MAGIC review June 29 - July 6, 2014

[CheckersMidwest]

Hello ~~ we just returned from a wonderful 7 days on the Magic. This was our 3rd cruise (Paradise & Freedom). We are a family of 4.....myself, my husband, 22 yr old son, and 17 yr old daughter.

 

Our ports were Belize, Mahogany Bay Roatan Honduras, and Cozumel.

 

We had not planned to vacation this year, we're saving/planning for something special for next summer. My son graduates college a week after our daughter graduates high school. However, this was one of the FREE ones drawn with our VIFP account number. I checked our accounts and we DID get points for the free cruise. 7 days were added.

 

We received the letter in the mail in February I believe. We booked the same night. We paid $70 per person to upgrade to a balcony from an inside. With tips, taxes, & upgrade fee it was around $450 for both of us for the week. :) Since we were on a budget, I booked the kids in an Interior 4J with a picture window next door to us at the front of the ship on the Lido deck. We loved both. Their room had SO much space and the Lido deck was perfect, we'll always try to book there again. Some of the 4J cabins are handicapped but this one was not.

 

We usually fly to port, but again, since we'd not really planned to travel this summer and airfare out of Kansas City to anywhere with a coast is $300-$400 per person, we chose a cruise out of Galveston Texas so we could drive to port instead. It was 1800 miles round trip. Total gas was under $400. Not bad. We left home on Saturday morning at 6:30 am and took turns driving.

 

Keep in mind we live in extreme rural Missouri. It is 28 highway miles to a Wal Mart and 22 miles to a hospital. We are exactly in between Des Moines Iowa and Kansas City MO. We are use to driving everywhere. High school football/basketball games alone can be almost 2 hours away. So driving 2-3 hours at a time each was fine for us. Even our 17 yr old is a seasoned driver, we just made sure she didn't drive in heavy traffic areas. On the trip home , we stopped for the night since time allowed.

 

Due to work schedules, we had to make the 14 hour drive all on Saturday. Our route was home - Kansas City - Joplin - Muskogee OK - Durrant OK - Dallas TX - Corsicana TX - Houston - Texas City. It went well until Fairfield when we stopped for gas and to get lunch from Burger King. We had a nail sticking out of a tire. They called a service who was already on their way for a semi problem. We waited about 30 minutes and they plugged it. $5.00 later we were on our way again ! Put us behind by an hour but still arrived in Texas City at 9:30 pm. There was a lot of construction in Dallas. Even though on the map there is a lot of space between Montgomery (?), Houston, & Galveston, it just all flows together. I drove and there really wasn't anywhere good to pull over & switch drivers so I just kept going. We came through Houston about 8:00 pm Saturday night.

 

Waiting for my photos to finish downloading on shutterfly, I have over 900 ! I'll post more as soon as they're ready !

 

Anything specific anyone wants to know or see a photo of ?

[overeasy]

We're booked on Magic, with these same ports, in December-- so thanks for the upcoming review! I am subscribed.

[KirkNC]

Thanks for the report!

[High Seas Texan]

I will be on board The CARNIVAL MAGIC in jut over a month...my first time on this ship and very excited to see your pictures. Looking forward top your review!

[karessamom]

We will be sailing on her next august 2015!! Can't wait and love reading all the reviews!! Thanks for sharing and look forward to the rest of it!!

[Luluwa]

We were on the same cruise. The seas were so so calm an awesome!

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums mobile app

[michelle1836]

would love to see any pictures you have of the 4J. sailing in one on sunday. trying to figure out how much room there is in terms of storage

[Keith1010]

Thanks for your report.

Keith

[live2cruise2011]

We loved the Magic and these ports. Cant wait we are on the Dream in August for a b2b with both weeks going to these ports

[mountainbreeze]

So excited for the rest of this review! We are taking the same cruise in November, and we will have the same drive from KC to Galveston. Your info about your drive has already been helpful :)

[CheckersMidwest]

It was $4 for the toll road....then they gave us $2 back. On the way home, it was just $2.

 

This is Dallas.........

 

 

When checking for hotels in Galveston, since it is summer, most were in the $200-300 range. The hotels in Texas City (15 min drive to the port) were normal prices.

 

We stayed at a Best Western PLUS Mainland.@ 10620 Emmitt Lowery Expressway. It was on 45S Exit 16 on the East outer road. With tax, it was $124. It included a hot breakfast. I have no idea if it had a shuttle.

 

 

 

I am really picky when it comes to hotels. This one was clean and convenient! I booked online months in advance and called to confirm we would have a late check in about a week before.

Edited July 10, 2014 by CheckersMidwest
eta

[CheckersMidwest]

I prebooked "Galveston Park & Cruise". (galvestonparkncruise.com) It is across the street and down a block or so. We parked INSIDE for an extra $10, for a total of $70. If you book online , you save $6. They have a chart on their website with their options and prices.

 

Their address is: 2514 New Strand St. When you turn towards the cruise port on Harborside Drive, get in the right hand lane & drive 4.6 miles.....turn right onto 25th St and immediately right again down an alley (New Strand St). Be careful - other cars are coming out & not really enough room for two lanes right there. People with clipboards will be standing in the alley. I gave them a copy of our confirmation but they didn't need it, our name was on their list. We unloaded our luggage and then backed into the space.

