Just off the Carnival Magic 3/29/15-4/4/15

DJW8385 · April 5, 2015

Just got home from my cruise and I documented my trip on a daily basis. I hope you all enjoy my review :)

Sunday March 29,2015 Embarkation - Day 1

We arrived to the Port of Galveston with four other couples from our hotel around 12:30 pm and the the whole process was quick. We dropped our luggage off with the porters and the couple we met that was from Aberdeen did the same but they went to grab something to eat before they got on the ship. My mom and I headed to the line and as I stated before, it moved quick. We were in line for 10 mins and then we passed the security checkpoint and up the escalators we went. The line for our room keys were quick as well. We had our keys within 10 minutes and as we were walking up the gangway we had our pictures taken. Once we step foot on the BEAUTIFUL CARNIVAL MAGIC, it was official that we're on vacation.

We were on the ship by 1:00 pm and was told that our room would be ready by 1:30 so we went up to our room to drop off our bags and to our surprise, our room was ready. We had a balcony room (8272) forward port side. If you never stayed in a balcony room, I suggest you give it a try. Ever since my first cruise on the Carnival Liberty, I always had a balcony. We met our stateroom steward(Maricel) and she was very nice and helpful. After we dropped our bags off, my mom and I headed to the lido deck to grab something to eat and I had my first drink of the day (Strawberry Margarita frozen) and it was good. My mom was searching for the Tandoor cuisine since she didn't get to try it on our cruise back in August on the Carnival Dream. She enjoyed it and I had ordered a toasted pastrami sandwich from the deli.

After that, we went back to see if our luggage arrived and my suitcase was at the door and my moms wasn't. Our stateroom steward was notified and she informed us that if my mom suitcase don't arrive by 5 pm to let her know. We went to our muster drill and after that it was almost time to set sail. (Upon arriving to the port, RC Navigator of the seas was in port with us). We were suppose to be setting sail at 4pm and we didn't finish our drills close til 5pm. At that time, Royal Carribean was pulling out before us :( lol. It's a beautiful ship but IMHO I love the designs of the Carnival ships especially the conquest, dream and the new vista class ships. Soon after the Navigator of the seas sailed past us, we started to set sail.

Mom and I attended the deck party on the lido deck. It was great. Sailing out of Galveston, there was a lot of traffic. A lot of oil tankers was observed as we were pulling out of the channel. The sea was really bumpy and the ship rocked a lot but I wasn't worried. Since it was just my mom and I on this cruise, we set at a table for 8 and we arrived late and out the 6 couples at the table, only two spoke to us and they were a father and daughter. They were very nice and kept conversing with my mom and I. I was nervous at first but once we start talking it was cool. We spoke to our maitre'd and asked for a table for two and they said they'll leave a note in our mailbox with our new table info if they can do it or not. After dinner, my mom was feeling well as the sea was still rocky and the ship was swaying side to side a little. My mom was seasick and I brought her some Dramamine from guest services and that made her feel better. I went to bar to grab a drink and then to The vibe lounge next. It was not crowded at all considering its spring break and I was looking forward to meeting some new friends that's on spring break like me as well. It also was windy that night too so not too many ppl were out. I stayed in the VIBE nightclub for abt an hour before returning to my room.

Monday 3/30/15 Sea Day -Day 2

Today is our first sea day. Mom and I didn't to much. We slept in and skipped breakfast. I had forget that Cucina de Captian was on Dream and missed out and I wasn't going to that on the Magic. So I suggested that we try them out for lunch. It was delicious and the food and staff was great. The menu was very simple. You choose your choice of pasta, sauce, toppings and meats and then your waiter will pick up your order from you. I'll enclose some photos. After that my mom wanted to go the serenity deck for a carnival fish tumbler she seen another lady with from the Italian restaurant. Once we arrived to the bar at the serenity deck, we ran into our friends who are from Aberdeen that we met at our hotel in Galveston. We asked how were they enjoying their cruise so far and they were having a great time. I was happy to here that because I want all first time cruisers to experience a great first cruise like I did in 2013. After a few minutes of chatting we separated and told each other we'll see each other around (which I hope we do). After that, we headed to the lido deck for some more drinks and stayed there for about two hours. We had a table by window onlooking the ocean and its so peacefully. After that my mom shopped at a few stores on the ship and we ordered room service. We had four hours before dinner(8:15) and our request for a table for two was granted. We were on southern lights upper table #724 and our staff was Everton - Headwaiter, Andre- Assistant Headwaiter and Benjamin - waiter. Food was great.

