Magic 10 year anniversary cruise 8-27-16

[angiem0217]

This was my 1st time on the Magic and my 7th Carnival cruise. we normally cruise with our kids, 19 and 9 but this trip was just me and my husband celebrating our 10 year anniversary.

Our ports were Amber Cove, St. Thomas, San Juan and Grand Turk.

 

I am a huge Disney freak and the thought of being anywhere near the Magic Kingdom and not going to visit was just to much for me. So we flew over early Friday morning from New Orleans so I could go. My husband is not a huge Disney fan like me but he agreed since I really wanted to go. We landed at MCO at 10 am and I had rented a car from Budget. Really great rate for 1 day and I had fast break so we went directly to the fast break window and had the car in 10 minutes. I am a DVC member and we stayed at The Wilderness lodge. We arrived around 11:30, checked in super quick, dropped off our luggage and ate a quick bite at the onsite quick service restaurant. The resort was beautiful and it was the first time I had stayed there. we caught the boat over to magic kingdom and was walking on main street by 1:30. We spent all day at the magic kingdom and had a blast. It was the first visit with no kids and I actually got to do things I had never done like the carousel of progress since the kids never want to do it. We had reservations at Be our Guest Restaurant that evening and we really enjoyed it. The restaurant is beautiful and I enjoyed looking at all the different dining rooms. We took the boat back over to the Wilderness lodge around 11PM after the fireworks. It had been a long day and we were exhausted.

 

Time to board the Magic! We got up and checked out of the hotel and headed to Port Canaveral around 10am. I had the GPS set for the budget which was close to the ship and we arrived around 11:15. we turned in and you could not even get into the parking lot. I net there were over 50 people in line inside and another 50 outside waiting for the shuttle. I got out and went inside to see if they had the Fast break box to drop off the key and guess what, there was not. I was going to have to stand in line to return the car. The reason I rented from Budget was because of fast break and was hoping to avoid all day at the rental car place. So we decide to go to the store to get bug spray and sunscreen. We did not check our luggage at the airport so I did not have any packed. we returned around 12:00 and the line looked the same. They had 1 person renting cars and 1 returning. I got in line and reached the counter at 12:45 PM. It took 45 minutes to return the car. when I gave her the keys she was going to print me my receipt because I had pre paid. She then proceeded to tell me that I owed for another day because I had the car for more than 24 hours. I told her the reason I had it for more than 24 hours was because I had been in line and it was not my fault they only had 1 person working the counter on a Saturday when there were 3 ships docked. I asked if there was a late fee I could pay instead of having to pay for an entire day since I only had the car for an extra 2 hours. She was very rude, said No and she was in a very bad mood and now I was in a bad mood also. But I paid it since there was a huge line behind me and I did not want to get into it with her and hold up everyone. But I will be calling Budget this week to see if I can get any of my money back. So I go outside to find my husband. There are probably at least 50 people waiting for the next shuttle so I got on my phone and ordered an Uber. He arrived in 3 minutes and we were pulling out of the worst Budget I have ever encountered in my life.

 

I could see the tail and my bad mood had lifted. We were at the dock in 10 minutes. He dropped us off and we headed towards the ship. I always get faster to the fun, but every time I checked for this trip it was sold out. I saw the line and had wished I had scored it since the line was long. it was 1:30 when we got in line and to my surprise the line moved very quickly. We were taking our picture to board the ship at 1:55 It only took about 25 minutes to get through the line. We dropped off our luggage and headed to get a guys burger. There was no line and we got our burgers and found a table to eat. we were both very hungry and that was an awesome burger. I have to run for now but will be back later to finish my review.

[angiem0217]

Wilderness lodge

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums mobile app

[angiem0217]

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums mobile app

[angiem0217]

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums mobile app

[angiem0217]

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums mobile app

[angiem0217]

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums mobile app

[angiem0217]

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums mobile app

[angiem0217]

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums mobile app

[angiem0217]

We made the big screen at red frog pub

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums mobile app

[angiem0217]

First drink of the cruise. Painkiller. I needed it after dealing with that woman at budget

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums mobile app

[mrpayroll]

Looking forward to more of your experience . Will be on Magic the 24th of September.

[angiem0217]

Our first stop was the red frog pub to grab a drink then off to check out the ship. We had been on the dream in March and the magic is very similar so I found my way around pretty easy. We headed to the back of the ship for sail away. I love being at the back when we sail off. It's my favorite place. I had made reservations online pre cruise for the steak house. After sail away we stopped at the alchemy bar for another drink. This would become my favorite place during this cruise! We then headed to the room to get ready for dinner. The steakhouse was really good. The waiter told us they were offering 50% off on wine but did not mention the free wine promo. I asked about it and he said yes they did have it available. I am not a big wine drinker but my husband likes red wine so we ordered a bottle of the free red wine. He said is was ok. We both had the filet and lobster and it was so good. At only $35 per person it was well worth it to us. This was the first time we have been to the steakhouse and we will go back on our next cruise. After dinner we went and changed clothes and headed to the casino. I hit a straight flush on 3 card poker table and actually won some money. Whoop whoop!!

