Booked Carnival Magic out of Galveston

[Chmie]

I'm back to pick the brains of all you knowledgeable cruisers. :)

Wife & I are booked into a grand suite (#7303) on the Magic sailing out of Galveston to the Western Caribbean on July 15,2012. This is only our second cruise ( first was the Elation out of San Diego in 2008 ) and I found this site invaluable for providing answers to our newbie questions.

I will do some searching here to gather info on the Magic but will probably still ask some stupid questions so be patient with me. :D

I am particularily interested in any photos of the grand suite and hints for the Galveston port. We are planning to stay at the Harbor House.

Thanks a lot guys and gals.

[helicopter]

Going on the Magic in June, so I can't comment on the staterooms. But, I can tell you that the Harbour House is a great choice, we always stay there and walk to the pier. You will be about two blocks from the The Strand. Walk up and down The Strand, have a few drinks and go in and out of shops. The trolley will take you down to the Sewall if you want to see that area.

[okgirl]

Going on the Magic in June, so I can't comment on the staterooms. But, I can tell you that the Harbour House is a great choice, we always stay there and walk to the pier. You will be about two blocks from the The Strand. Walk up and down The Strand, have a few drinks and go in and out of shops. The trolley will take you down to the Sewall if you want to see that area.

 

I agree that the Harbor House is a great place to stay. There are several restaurants right there, plus the Strand area across the street. Unfortunately, I don't think the trolley car is up and running yet. It's been down since hurricane Ike in 2008.

 

I'm not sure what the breakfast options are at the HH, but there is a starbucks right across the street.

 

Edit to add: I just looked and the HH has free continental breakfast.

[jimbo5544]

Here is a link whre cruisers send in pictures of rooms they have stayed in for others to view.

 

http://www.********************/

 

I did look at the Magic (which as you know is pretty new) and there are not many pics (and none of your room). I also looked at the sister ship (Dream) and there were none there of your room either. Keep in mind that most (read that as not all) Carnival rooms of the same type are pretty much the same. If you see a cat 12 (grand Suite) pictured for the Dream, pretty much that will give you a good idea of what your room will be like.

[jimbo5544]

CC blocks the web site for me to post it (so you can see it). If you would like to see it, send me an email and I will forward it to you. JBL4451@yahoo.com

 

Jim

[hancogran]

Fly into Hobby as opposed to George Bush airport, if at all possible! Bush International is about an hour and a half drive to Galveston whereas Hobby is probably about 45 minutes.

 

We figured we'd just rent a car at the airport and drive to Galveston.. not so! There are no car rental agencies open on a Sunday in Galveston to return the car, and I believe Enterprise closes at 1:00 on a Saturday.

Definitely check out shuttles and taxis to get you from the airport to Galveston.. I was sorry I had not done my homework in advance and didn't realize how costly it could be to get from the airport to Galveston!

Have a great cruise! :)

[Another ship trip]

I'm back to pick the brains of all you knowledgeable cruisers. :)

Wife & I are booked into a grand suite (#7303) on the Magic sailing out of Galveston to the Western Caribbean on July 15,2012. This is only our second cruise ( first was the Elation out of San Diego in 2008 ) and I found this site invaluable for providing answers to our newbie questions.

I will do some searching here to gather info on the Magic but will probably still ask some stupid questions so be patient with me. :D

I am particularily interested in any photos of the grand suite and hints for the Galveston port. We are planning to stay at the Harbor House.

Thanks a lot guys and gals.

 

I just saw your post and see we are on the same sailing. You are in a great location at the Harbor House. You can walk to the ship. If you have any questions, let us know. We have been to Roatan 11 times and the other two more than that. We love cruising and if we can answer anything we would be happy to. It is time to start getting excited since we are just two weeks out now!!

[BallFour4]

Here are some of the Magic on her first night in Galveston. We loved the ship!

http://www.flickr.com/photos/leeusry/sets/72157628129712752/

 

 

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[Stevesan]

I'm back to pick the brains of all you knowledgeable cruisers. :)

Wife & I are booked into a grand suite (#7303) on the Magic sailing out of Galveston to the Western Caribbean on July 15,2012. This is only our second cruise ( first was the Elation out of San Diego in 2008 ) and I found this site invaluable for providing answers to our newbie questions.

I will do some searching here to gather info on the Magic but will probably still ask some stupid questions so be patient with me. :D

I am particularily interested in any photos of the grand suite and hints for the Galveston port. We are planning to stay at the Harbor House.