 

There is a Constable at the corner directing traffic for pedestrians. Walk across the street and the train tracks to the port building. Take your luggage all the way to the far end to drop it off, then walk back down to check in.

 

Our first glimpse of the ship.....

 

 

 

Right after this start looking for 25th St.

[EnTnSA]

We leave in about a week. I absolutely love the drive up to the ship and seeing her at the dock. It usually is the first time I can take a breath, smile and relax knowing the next 7 days are going to be absolutely awesome!

[CheckersMidwest]

We arrived at port at 10:30, we purchased Faster To The Fun (second cruise with it ) walked through check in, and waited with the platinum, wedding parties, and other Faster To The Fun guests. We waited about 30 minutes and they began boarding. I think we were onboard by 11:20.

 

Our cabins were ready and only a couple of our suitcases were there. This is one of the FTTF perks. We waited hours on the rest of the luggage. It had been sitting on carts by the elevators for a long time. Finally about 2:30 or so, my daughter & I went to get it. We were yelled at by a Carnival employee.....I explained we'd purchased FTTF and these bags should have been in our cabin a long time ago. I was tired of waiting and would be taking them myself. After showing him our sign & sail card to prove we weren't just stealing luggage, he changed his attitude and helped us make 2 trips to get it all to our rooms.

 

We were in rooms 10205 and 10207 on the Lido deck, all the way forward.

 

We had a balcony room:

 

 

 

And the kids had an inside with a picture window....category 4J.

 

 

Here is their door and the door that leads out to the 'secret' deck.

 

Their room was great ! It had so much space ! Much less crowded than ours. Looking at the deck plans, there are wider rooms on the end and more rectangular rooms in the center. Some of them are handicapped but this one was not. Our PVP helped us pick it.

 

It was easy to walk around to the deck when coming into port in the morning. They could see out their window AND other people could see in but there were rarely any others out there. At night, you are required to keep the curtains closed because light coming off the front of the ship bothers navigation. If you forget, the steward will close them when he turns down the bed for the night.

 

I was really skeptical of the 4J room but think we may book them in the future for both cabins. We like the balcony but rarely used it this cruise. The interior window is really almost the same as oceanview (had that on the Paradise) The interior cabins are HALF the price of balconies.

 

This was their window from the secret deck.

 

 

[CheckersMidwest]

You board the ship on deck 3, here are few of our first photos.....

 

 

 

 

 

[CheckersMidwest]

We wandered around and stopped at the Red Frog Pub.

 

 

 

 

Later in the week, we tried some of their appetizers. We had gouper fingers, coconut shrimp, and conch fritters. They were $3.33 each.

 

 

[Stallion]

Love the secret decks too-had one 2 steps away from my room last year on Breeze

[CheckersMidwest]

We walked through the Casino......

 

 

 

 

I am a terrible gambler, so this was the extent of my casino visit. My husband & son play roulette and blackjack. This cruise, my son wasn't so lucky. My husband though was successful. With about a $40 investment throughout the cruise for 'seed' money, he won just over $1000 by the end of the week. The trick is to get up and walk away when you're up, don't think you'll keep winning.

 

Also, on all 3 cruises, it's pretty well known that people do win more at the beginning and then on the last day or so, lose.

 

He did notice some interesting things though to be aware of that are not normal. For instance, in roulette, their dealers spun the wheel in an opposite direction each time.(clockwise...counter clockwise...clockwise...) Minimum chips are $2.00. When you bet on the split or half....they short you $1 actually on the payback (because of that $2 chip). If anyone is winning, they change rollers. When he & another guy asked the pit boss what was going on when they noticed the wheel spinning differently & counted the payback, he said "That's the way we play it".

 

Some , if not all , of the blackjack tables were different too - if they were shuffling by hand - those games did not have any queens and they didn't use the last 15 or so random cards at all. Messes up your rationale in what cards are possible, etc.

 

Walked by the Plaza Café:

 

 

I bought 3 chocolate covered strawberries for $2.45 (about) several times. They also have special flavored ice cream, cakes, cookies, and special coffees.

 

 

I can't remember if this was going into the arcade or Club 02. I pre registered my daughter for 02.. I still checked in at 5:00 with the orientation - it was required on the Paradise & Freedom - but not necessary here. She stopped by later and picked up their schedule for the week. They had basketball, dodgeball, fooseball, pizza parties, etc planned all week. The kids can attend as much as they want. She has always loved the club and made a lot of friends. The few times we walked by Club 02 at night, there was a security guard posted outside the doors.

 

Lido Deck main pool:

 

 

Mini golf was 2 decks. The clubs and balls are available all the time by the first hole. (See the brown wood bin on the right?! ) On other ships, you have to check them out at the towel hut. This made it much easier.

 

[CheckersMidwest]

We had lunch at the buffet. Throughout there was a deli section (by the back pool), pizza station, burger/grill section, Mongolian wok, small salad bar area, dessert buffet (didn't have a single thing from it all week), and the hot food section. They had fried chicken, fish, vegetables, hot rolls, etc to choose from. The ice cream/frozen yogurt machines are back there too.

