Review: 1st Cruise in 5 Years, Carnival Magic, March 9-17

[heath7767]

Our family hasn't cruised in over 5 years, and we've been missing it. Some background: we've cruised on Carnival, Holland America, and RC, with our last cruise being on the Oasis of the Seas. We went with the Carnival Magic 8 day Eastern Caribbean from Miami this time because it fit our kids' spring break schedule, had interesting ports, and was more budget-friendly than any RC options we saw. We're a family of 5 with parents and 3 kids ages 10-15. 

 

I'll be honest, I was nervous about cruising again because it seems like the feedback leans more negative than positive regarding crowded ships, partiers over spring break, cutbacks since Covid, etc. I'll share some details, but spoiler alert: WE LOVED IT! We had a wonderful week together and would happily sign up for another cruise if we could, even this same spring break week again. 

 

Parking and Embarkation

These were both shockingly easy. We were cruising on a budget this time since we've never had to do it during prime vacation times before. When our kids were younger, we would take them out of school in February for cruising, but that doesn't work anymore with busy middle and high schoolers. We live on the west Coast of Florida, so we had about a 4-5 hour drive to Miami. I knew we were driving, so I selected the 12:30-1:30 arrival time.

We left around 6:30 on Saturday morning, and arrived at the parking garage for Safe Cruise Parking around 11:30 AM after stopping for gas. I reserved parking with them a couple of weeks before our trip. TIP: Check their Facebook page for promo codes. I found one and was able to save I think 10 percent. For an 8 day cruise, parking there saved us well over $100 vs. parking at the port. TIP 2: book directly with them versus one of the parking broker sites. On other sites, it said that you could only have a maximum of 4 people on their shuttle, but booking directly at their website allowed me to have up to 6 at no extra charge. 

 

Parking was quick and easy. We pulled in, found a spot on the 5th floor near the elevator, and headed to the office. The 5 of us were on a shuttle heading to the port with all our luggage within 10 minutes. I believe we walked in the terminal around 12:15, and I was beyond pleasantly surprised that we never sat down again until we were walking on the ship! Within 20 minutes of getting off the shuttle, we were sitting on the Lido deck enjoying lunch. I believe having passports expedited this process for us since we were directed to a passport area while checking in. 

 

Since we're talking about parking, I'll go ahead and mention that we were also very happy with the process after the cruise. They give you brightly-colored stickers to put on to help identify you, and we were picked up by shuttle within 10 minutes of walking out of the port. They verified our parking ticket via text, and we were able to immediately head to our car and leave. Two thumbs up for the Port of Miami embarkation process and Safe Cruise Parking.

Edited March 19 by heath7767
typos

[heath7767]

Crowds/Fellow cruisers

We knew that our week was sold-out, so I was concerned about crowds. I guess I hadn't cruised in so long that I forgot that embarkation lunch on Lido is kind of a nightmare. It was SO crowded that you could barely move around and there were no seats until the rooms were ready around 1:30. However, this was just an embarkation day problem. I didn't find the ship to be overly crowded after that. I'd recommend staying away from the mess and either heading to the Italian restaurant for pasta at no charge (we did that and there was no one up there), or going to Deck 5 and enjoying the BBQ at Guy's Pig and Anchor. Both of those areas were practically empty. 

 

After that, the only time we experienced excessive crowding was at the Lido breakfast buffet early before the ship arrived on our first port day. 

 

For my kids/teens, they actually appreciated having more kids their age to hang out with and spend time with, so they preferred this vs. cruising while school is in session. 

 

Of course, there are always some crazies, but overall, we enjoyed all of our fellow cruisers. We didn't experience any kids running down the hall or unruly teens. We had many great moments, from trivia winners offering their trophy to our 10 year old to fun friendships made on the basketball court.

 

The worst thing I experienced was a couple of cruisers absolutely losing their minds at guest services because a port was cancelled due to high winds. Security was called because of their screaming, and I really hope they were put on some kind of "don't cruise Carnival again" list. I'm a patient person, but I have no patience for people mistreating employees, especially for something that's out of everyone's control. 

[tradewinds traveler]

Thanks for telling us about Safe Cruise Parking. We will look into in November. Great start on your review. We are cruising on the Magic with same itinerary.

[Butterbean1000]

So glad you enjoyed your cruise. We'll be sailing on the Magic in May.  I will never understand the mind set of some people.  Do they really think that screaming at GS is going to change things?

[heath7767]

Ports

 

St. Thomas

We did an island tour the last time we visited St. Thomas, so we knew we wanted a snorkeling beach day this time. I had read some reviews on here, and decided that we would give Secret Harbour a try. I didn't want to deal with the crowds you sometimes hear about at Magen's Bay. 

