kind of considered this my first time again. I remember parts of the first one, but not enough to be really memorable. This time is different. Brought along cranberry juice, Dr. Pepper, Snapple tea a two bottles of wine. Purchased a liter of Absolute Vodka from BV before the trip (and before the prices went up).

This will be a very detailed review of our trip. I kept notes of the time at which we did activities and such, took lots of food pictures and photos of the places we hung out. I will try to be very detailed, but if you have any questions just let me know. I will include prices of items we purchased as I kept all our receipts. I will list them including the 15% gratuity that’s also charged, so the price shown is what you really pay. Since we did not have kids with us, I have no comment on the kid’s club or activities. Now, on with the review!

First Sight of the Magic!

This first part won't have any photos as cameras are not allowed in the terminal building for security reasons. I was detailed in our progress so hopefully you will get a mental picture.

Day 1: We arrived at the Galveston port at 10:20am, had pre-paid parking at Galveston Park N Cruise for $50 for an uncovered space in their gated lot. Drove straight there before heading to the terminal, we only had 3 bags so didn’t feel the need to drop off two before parking. Dragging them across the street was no problem for us. Check in was super easy, we turned right off Harborside drive onto 25th St. and then immediately right on New Strand Street. Looks kind of like an alley so don’t be alarmed; there was one car in front of us checking in. (Don’t get out of your vehicle; a lady in a green shirt was standing in the street checking people in.) She asked our name and we showed her our receipt, pointed us to the open parking lot and told us to back in next to the building. We unloaded our bags, got everything situated with the truck and headed back down the alley, made the left at the corner and straight across Harborside drive into the port area.

As we walked up to the entrance I was a bit confused as to where to drop off our bags. In previous reviews everyone kept saying porters would be everywhere, but we didn’t see any. After we got up to the building and looked down the side I could see a sign that said to drop off bags WAY down at the end of the building to the far right side. So we walked down there and eventually saw porters, but they were only helping people unload from their vehicles. If you are bringing up your own bags they don’t help you. We went inside the open door, walked over to the table and asked where to put them. A guy pointed over to the #2 (we were on deck 2) sign and said to leave them in that area. My DH was really nervous if we were doing the right thing, since the porters were also bringing bags in there I felt like we were doing the right thing. (Side note: A lady in front of us dropping off her bags tried to leave a case of 24 waters with a luggage lag on it to be delivered to her room, the guy told her she had to take them and carry them on the ship herself. Don’t try to leave them as they don’t deliver them for you. We already knew this, that’s why we took a separate rolling carryon case with our drinks in it).

Once we dropped off our 2 bags, we took the other rolling case with all our drinks to the check in station. This is all the way at the other end of the building from where you drop off the bags, and a long walk it is so just be prepared. We walked inside at 10:40am and were directed to the security check in station like the airport. There were maybe 30 people ahead of us at this point but the line moved quickly. Once through the metal detectors we were told to go to the table at the front of the room to have our drink bag checked. They security guy opened it and started to pull out random drinks and shake them. Now I had 12 plastic bottles of cranberry juice, 6 plastic bottles of dr. pepper and 6 glass bottles of Snapple tea, all of which were of different sizes but all under the 20oz each limit they have. He was very concerned about the Snapple tea, I was worried he was going to take it from us. He must have shaken it 5 times to make sure there was not alcohol in it. Never even took out our two wine bottles that were wrapped up in the bottom. I seriously doubt he even knew they were in there. Once we passed inspection since we didn’t try to smuggle anything in we got all that put back together and walked into the next room to the check in desks. There were probably 40 desks available all along the back wall and to the right. There wasn’t a line yet so we walked up and were directed to the next available cash line. We stepped up to the line at 11:00am, showed the girl our passports, put down a cash deposit and within a few minutes we had our sail and sign cards in hand. We then headed to the end of the room to take our security photo, be dinged through one security point, take our embarkation photo and then walk up the gangway (a.k.a. airport terminal thing like getting on a plane.) about 4 different levels of that, stopping to take photos of the ship along the way, one final ding and we were officially on the ship at 11:12am.

Since I don’t remember the last time much, I considered the check in process extremely smooth and quick. We rarely stood still very long, pretty much constantly moving through the lines, so well done Carnival!

We were headed to the Cucina for lunch as I had read on CC that it wouldn’t be crowded and a great place to start. We made our way up to the lido deck, out through the pool area and into the Marketplace. We asked a worker at the back of the ship how to get there, we ended up taking the elevator up to deck 11, but they were not open until 11:30. We were standing on the back deck at 11:20 waiting until time to eat. So we took a few photos, I called home to tell my parents we made it on the ship and then headed to lunch.

We each ordered a pasta bowl; I had penne with tomato sauce and grilled chicken, a Caesar salad and a roll. DH had linguini with alfredo and chicken, Caesar salad and a roll.