Day 3; March 31,2015 Cozumel, Mexico

We arrived at port right on schedule. We docked right next to the Emerald Princess. After we docked, my mom and I went to have breakfast and then down to deck 0 and off the ship we went. It was a nice day in Cozumel and breeze was nice. Walking up to the shops, I saw two other ships docked also, Royal Caribbean Liberty of the Seas and Brilliance of the Seas. There was some construction going on at the pier. It appears that they're constructing two more docking piers for more ships. We walked around and stopped at Fat Tuesday's for a margarita and to use their wifi (lol). We walked around some more headed back to the ship at 2pm and grab something to eat. We stopped at the "off the grill" and their burgers was okay. I love the nachos though. I also had the drink of the day which was the Pomegranate Margarita. That was really good. I had that on our cruise last year on the Carnival Dream.

We went to our room around 3 ish and I went to our balcony to gaze at the Emerald Princess as the passengers on the Emerald Princess were doing the same. I laid down for a quick nap and my mom woke me up to tell me we were sailing out of port. We went on our balcony and waved to the Passengers as were pulling out of dock. We actually had a horn battle going on between our ship and Emerald Princess and of course, our ship won(lol). It's ironic that we were the last ship to dock in port but the first to leave. As we slowly drifted away from dock and everyone screaming and cheering, we started our turn and we were still waving. I like that feeling of having other ships watch us sail off into the distance. Hopefully someone on here can post a video of us sailing away from this dock or add their two cents. Dinner was good tonight and so was the entertainment. The waiters danced for us to "Apple Bottom jeans" lol. During dinner, we hit some rough spots as we were swaying side to side a little. It wasn't nothing to be worried about. After dinner, I went to the piano bar for an hr and then back to my room. Tomorrow, our next stop is Belize City, Belize

Day 4 April 1, 2015; Belize City, Belize

Today was a beautiful day until we had cloud cover. I woke up a little late (11am) and missed breakfast. Once I got up, we were docked in the ocean since Belize City was a tender port. Upon walking out on my balcony, Emerald Princess was to the right of us, Norwegian Dawn just north of us and then the Norwegian Sun docked behind us. There were currents that caused us to drift and my mom though we were sailing again. We got ready and headed to Pizza Pirate and then I had the drink of the day which was Sun Burst. It was really good. After that we headed down to the gangway and we got on the tender boat. The tender ride was abt 10 minutes long. As we were sailing to the mainland, it started raining and it just so happened that mom and I and a few other passengers were sitting in the front of the tender without shelter. We did see a dolphin jump out of the water but it happened so first I couldn't take a picture.

We arrive to Belize City and my mom and I did the city and country tour for $70 and it was a 2 hour tour. Our tour guide name was Byron and 14 of us piled up the the Ford Econoline van for our excursion. Everyone in the van was from my cruise exception for four elderly couples and they were from the Norwegian Dawn. Our tour guide showed us the North and South side of Belize. We drove by the schools, government buildings, some homes, a hospital, the airport, Belize River, downtown Belize, drove through a cemetery where the caskets are above the ground because Belize City is below sea level.

Gas prices were ridiculous. One of the gas stations we passed by had prices of $7.xx,$8.xx,$9.xx respectively. Byron said that equates to $4.50 US/ gallon. He also mentioned that $2 belizean dollars equate $4 US dollars(I don't have the correct calculations bc I'm writing this as were sailing and don't have a currency converter handy). Byron took us on there "highway" which was a 100 mile long, two lane road that will take to Mexico and the U.S. I didn't think it was possible to drive from the US to Belize but it is. Also on this tour, Byron had mention that Belize City is 30% populated and the other 70% is vegetation. There was a lot of construction on there roads and additional drainage systems were apart of this construction to help reduce the flooding. As a result of the flooding, many homes were abandoned bc the ground that sat on gave way and the houses sunk a few feet or collapsed.

