We just returned from a great week on the Carnival Magic! This was our family's tenth cruise, and we have sailed on Carnival, RCCL, and Princess. DH, 43, and I, 44, sailed with our two daughters, 12 and 16. We were quite concerned reading the negative reviews from previous months, but it turned out to be one of our favorite cruises ever despite a few bumps in the road. The ship was sparkling clean and beautiful. We were always busy, and often had a hard time deciding which activity to choose, and we loved our dinners in the Southern Lights Dining Room.

Embarkation Day: We spent New Year's Eve at the Country Inn and Suites in Galveston. They offered free breakfast and cruise parking and were a nice, clean option on the Seawall. We would go there again. We woke up very excited Sunday morning and walked to the pier to watch the ship come in, but it was missing! We soon got a text from friends on board the previous cruise that said the ship would be docking at 10:30 due to fog. We went to Starbucks and waited on the Harbor House deck. Sure enough, we saw the Magic round the corner and come our way! Wow! What a huge ship. We quickly walked back to the hotel (2 miles), grabbed our stuff, and headed back to the port. We were on board by 2- the unloading and loading process took longer than we had hoped. However, there was plenty of food at the Marketplace on board, and we got our first taste of the burrito bar- a GREAT development as far as my family is concerned. We explored the ship until the mandatory safety briefing, and then enjoyed the first of many great dinners in early seating in the Southern Lights Dining Room. We got a table for four, and a booth nonetheless. Our wait team of three were all very friendly, so we were as happy as could be. After that, both of our girls went to their kids' club meet and greets, where they both made good friends that they spent lots of time with during the week. We went to the Welcome Aboard Show (not so great), visited the Ocean Plaza for some great music, and headed to bed.

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