It was good, but the bouncing of the basketball left much to be desired as far as noise from above. The staff was great and we decided we would try it for dinner one night. We took pictures on our way back down to the lobby level; we were told our rooms would be ready about 1pm. So we stopped at the RFP and DH bought his first ML beer $4.89 at 12:15, not TFR though, apparently they don’t sell it until we sail away. We then made our way back to the lobby where he ordered two more ML beers $9.78 at 12:40 and chatted with some people. I made reservations for 2 nights at the Cucina right there in the lobby. They had a representative there advertising it as well as someone selling the wine packages, both was right in front of the elevators across from the lobby bar.

[Carlyzmom]

Woo hoo! Great so far!! 56 days til our turn on the Magic!!!:D

[ff274]

Wonderful review so far and very detailed, will be on MAGIC in July so excited to see all you detail....Thanks

[SuntanaGirl]

At 1:00 went down to deck 2 to find our room, only to find the doors to the hallways still shut. I opened one door and peeked in only to find the steward still in our room cleaning it. We were in a cove balcony #2277 just below Guest Services and just across from the elevators and main doorway to stairs, forward starboard side. I loved our location and would book it again in a heartbeat. We waited around and the rooms were finally ready at 1:30 and we went to drop off our rolling luggage and camera cases. Took the standard photos of the room and quickly began to get unpacked.

 

 

I had a folding cooler I brought for our drinks. I opened the door to find our steward there and asked if she would keep it full of ice all week, she obliged and brought it back full of ice. I gave her $10 and she said thank you….about 10 times. She was so grateful I thought she was going to cry. Jolanta and we were friends from then on. She was an awesome steward and would love to have her again on any trip. Once we got that stuff put away we went out exploring again.

 

We were instructed at 3:30 to head to our muster station, ours was in the Northern lights dining room on the upper level, deck 4. We waited until everyone arrived and were given our instructions and were allowed to leave just before 4pm. We made our way back to our room for sail away and found our first bag had arrived, the large one with all our formal wear in it. I was so glad as I wanted to get his suit jacket out and all my dresses before they wrinkled. We quickly unpacked that just as sail away was starting. We went out to film and take photos from our balcony since we were docked starboard side to the port. We got to see all the action at sail away this way. Fun to see the coast guard take us out to sea and the dolphins jumping in the water just outside our cabin. At 4:30 our other smaller bag arrived so we unpacked that one as well before we left the cabin again. I could then put my mind at ease that we wouldn’t be wearing the same thing 7 days in a row. LOL

[SuntanaGirl]

Casino on Deck 5

Fun Hub on Deck 5

Ocean Plaza Deck 5

[SuntanaGirl]

Coffe Shop Deck 5

 

Red Frog Pub Deck 5

[SuntanaGirl]

Red Frog Pub Deck 5

Vibe Dance Club Deck 5

Prime Steakhouse Deck 5

[SATOWN]

Great review, I love all the details.:)

[SuntanaGirl]

Lido Deck pool

Sports Area

Waterworks

Lido deck pool

[SuntanaGirl]

Lido Deck Pool

Seaside Theater

 

Waterworks

Serenity

Magic's Coin

[laumicmah]

Nice review! Thanks! That is really a nice looking ship.

[Mrs.C05]

Great review!!!

[SuntanaGirl]

Pushing away from the dock

Coast Guard and a big gun

First Sea Spray

My first DOD-Shade Ade

A TFR Beer

[SuntanaGirl]

5:15 we were back in the pub for a Shiner bock $6.33 and then went by the Plaza bar for a Shade-ade $8.34 for me and a bucket of 4 ML for DH $24.15. By 6:25 we were buying our embarkation photo from the Gallery $11.99 plus a photo frame with a picture of the ship for $3. We dropped that off in the room so we wouldn’t have to carry it and headed back to the pub at 7:30 so DH could try the TFR beer $6.33 Once he got that we came back to the room to get ready for dinner.

 

We got dressed and headed to dinner. We were assigned late seating at 8:15 in the Upper Northern Lights dining room on deck 4 midship and a table for 2. I had requested late seating when we booked in July 2011 and was pleased when we received it, and very surprised we received a table for 2 on our first trip together. We couldn’t determine if we were happy since it was our anniversary, or sad not to be eating and meeting others. Well, when we arrived it wasn’t quite what I expected. Our table for two was a mere 6 inches from another table for 2 on the right and a table for 4 on the left. Being in the middle wasn’t what we had in mind. The table for 4 was assigned incorrectly and was only going to be 2 people the entire trip so we all made friends and decided to be a table of 6 for the rest of the cruise. Our new dining partners were John and Maria a late 60s early 70s couple from Katy, TX, and John, a 32 year old from San Antonio and his gal pal Kelly, a 30s something from North Texas. Super easy to remember names and we had a blast chatting each night about what we had done and what we were excited to see next. Our head waiter was Ovidiu from Romania, assistant was Adrian from the Philippines and second assistant was Mircea from Romania. They were all three awesome and did their jobs well.