There are no fast food such as KFC, Mc Donald's bc it was expensive for families to buy. Byron told us that a few years ago, they had a subways and there foot longs were not $5 but $15 instead. That's an expensive sandwich. So a lot of Chinese restaurants were in place because a lot of ppl don't like to cook, said Byron. Rice and beans is popular in Belize especially for Creole people. I sound like a history teacher because I really learned a lot during this tour. I recommend this tour to anybody who visitis this port. I'll include the brochure if my mom still has it. After our tour, mom and I went and walked around the port area before heading towards the tender. We stopped at the bar/ restaurant called the Wet Lizard. We had belizean meat pie and I had a rum punch and o wanted to use their wifi to iMessage my brother and friends and to check my IG. Since it rained, it was humid but a cool breeze followed right behind the humid weather. We stayed at the restaurant for an hour and made our way back to the tender @3:15 pm. When we got to the tender, there was a long line of at least 120+ but to my surprise, the line moved quick. We were in line for no more then 20 minutes before we got on our tender.

Once aboard the tender, we made our way back to our ship. Once on the Magic, we wanted to go to Cuchina de Captiano for lunch but it was close since they were setting up for dinner. I ordered room service instead. We set sail at 6pm and we're now heading towards our last stop of Isla Roatan, Honduras. We arrive tomorrow. We didn't do too much ot his evening but I am attending one of the comedy shows at the punch line theatre.

Day 5 April 2, 2015; Isla Roatan, Honduras

I woke at 8:15 a.m. to my mom telling me that were returning back to Galveston. As I'm waking up, the captain got on the PA and he sounded nervous. After he said what he had to say, the cruise director got on the PA and told us that because of strong crosswinds, it wasn't safe for us to dock in Honduras. We were close to the shoreline as I saw a ship already docked there. Our cruise director said that they'll be working on a new fun time for us. As were pulling away from the shoreline, the view was beautiful and a tropical breeze was tranquil. We're just Waiting to figure what's the plan next.

At 12 p.m., mom and I headed to Cucina de Capitano for lunch and we were line for 20 mins. by 12:30 we had our table and as we were being seated, the captain made an announcement and he said "we have some good news for everyone, we were granted permission to go dock in Costa Maya, Mexico". Everyone started cheering and I was excited bc I never been to this port before. We will arrive tomorrow morning (4/3/15) at 7 am and depart at 2pm. I'm so looking forward to visiting this port.

Day 6 April 3, 2015 Costa Maya, MX

We arrived in port at 7 am. Once I got up, I went on my balcony and the aft of the Norwegian Dawn was facing me. Our ship was backed into the port. We went to breakfast and was off the ship by 10:30 am. It was a breezy but hot day in Costa Maya but seeing and listening to the waves splash against the concrete was blissful. We went to the Last Minute Tour guide to do a city tour which would've been a 90 minute tour but was told we wouldn't be back in time to make the Magic's departure. The tour was going to charge us $24.99/ person and it was going to charge our S&S card. So we had to cancel our paper work and we walked around and I wanted to go to Señor Frogs.

It was busy at Señor Frogs and the service wasn't great. We were there for 15 minutes before a menu was handed to us and it took another 20 minutes to place melt order. At that point, I had to take one of the employees on their shoulder in order for my order to be placed.I had ordered a rum punch 22oz and it was $14. They ran out of the 22oz cups so the guy give it to me in the 28oz and charged me the same as the 22oz, which was nice of him to do. We stayed for no more then an hour before we visited so more shops in the area before heading back to the ship. Like I mentioned, it was hot but it was breezy.

The walk from the ship to the port took abt 5 minutes or more, depending how fast you can walk. They offered rides from the ship to the shore. Once on board, I hopped in the shower to cool off (lol). I went to the Red Frog Pub on deck 5 and I ordered a Jamaican Sunrise. It was delicious. We went to the lido deck for something to eat and I had to stop by the Mongolian Wok(Highly recommend). I first tried the Mongolian Wok last year on the Carnival Dream and I told myself if I'm on a dream class, the Mongolian Wok is a MUST! Yes, the lines are long but the food is Mmmm good. After that, we went down to deck 5 and walked around the promenade and catching the cool breezes as we walked. Dinner was good. I don't remember if the Dream had this too but we can view the menus for the duration of our cruise from our tv's.

I started to pack some of my clothes so it wouldn't be a lot for me to do tomorrow night. Tomorrow is a Fun Day at sea and we im not planning on doing to much. Mom and I are attending the future cruise seminar and I also want to apply for the Carnival credit card.