 

We walked out of the port area and took a taxi to Secret Harbour for $15 pp. It was maybe a 30-minute drive, so we also got to see a lot of the island. There were really beautiful views from the top of the mountain. 

 

It turned out to be a great fit for what we wanted! We didn't end up spending any extra money while we were there. It was a warm, but overcast day, which was actually perfect for us since we didn't want to get sunburned the first stop of our trip. We placed our belongings in a shady area under some trees, and enjoyed the non-crowded atmosphere and beautiful views.

 

We brought along our own snorkel gear, and my husband and son enjoyed the snorkeling. They were able to see quite a few creatures especially to the left of the beach near the piers. The water was really calm and beautiful. 

 

We actually didn't spend any extra money during our day there, but there was a restaurant serving lunch and a bar that both looked nice. Since we had shade under the tree and the beach wasn't busy, we didn't really need to rent chairs or umbrellas, although both were available. There's also clean restrooms and several foot wash areas. 

 

When the taxi driver dropped us off, she asked what time we wanted to return. We said 2:00pm, and she was right there waiting for us. It was another $15 pp back to the port. 

 

This was such an easy and budget-friendly way to spend our day in St. Thomas, and I'd highly recommend it. I believe there were only 2 ships in port that day, including ours, so I think that had something to do with why we enjoyed it so much. The beach at Secret Harbour is not that big, so I don't think it would be a great choice if the island was really busy that day.

 

[heath7767]

Ports

 

St. Maarten

 

On our previous trip to St. Maarten, we just had a beach day near the port, so we wanted to see more of the island this time. I read a ton of reviews trying to decide what to do during our St. Maarten day, and I'm happy to report that we had a wonderful day with Jo Junie Tours. The tour was very reasonably priced for all day on the island. $50 per adult and $25 per kid under 13, so it was only $200 for our family of 5 for the whole day. Of course, we added a tip at the end.

 

The company was quick to answer via email when we had questions before, and it was easy to follow the instructions and a video describing to meet the bus at the EDC, which was maybe a 10 minute walk from the ship right outside the port area. We were greeted as soon as we entered the parking area, and we were sent to wait in a shaded area while waiting for the rest of our group. It was the same check-in tent used by Bernard's Tours, and I noticed that our group was much, much smaller than the groups going out from their tours. We had just 9 people including our family of 5 on our air-conditioned, comfortable bus, which could seat at least double that.

 

The tour included a cooler full of bottled water, Coke, Sprite, homemade rum punch, and beer, which added to the value. Our tour guide, Freddy, encouraged us to take as much as we wanted throughout the day. He was very knowledgeable and explained everything as we were seeing it. He was friendly and personable, which make it a pleasure to be around him all day.

 

During our time from 9-3, I felt like we saw pretty much the whole island. We visited Orient Beach, the iguanas, several overlooks, Marigot, the border between the 2 countries, and Maho. Freddy continually explained the history of the island and places of interest. We had several quick scenic stops, and longer 45 minute--90 minute stops at Orient Beach, Marigot, and Maho Beach. At the end of the tour, we could be dropped off at downtown Philipsburg or the pier. 

 

It was my kids' favorite day of our entire cruise, and finding something that preteen/teen boys love isn't always the easiest! We would happily book again because of the reasonable price, small tour group, and excellent information throughout the tour. We all loved it!

[AKR2011]

I really appreciate your detailed review. Keep up the great work! I'm excited to continue following ❤️⚓️

[canadiangal40]

Loving your review so far, keep up the great work!

[pe4all]

Great review so far!  We have been on Magic several times.  Just did this itinerary in January, (and will be again next January) but pretty much hung around the port areas or on the ship as we have been to the ports many times.  I agree about Lido being a madhouse on embark - but we always head up to Capitano and get the pasta for lunch.  It is always empty- not so much later in the week when people discover it is free for lunch - lol.

[ninjacat123]

Great review!!

 

We used Safe Cruise Parking many years ago (we hardly ever embark from Miami) and found the company professional and efficient, besides saving us money on parking.  Thanks for the tips and we will use them again the next time we drive to Miami for a cruise.😺 

[heath7767]

Ports

 

San Juan

Like the previous ports, we had visited San Juan previously. We did the forts I think 6 years ago, but we wanted to do them again since our younger child didn't remember much. I really enjoy docking at San Juan since it's such a walkable area instead of just a built-up pier with touristy shops.

 

We started by walking to the closer fort. It's not too far, but a lot of it is uphill. Normally, we wouldn't be cognizant of mobility issues since we're still young and our kids are young and athletic. However, this time, our 15 year old got his cast off from his broken ankle the day before we cruised and was still rehabbing it. 