 

 

Ready for some food porn?

 

 

Here goes!

 

Cream of Sun Ripened Tomatoes

 

Fresh Fruit

 

Guacamole and tomato salsa

 

Southern Fried Chicken

 

Chicken a la Grecque

 

Vanilla Crème Brulee

 

We finished up the night at the RFP again, this time with a pitcher of their famous beer for $18.11.

[MicksMom]

Awesome start! Can't wait for the rest.

[SuntanaGirl]

Day 2: Fun Day at Sea

Our goal this morning was to find a coffee mug for my Dad, there isn’t much to choose from in the gift shop so we found one at the specialty coffee shop for $10.29 and it includes any one of their coffees at no extra charge if you choose. Once we purchased that we headed to breakfast on the Lido deck. They have your traditional hotel breakfast fare. Nothing special and yes, the scrambled eggs are too watery and tasteless. There is a nice made to order omelet bar and boxed cereal to choose from. Lots of different muffins to choose from as well. After breakfast we went to the lobby to participate in the beanbag challenge at 10:00, quickly was eliminated from that and went back to the room to see if my BV liquor had arrived, as of 10:30 no liquor….bummer. We then headed up to the sports square to play a round of golf and ping pong.

 

 

At noon we went back to the room and my liquor had arrived.

 

I made a drink and we headed back down to play trivia in the Ocean Plaza at 12:30-2. DH got us some wraps from the lido deck I believe and some Oceanside bbq as well. The wraps were made with lunchmeat and I didn’t really care for it, but the fresh quesadillas were yummy. At 2:30 we were back in the pub for another bucket of ML beer $24.15 and some pub grub at 3:30. We tried the conch fritters and wings for $7.66. Both were really tasty and we ordered the wings many times after that.

 

Wings in the Pub

 

Conch Fritters in the Pub

 

This is where we met our new friends Matt & Michelle from MO. At 5pm we headed back up to the sports square for more fun and came back to the room to get ready for formal night as well.

 

DH testing the ropes course

[Rudyard]

Great review :)

[QTPieTrader]

Great review (so far), Suntanagirl. Thanks for the crisp and clear picutres and the details. Can't wait for your next posts.

My wife and I are sailing on the Magic in September.

~QTPie~ :cool:

[douglinc@msn.com]

Enjoying your review, we were on her 11-14 for the 1st. sailing out of Galveston. Beautiful ship.

 

Doug

[BSUFAN]

We really appreciate your review and the pictures are perfect. We are sailing as a family for the first time in 35 days!

[newdestination]

Nice review!

[SuntanaGirl]

Had dinner from 8:15-9:45

 

Strawberry Bisque

 

Spicy Alligator Fritters

 

Broiled Maine Lobster Tail & Jumbo Black Tiger Shrimp

 

Chili Rellenos & Barbecued St. Louis Style Pork Spare Ribs

 

Caramelized Apples on Puff Pastry

 

and then went to the comedy club at 10:45 to see Tony Esposito. I was getting tired and DH wanted to gamble, so I headed to bed and he went to the casino.

 

[RYPERO]

Thanks for the great review, we are leaving in 4 weeks

[SuntanaGirl]

Day 3: Cozumel

We booked a private dolphin excursion at Chankanaab park I had learned about on CC. It’s much cheaper than going through the ship and you get to decide when to return to the ship without paying extra. So I booked my dolphin excursion in October and paid $96.75 for the Royal Dolphin Swim at Dolphin Discovery within the park. DH didn’t think swimming with dolphins was cool so he declined and we had to pay $21 for him to enter the park. We were off the ship quickly that morning at 8am. Walked on the outside of the Duty Free shops and out to the taxi stand.

 

[SuntanaGirl]

Now the first time we walked into the town area we couldn’t find the taxi station. Finally we asked and they pointed us in the right direction. Walk out from the duty free shops and go left, all the way down to the last yellow building and then turn right. On the other side of the beautiful flower garden is the canopy where you wait for a taxi, just go all the way out to the street and tell the man you need a cab to Chankanaab park and he’ll hail a taxi to take you there. It was $10 for the one way trip to the park.

 

Taxi Stand

 

By 8:25 we were on our way to the park and arrived in about 10 minutes. He dropped us off right at the door and we quickly checked in as we were the first to arrive. They gave me a wrist band since my admission was included in my dolphin swim and DH paid at the window. We went inside and saw where I would check in later for the dolphin swim.

 

 

Dolphin Check In

 

Dolphin Pens