Carnival Magic Review

Carnival Magic Detailed (Long) Review - April 2012

Review for the Western Caribbean Cruise on Carnival Magic
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BigBearMike
6-10 Cruises • Age 60s

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Sail Date: Apr 2012
Cabin: Spa Balcony

After some research and discussion on the what's, where's and when's Karen and I decided on taking the Carnival Magic Caribbean cruise in April 2012. We had cruised before but chose the Magic because it was a very new and large ship. We also liked the idea of leaving from Galveston TX instead of Miami so we would have less travel time from California. We wanted an outside room and got one with a balcony as we had never had a balcony on a cruise ship and it sounded like it would be nice. We also decided to upgrade to a Spa Room on deck 11 since it was only $30 more per person at the time we booked and had unlimited access to the spa facilities. We picked a room on deck 11 instead of 12 because people from the open deck above 12 could see down on your balcony if they looked over the side. No biggie but we liked deck 11 better. Also, I read that on deck 12 near the front you might hear people above you in the weight room when they drop the free weights.

We decided to fly on Saturday and stay overnight at a Springhill Suites hotel near the Hobby airport. I had met a lady named Sharon the Cruise Critic Roll Call and she and her friend Donna were staying there. We had also booked the shuttle from the HOB airport to the cruise port on Sunday morning. It was a Carnival shuttle (highly recommended) that we booked through Carnival and was $30 per person each way. We looked at the shore excursions and decided to book non-Carnival excursions based on the reviews we found online. We booked the Jamaica Water Sports party cruise here: http://www.jamaicawatersports.com/cruise.htm and the Rays, Reef and Rum Point excursion here: http://www.nativewaywatersports.com/tour_details.htm#Rays,%20Reef%20and%20Rum%20Point. We did not book anything in Cozumel but ended up finding a really fun spot there as well at the all inclusive Nachi Cocom resort.

Preparation and packing. I packed two pair of shorts, two bathing suits, two pair of Dockers, two short sleeve collared shirts, five T-shirts, two dress shirts, as well as underwear and socks. I had dress shoes, water shoes, sandals and wore jeans and tennis shoes on the plane so I had those when I got there and wore them too. I also packed a collapsible ice chest, a book, Magic Bullet blender, toothpaste, nail clippers, electric razor, blade razor, shaving cream, toothbrush, deodorant, plastic raincoats (from the dollar store), Dramamine, extension cord, Laptop, iPhone, iPad, iPhone charger, laptop charger, baseball cap, sunblock, packing tape, small swiss army pocket knife (less than a 4 inch blade is the rule), duffle bag, reading glasses, small ice chest bag, corkscrew, dollar bills (for tips), a dozen straws, plastic cups (18), trash bags (I put the champagne bottles in them for the flight and used them on the way back for wet clothes), watch, GPS, AA batteries, pens (2), dental floss, passports (and photocopies), wallet, money and empty water bottles (4). I used everything except for the raincoats, corkscrew, Dramamine, the AA batteries, and the photocopy of our passports. I decided not pack a jacket or bring an umbrella, which had been suggested to me but wasn't ever needed. We brought a backpack as a carry-on that was also a must have since we could use it to carry things on shore excursions and such.

Cabin Review

Spa Balcony

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