Day 7 April 4, 2015 Last Day at Sea

Today was a nice day. We had breakfast & attended the future cruise seminar. The seminar was the same as last year but we wanted to book our next cruise. So we met at the Future cruise desk and waited for almost 2 hours. The seminar started at 11 am and suppose to end at 11:45 am and so I had left the seminar 5 minutes early to avoid the long lines at the desk. There were a total of FOUR people in line. The guy at desk had told us the seminar took longer then it should and Richard( seminar speaker and he booked all of our cruises and answered questions) will be here by 1pm. I had filled out the Carnival MC and was going to drop it off afterimage heard Richard would show up at 1pm. My mom said she'll stay and hold my spot for me so I went to the seaside BBQ and got a slider and a hotdog. It was alright but it kept me full until it was time for dinner at 8:15. I came back, mom and I conversed with some fellow cruisers in line with us.

One o'clock finally came and so did Richard, right on schedule. The first couple made their reservations and then it was our turn. I was able to book my parents, cousin and I (balcony suites) on a 8 day Southern Caribbean on the Carnival Breeze on 8/13/16. I can't wait for do this itinerary. It leaves out of Miami and we're going to Grand Turks, Dominican Republic, Aruba and Curaçao. We also received two cruise vouchers for each booking for friends and family to receive onboard credit. The catch is they must book the same cruise we're on within 60 days from the time of my booking in order to receive the onboard credit.

After that, we went back to our room and I started packing(depression starting to kick in). This is my third & only cruise with Carnival and I always get sad the day before bc all of the fun is about to be over and reality about to set it. Dinner was great and the dinning staff sung us a song. My dining staff (Everton, Benjamin and Andre) was excellent and whoever has them as their servers for upcoming cruises, you're in luck.

Day 8 April 5, 2015; disembarkation

We arrive in port early, around 6am. It was misty this morning and once we docked, I was taking some last my quick videos of the port and as I was recording, Royal Carribean Navigator of the Seas was backing into port. After that, we went to breakfast and waited for our zone to be call since we had an early flight. The gangway was broken as our CD announced the night before that we'll have to exit the ship on deck 0. After getting our luggage, it was time to wait in the long line at customs. Surprisingly, the line moved fairly quick. We were in line for no more then 35 minutes. We finally cleared customs and we got in line for the carnival shuttle to Houston Hobby. The Carnival shuttle was okay, we left the port full capacity and it started raining. We arrived at Houston Hobby 45 minutes later and we checked in for our flight.

Overall, we had an excellent time on this cruise. The Carnival Magic is a beautiful ship just like the Dream and can't wait to sail on the Breeze next year. The Carnival Magic lives up to its name and I recommend Carnival to all my friends and family. I hope you all enjoyed this review.

love-lee · April 6, 2015

Thank you for the great review! We were on the magic last July and will be back on it again this July. Glad you had a good time!

douglinc@msn.com · April 6, 2015

Thanks for the review, my wife and one of her friends will be back on the Magic next Sunday.

pinkpod87 · April 6, 2015

Sounds like you had an awesome time. I thought it was great they you all got to go to Costa Maya since Roatan was cancelled. I was on the Dream and our Roatan port was cancelled with no alternative.

Edited April 6, 2015 by pinkpod87

AngAndBoys · April 6, 2015

Thanks for the review!

DJW8385 · April 6, 2015

Another cruiser on our ship said the same thing happened to her last year on the Magic. The funny thing is that a ship was already docked in Honduras and it looked to be a Celebrity cruise ship

Sooner-Cruisers · April 6, 2015

Thanks for your review!

dave_k58 · April 7, 2015

Thanks for the good review. We're headed on Magic in August and really looking forward to it

travler27 · April 7, 2015

Another cruiser on our ship said the same thing happened to her last year on the Magic. The funny thing is that a ship was already docked in Honduras and it looked to be a Celebrity cruise ship

Ships are like airplanes. Some of them might be able to land when others can't. Has to do with draft, beam, length, sail area and other factors. Also, it's a lot easier for the first ship to dock since they don't have to dodge/avoid a ship already in port.

Edited April 7, 2015 by travler27

Cindy Lee · April 8, 2015

Thanks so much. I had read that Guy's burgers were added to the Magic, but I guess that was wrong since you didn't mention it. Was hoping it was there by now. Looking forward to my cruise and reading your experience was great!!!!

MrsRissB · April 9, 2015

Great review, thanks!

Runaway Parent · April 9, 2015

Had a similar Magic docking experience over spring break in Costa Maya. An RC ship was turned away. We were the only ship in port. It was REALLY rough, so maybe that was a reason.