Thanks a lot guys and gals.

 

Good choice, but book it early (like now). It fills up.

[unionville3]

We stayed two nights at the Harbor House for our June 15 Magic cruise. It's our favorite "cruise hotel" so far! We loved that we could walk to the terminal - so much easier than battling the traffic or shuttles. We rented a car for the entire stay for $212 (cheaper than using a town car service both way with tip) and left the car at the Harbor House for an additional $30. Harbor House allows you to use the pool at the Hotel Galvez - a beautiful property and great way to spend a hot Galveston afternoon. The continental breakfast at the Harbor House is nothing to write home about - yogurt, coffee, and some pastries. There are also restaurants within walking distance for dinner if you don't have transportation. We usually cruise from Florida but this was a fun change of pace. We loved the Magic!

[PAPERBKWRITER]

Unless things have changed Enterprise is open on Sunday to return a car (and will drive you to the pier) and if arrangements are made ahead they will be at the pier to bring you to your rented if needed... Galveston. The Strand was already mentioned but Moody Gardens is about a mile from the sea wall off 83 street. Before Moody is the air museum and a giant water park. You can easily fill a couple of days in Galveston if you want.

[Chmie]

Thanks guys & gals.

Booked the Galvez and all primed for our road trip to Galveston and then onto the Magic. Can't believe it's only 15 days away before we're sitting in the Red Frog pub. :)

[dljones]

Moody Gardens is really neat. It consists of the three large glass pyramids off to your right as you come across the causway. The Strand is right there as well by the dock as others mentioned. There is also Fisherman's Wharf right there if you are wanting seafood for dinner. Check out Google Earth and you will get the lay of the land. Have fun on your cruise! We are going next weekend!!!

[Chmie]

Here are some of the Magic on her first night in Galveston. We loved the ship!

 

http://www.flickr.com/photos/leeusry/sets/72157628129712752/

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Fantastic pictures, blusry.

Perfect way to wet my appetite. :)

[Mrs.Bungle]

Here are some of the Magic on her first night in Galveston. We loved the ship!

http://www.flickr.com/photos/leeusry/sets/72157628129712752/

 

 

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Thanks for all the great pics!!

[Another ship trip]

Here are some of the Magic on her first night in Galveston. We loved the ship!

http://www.flickr.com/photos/leeusry/sets/72157628129712752/

 

 

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Thanks for sharing these great photos. Makes me want to get detailed photos this time too!

[TxDiamondCruiser]

We were on the Magic 6/17-6/24. It was AWESOME. We had a upper lower so my comments on the stateroom would not be applicable, but I can tell you that we had a grand time on the ship! The Itallian Restaurant is awesome and worth the extra money. I did not think the steak house was worth the extra money, although there was a nice ambiance. We tried the sushi, mongolian wok, the burrioto bar, etc...and found them all to be satisfactory but not worth the long lines. We ate in the MDR every breakfast and dinner. Mini putt putt was fun. Movies on the Seaside theatre was fun. The ropes course was never opened and I do not know why. The waterworks was fun. We loved the comedians. Make sure you go to all of the comedy shows - even the Adult rated ones (they weren't so bad), they were hilarious. I found the entertainment shows mediocre as I prefer the entertainment on Royal Carribean by far, but we still went to every show and for the most part enjoyed them. Our room steward was never around and stopped cleaning after Wednesday (maybe the teenager was too much of a slob!) , but our MDR waitstaff were wonderful and very personable. Customer service personell were so so but nothing to complain about. I liked wandering around the ship and oddly it never felt that large too me. The elevators are slow, but I was in no hurry and there are stairwells everywhere. We enjoyed the audience participant shows (hairy chest contest, marriage game, etc.). I will say that security was definitely on top of it. My dd16 and I became separated in Cozumel and I was terrified. Luckily she went back to the ship per our emergency plan and when I got on and asked them to tell me if she was on board, they went right into secuity mode and were very helpful and friendly. I was hyperventilating by that time as I had let my imagination of what ifs get the better of me and they were very reassuring. So I think you will have lots of fun. Alot of people complain about Carnival but hey if you're lucky enough to be on any cruise your lucky enough..so I really don't let the little things eat at me, especially when on vacation. I think the Magic was well worth the money and my dd and I really enjoyed ourselves.