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums mobile app

[angiem0217]

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums mobile app

[angiem0217]

My goal was to try each drink on the alchemy menu at least once over the next 7 days. I did accomplish this goal, but there were several I did not care for and I didn't finish them. We did purchase cheers so I did not feel to bad about not finishing the few I did not like.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums mobile app

[angiem0217]

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums mobile app

[lepidoptera]

Great review so far! My sister and I are cruising on the Magic Oct 22. When we were narrowing down cruises, my sister suggested we leave from Orlando so we could go to Disney. Then she changed her mind, but I told here there was no way we were going to Orlando 2 years in a row and not going to Disney on either trip. I got my way and we we going to Mickey's not so scary Halloween Party on the 21st :D

 

Can't wait to here more about your cruise and the Magic.

[angiem0217]

Looking forward to more of your experience . Will be on Magic the 24th of September.

 

 

You are going to love it!!!

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums mobile app

Edited September 8, 2016 by angiem0217

[angiem0217]

Great review so far! My sister and I are cruising on the Magic Oct 22. When we were narrowing down cruises, my sister suggested we leave from Orlando so we could go to Disney. Then she changed her mind, but I told here there was no way we were going to Orlando 2 years in a row and not going to Disney on either trip. I got my way and we we going to Mickey's not so scary Halloween Party on the 21st :D

 

 

 

Can't wait to here more about your cruise and the Magic.

 

 

That is awesome! I am so jealous! I have always wanted to do the Halloween party. We did the Christmas party 2 years ago and it was so much fun! The Halloween party is on my bucket list! You will love the Magic. One of my favorites of all the 7 I have been on. Have a great trip!

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums mobile app

[jenjohn1]

Sorry for your Budget problems.....Waiting for more of your review!

[DKLI]

I'm pretty sure I was on line behind you at Budget...lol... It was def crazy and HOT in there.

 

I kind of felt bad for that woman :( She said that 2 people had called out sick that morning, so yah, she was def stressed. She was checking people in AND checking people out the whole time we were there waiting.

 

There was a very nice woman outside, with grey hair, that was organizing the shuttles back and forth. She got us on a shuttle pretty quickly after we returned the car, thank God.

 

Karen

[angiem0217]

We stayed in a balcony spa cabin this trip. This was my first spa cabin since it was our anniversary I decided to try it out. I will probably never do that again because we just didn't get our money's worth. I got in the pool twice for about 10 minutes and used the heated loungers twice for maybe another 10 minutes. It was just too hot on this cruise to soak in that pool and lay on heated loungers. I think if we went in the winter I might try it again. But during the summer I just did not care to be in there. I am glad i tried it, just was not for me.

 

This cruise was sold out but it never seemed too crowded. We ate guys burgers about 3 times and there was never a line. We had anytime dining and the only night we had to wait was formal night. Never really had to wait to get a drink either. The only wait I really had was the pig and anchor BBQ on the last sea day. It's only open on sea days so I am sure that why the line was so long. I waited about 30 minutes. But it was very good. We were on the Dream in March and we always had a short wait no matter where we went. The Magic just didn't seem as crowded even though the cruise was sold out.

 

First sea day...we slept in. I never get to sleep late and it was so nice. I think we finally got up around 11. Got up and headed to blue iguana for a burrito. Again no line even though it was peak lunch time. I love this ship!

 

No kids on this trip which has not happened since our 1 year anniversary. Headed straight to serenity since we hardly ever get to hang out there. We are normally parked in front of the waterpark watching our son slide or at the aft pool watching him swim. I was so excited to just be able to lay around and read and not have to watch anyone do anything with no kids around. Don't get me wrong, I love traveling with our kids. But since this trip was with no kids, I didn't really want to be around other people's kids. So we get to serenity and find 2 loungers and sit down. Only problem is it was so windy! I tried several different locations and same thing, wind was very bad. Ordered a drink and had to hold it because I was afraid it would blow away. After about an hour we packed up to look for a less windy place. Went to the back of the boat where we usually sit when we have kids and it was so nice. No wind, got my book out and read all day. The waiters came around often. We always take $1 to tip and it seems to work because I never had to get up and get a drink. There are 2 things I do not like about these bigger ships. Serenity being in front and the waterpark not having loungers so you can sit and watch your kids. Why put serenity up front where it is so windy? Other than the first day I tried serenity 2 other times and both times it was just as windy and not relaxing like the back of the ship. Other than the dream all of my cruises have been on fantasy class ships. Serenity is in back and the waterpark have rows of loungers where you can sit and watch your kids. Other than those 2 things I really liked everything else about the magic. It is one of my favorites.

So even though we didn't have our son, we stayed mostly in the back by the pool on our 2 sea days.

 

We ate in the main dining room on the second night and the food was good. Not like the steakhouse. Next trip I will not do the steak house first that way I will have something to look forward too. It was formal night and they did have lobster but it just was not as good as the steak house lobster. But hey, I ate lobster 2 nights in a row, so I am not complaining. After dinner we went to alchemy to wait for the adult comedy show. The alchemy always had a good band playing and the drinks were so good. I got to know the bartenders and talked to them every night. I enjoyed watching them make all of the drinks. This was my favorite place to hang out. We went to the adult comedy show and it was really funny. After that it was a little while on the casino and before you know it, it's 1 am. We went and got pizza then headed to the room. That would become an every night thing. Next up Amber Cove

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums mobile app

[angiem0217]

Free bottle of wine at steak house on first night

Edited September 8, 2016 by angiem0217

[angiem0217]

Waterpark

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums mobile app

[angiem0217]

Ropes course

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums mobile app

[angiem0217]

Formal night

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums mobile app