 

Our muster station was A3 - in the upper right balcony section at the Showtime lounge. It was so much nicer to wait inside instead of outside in the heat crowded together.

 

Time for sail away :

 

 

 

Doing a little line dancing with my daughter & new friends from the facebook meet & greet group. A little electric slide, cha cha slide, wobble.... I missed part of it when I had to go to the Youth Orientation meeting.

 

 

 

Waterworks:

 

chairs by waterworks:

 

[MichelleChell]

Following

[CheckersMidwest]

We had 6:00 seating for dinner in the Northern Lights dining room. This dining room is at the front of the ship and does not have water views. I'd emailed much earlier and requested a booth or table for just the 4 of us by a window with water view or somewhere that we could see things going on in the diningroom.

 

We were upstairs in a booth by a glass partition that looked down over the lower level. It was fine.

 

On our first cruise, we were seated at a 10-top with a couple of other families and was really fun visiting at the end of the day about what everyone did, especially the port days. Last cruise, we were at a table with just us. We were a little disappointed at first but quickly learned that it was nice to be able to talk about our own day, what we're doing tomorrow, etc. We really do go our own ways on sea days and in the evenings, so it is nice to have this time to catch up.

 

Our servers were Chutima , Florian, and Harold. They were great. Our sodas were at the table immediately after we sat down. The first night was slow but picked up. They also knew to always bring hot chocolate at the end of each meal. They asked us questions, talked about our day, etc.

 

 

 

 

[CheckersMidwest]

We had 6:00 dining in the Northern Lights Dining room. This one does not have water views. We had a booth by a glass partition widow overlooking the lower level.

 

On our first cruise, we were seated at a 10 top with a couple of other families . It was nice visiting with them about their activities & getting to know them. On our last cruise, we were at a booth for just the 4 of us. At first I was disappointed, but quickly realized it was nice for us to catch up at the end of the day.

 

I emailed earlier and requested a 4 top with either a water view by the window or a table where we could see what was going on in the dining room.

 

Our servers were Chutima, Harold, and Florian. They were excellent. our sodas were always at the table as soon as we sat down and they knew to bring a couple of hot chocolates at the end. They were friendly, asked about our day and visited.

 

 

 

 

[CheckersMidwest]

Our dinner the first evening:

 

 

 

 

 

 

I don't remember what everything was.....I know we had chips with a guacamole/salsa dip, alligator, fish with veggies & macaroni & cheese, Shrimp over noodles, and a pot roast.

 

We don't dress up much at home. My husband is a paramedic, so wears a uniform all the time. I have a preschool and have to wear things that are washable and I can be in the floor, etc. We all love to dress up for dinner on the cruise. Each night, my husband & son wore dress pants with a button up shirt & tie or a polo. On formal night, they both wore suits. I wore a lot of dress capri pants with sparkly tops. My daughter wore short Homecoming style dresses, sun dresses, or maxi dresses most nights.

 

The table parallel to us was a 6 or 8 top. I swear the man was Simon from Chopped, food network. He is also on The Chew. They were on the same Belize excursion later in the week too. Finally, one evening we saw them again in the photo lab area and my husband just asked him. :eek: He & his wife said they didn't know who "Simon" was but then she remembered he was on The Chew. Hmmmm. Still not so sure. I did a double take this morning when the Chew was on for a few minutes. Still think it was him.

[CheckersMidwest]

After dinner, we went to Superstar karaoke where people sing with the live band. It was always really good, we had some great singers on this cruise ! This was only offered twice, Regular karaoke was off & on though in different places.

 

I'd read a lot of comments in the past couple of months about all the entertainment being a DJ and how all the live bands were gone. This just wasn't the case on the Magic. There was live music everywhere. There was always country music somewhere....in the atrium, the ocean plaza, one night in the Vibe dance club, in the Red Frog Pub, and even out by the pool varied between live music and a DJ. It was all good.

 

Our two previous cruises were out of Florida and at night there was a lot of 'club' music. Even the 70's - 80's hour in the dance club was tech stuff and/or all 70's.

 

On this cruise, there was a really good variety. Much more country (of course, sailing from Texas), good 80's & 90's rock, current radio hits, etc. along with the traditional line dance , crowd music. We enjoyed the music on this cruise the most.

 

James was our CD. He really did a great job. He seemed to be every where.

 

My son (age 22) went to the 11:00 party at the Vibe Night Club and the singles meet & mingle afterward. This is the first time he'd gone to the meet & mingle and glad he did. He found several others around his age and they did things together off & on all week.

 

My daughter & I bought the Bubbles Soda program. I am an avid Pepsi drinker and don't like coffee. This was well worth the $50 for the week. My daughter's was $40.

 

Our son bought the Cheers program which included the soda program. In Texas, you have to wait until the first sea day to purchase Cheers.

 

Tommorrow: SEA DAY #1

[PSkinner]

My sister and I are sailing in August and we were wondering what concerts did they show on the big screen during the day? Or did they?