A Magic-al Western Caribbean Review - 11/25/2017

[navybaby1113]

Navybaby, did you try the warm chocolate melting cake? It was so good. One night in the dining room they had frog legs , and me being an old Florida country boy I ordered them as my appetizer. Well guess what, they were naked. Not breaded and fried, just plain Nasty. I'm ready to go again. Doing a 3 day in Feb. for my recent retirement on the Disney Dream and taking all of the kids and grands with us to celebrate.

 

I ate like 3 Melting Cakes. And they were all declicious. lol

 

I debated on trying the frog legs and now I'm glad I didn't!

[navybaby1113]

I'm back at work today, so I'll be posting more of the review tonight. Stay tuned!

[theriac]

I was on the Magic a week before you. I'm curious if you noticed a lot of flies around the ship?

[fla gang]

I did notice flies. Even in the main dining room. When we were docked in Roatan there were lots of dragonflies buzzing around the pool area.

[navybaby1113]

I didn't notice any issues with flies. The occasionally gnat was flying around, but nothing to be too annoyed with.

[navybaby1113]

Before I finish up with the rest of the day, I'm going to go ahead and do a quick ship tour to get it out of the way. These pictures were taken throughout the cruise.

 

 

When you step foot on to the Carnival Magic, the first thing you see is the Magic Lobby. This is where the Shore Excursions and Guest Services desks are located. There is also a bar with some additional seating. In there evenings there was usually some type of music players here (usually a string trio).

At the front of the ship is the Showtime Theater. This is where all the main shows are held. This spans 3 different decks with an entrance on each one.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[navybaby1113]

There are two dining rooms (Southern Lights and Northern Lights) on the ship, one midship and one in the aft on Deck 3 and 4. Both dining rooms have a very similar look.

 

 

The Northern Lights dining room is located midship and this is where Anytime Dining is held. The Southern Lights dining room is in the aft of the ship and was open for breakfast, brunch, and dinner.

 

 

I somehow have no pictures of either dining room...

 

 

On Deck 4, you'll find the photo gallery towards the front of the ship. On the Magic, they have started using a digital system for pictures, so you can purchase them through your Hub app and download them straight to your phone.

There is a small bar and the library near the entrance to the Northern Lights dining room on the 4th floor. I never got the opportunity to photograph either.

[navybaby1113]

Towards the front of Deck 5 you will find the Fun Shops. Cherry on Top is also located here. This is where you'll find tons of sweet treats to indulge in (at an additional fee.)

 

 

 

The Hat Trick Casino is located right in the middle of Deck 5. You have to walk through it to get from the front to the aft on this deck. Thankfully you can stop outside onto the Promenade to bypass it, which is what we often did. The smoke smell throughout the casino is very strong as people are smoking right on the main pathway.

 

 

 

 

[navybaby1113]

One of my favorite features of the Dream Class is the Ocean Plaza area. It's the perfect place for trivia and relaxing during the day. The Plaza Cafe and Alchemy Bar are located right there so you can easily get pretty much any type of beverage you want. FYI, the Plaza Cafe does not sell soda, so you have to go inside Red Frog to get that. They also had a little area in between the Plaza Cafe and the Alchemy Bar where they served a continental breakfast in the morning.

 

 

 

 

[navybaby1113]

You have the Red Frog Pub which is a fun little place to hang out. They have great drinks and small snacks (for an additional fee). There is also a foosball table and shuffleboard table in the back and dominoes on all the tables. We spent a good bit of time here throughout the cruise and this was my go to bar for soda.

 

 

The Vibe Dance Club is towards the back of Deck 5. We're not really big club people, we didn't spend any time in here at all.

 

 

[carrikerry]

One of the perks of FTTF is that your room is ready as soon as you board the ship. This is one of the major reasons we book FTTF because we hate dragging our bags all around the ship until the rooms open up.

 

Unfortunately, we arrived at our room to find the door still open and that it hadn’t be serviced yet. One of the stewards walked up and asked if we were FTTF. When we told him we were, he said he would have the room ready in 15 minutes. We decided we might as well head up to the Lido deck and grab lunch before the crowds got on board.

 

 

 

 

We easily got a table in the back of the Lido restaurant and I watched our bags while J went and grabbed his food and then vice versa. Thankfully since the ship wasn’t crowded, it wasn’t too big of an issue. We both enjoyed Guy’s Burgers for lunch and then some caramel cheesecake for dessert.

 

 

 

 

How did you get into the hallway to go back to your room early? The last 3 times we cruised we would take the elevator up our floor, always 7 or 8 aft balcony, and once off the elevator the doors to all the hallway are locked with a sign that says room access is not available until 1:30. We didn't know what to do the first two times, and our last was on th Magic and we had the same issue. Hoping you can tell me the "secret" passage to my room, that's the biggest perk of FTTF and we have been ripped off 3 times now. We are aft balcony again in January so appreciate any help or advice. Thank you.

 

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[navybaby1113]

How did you get into the hallway to go back to your room early? The last 3 times we cruised we would take the elevator up our floor, always 7 or 8 aft balcony, and once off the elevator the doors to all the hallway are locked with a sign that says room access is not available until 1:30. We didn't know what to do the first two times, and our last was on th Magic and we had the same issue. Hoping you can tell me the "secret" passage to my room, that's the biggest perk of FTTF and we have been ripped off 3 times now. We are aft balcony again in January so appreciate any help or advice. Thank you.

 

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The fire doors are always shut and there's typically a sign that says something like rooms not being available until 1:30pm, but there's also usually a sign that says Diamond/Platinum/FTTF, come on in! We just open the doors and go on in. Never had an issue with them being locked before.

[carrikerry]

The fire doors are always shut and there's typically a sign that says something like rooms not being available until 1:30pm, but there's also usually a sign that says Diamond/Platinum/FTTF, come on in! We just open the doors and go on in. Never had an issue with them being locked before.

 

We have tried and they have always been locked. Fingers crossed it works this time. Thank you for your quick response!

[BJs mom]

Last two cruises we had the same problem but on our last cruise on the Legend in June when we went back out to the elevators and someone told us the starboard side was open so we went there and crossed over to the port side. Pain but at least it worked.

[carrikerry]

Last two cruises we had the same problem but on our last cruise on the Legend in June when we went back out to the elevators and someone told us the starboard side was open so we went there and crossed over to the port side. Pain but at least it worked.

Thank You! We will try that too. Better than hauling our luggage to the lido again! ;)

[lohgan]

Following along! Will be on the Magic in January for our first cruise!

[GotMINI]

Following along too. Will be on Magic in March 2018.

[willdra]

Thanks for sharing this cool cabin! I will have to look for it in the future. Also loving your photos and review. You are making me miss The Magic!

[Cruiserchic1990]

Following along! Will be on the Magic in January for our first cruise!

me too! Jan 13th

 

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[beshears]

It is 3:38AM and I need to get back to bed, but just found this NOW, and enjoy reading it so far, especially the wonderful pictures too.:) We are to do the Magic in March next year with the same itinerary, so I'm looking forward to finishing your review as well.

[navybaby1113]

Sorry for the delay. Things have been absolutely crazy this week. Let's get some more done while I have some free time. :)

 

The Piano Bar, one of my favorite locations on a ship, it located on Deck 5.

 

 

 

All the way to the aft is the Spotlight Lounge, which is where they hold the comedy shows. Make sure not to sit behind one of the giant poles or you won't be able to see the stage.

 

 

[navybaby1113]

The last thing I want to share about Deck 5 is the Lanai Promenade. This is special to the Dream Class and is a great addition, in my opinion. You can make a full lap around the ship on the deck, which was one of my favorite things to do in the evening.

 

 

 

There are 4 hot tubs located on this deck and they're not normally near as busy as the Lido Deck ones.

 

This is also where you'll find the Guy's Pig and Anchor BBQ Smokehouse, which is a nice addition to this ship! You'll hear more about the food from here later.

 

[navybaby1113]

Next public deck is the Lido Deck, Deck 10. Starting off, we have the main pool, which is midship. Here you'll find the Blue Iguana Tequila Bar and Red Frog Rum Bar. A lot of the outdoor activities are held in this area.

 

 

 

You have another pool on the aft of the Lido Deck along with a couple of hot tubs. This area is normally less crowded and quieter than the midship pool.

 

 

[navybaby1113]

The outdoor areas of Deck 12 are amazing. First up, we have the Carnival Waterworks area.

 

 

 

 

You also have the Sports Square which includes a ropes course, mini golf, and and other fun activities for the entire family.

 

 

[navybaby1113]

At the aft of Deck 15, Sky, you'll find the Serenity Deck, which is Carnival's Adults Only area. There are two hot tubs located up here and you won't find any kids in these. 😃