 

Tip: If you're in the US and happen to have a 4th grader in your family, you can get a free pass for your whole family for an entire year for all US National Parks at https://www.everykidoutdoors.gov/pass.htm. You just have to fill out a simple form online and print it off. The forts are US National Parks, so this allowed our family to have free admission. Make sure you actually request it online and have the printout with you, though. When we presented the employee with the printed form, she was excited and said people usually think they can just show up and ask for the free admission, but it doesn't work like that. She exchanged our paper for a durable card, and made my son feel special by giving him a Jr. Ranger pin, too. 

 

We enjoyed walking around and exploring the fort, but we quickly realized it was a really hot day. We live in FL, so we are used to the heat, but it was still wearing us down with no clouds in sight, so we paid for some overpriced cold Gatorades at the gift shop. The beautiful views are worth the heat though!

 

We wanted to visit the 2nd fort without putting too much strain on my son's injury, so we requested an Uber. I believe it was around $10 to go from one fort to the other, which was worth it for us since it would've been another uphill walk. When we arrived at that one, we noticed an informative movie playing in one of the rooms, so we sat and watched that in the shade for awhile to cool off. It was actually really helpful to hear all of the history of the fort, and it made us understand a lot more of what we were looking at. 

 

We wished we would've packed a couple of cheap kites in our backpack for my kids to fly on the expansive lawn, but my crazy boys made their own fun by rolling down the hills! The views from this fort were gorgeous, too, and we got some wonderful pictures.

 

Our other goal in San Juan was to get an authentic pina colada--that's my teen's favorite drink (virgin of course.) I asked for recommendations on the board here, and received the wonderful advice to walk to Hotel El Convento. They have a gorgeous courtyard bar that's known for their pina coladas among other beverages. There is comfortable lounge-type seating that's all shaded, so it was a great place to relax and get out of the sun. Our virgin coladas were $6 each, and they offered to put them in a to-go cup in case we couldn't finish on site. They were delicious, and the perfect treat on a hot day. We ended up sitting there and relaxing for a bit before walking back to the port. We bought a few small souvenirs from vendors on our walk back.

 

San Juan ended up being another great day on a budget, since our only expenses were the Uber and the pina coladas. 

[mz-s]

This sounds like it was a great first cruise back. Great choice in the ports of call for sure! I was on Magic over Labor Day, and we went to San Juan then as well.

[heath7767]

Ports

 

Amber Cove that became Nassau

 

Our trip had gone so wonderfully and smoothly so far that it was time for a hiccup! We enjoyed gorgeous, clear weather all week, but we woke up on our Amber Cove day to an early morning announcement that they couldn't dock because of high winds. Because of that, the day was changing to a sea day, and the following day, which was supposed to be a sea day, would be Nassau.

 

Once we walked out on deck, we were greeted by the extremely high winds and overcast skies, so it made the change understandable. It was hard to even walk up on the high sports deck.

 

We have visited Nassau previously and honestly didn't find much to like about it. Between that and the safety issues in the Bahamas right now, we decided to just treat that day like a sea day, and we didn't leave the boat. We enjoyed our day on board though. Although some people did get off, there were many more people on board than a normal sea day, so I think a lot of people had the same opinion of Nassau that we did. 

 

The last minute change did cause some small problems with the scheduling though. They added a few small things, such as pool games, to the schedule on the port day that became a sea day, but I think they could've done more. For instance, it would've been easy to add the movie that was supposed to be shown on the next day mid-day, but it just got cancelled completely. They also didn't do the towel animal invasion since it was a last minute sea day, although I heard they put some towel animals on the floor on the inside hallways the next day. The other thing we missed out on was the sea day brunch. We didn't go during the first two sea days, and were planning on doing that our last sea day. They only served the regular breakfast menu both of the last 2 days due to the changes. I'm sure it is very challenging to try to juggle employee schedules and all that with a last-minute change, so we weren't mad about any of it, but it would've been nice to have more activities to choose from.

 

We were disappointed to not visit Amber Cove since that's the only port on our itinerary that we hadn't visited before, but things happen, and safety is the most important. We were only planning a pool day at that stop, so I'm glad we didn't have our hearts set on an excursion. 

 

 

[nancy1031]

I'm really enjoying your review- will be on the Magic in oct- looking forward to the rest of your review!!!

[ninjacat123]

Tip: 😉 If you find yourself in Nassau again, walk up the hill about 15-20 minutes from port to John Watlings Distillery.  They have a free tour about the history of the distillery and the best Pina Coladas EVER! I'm sure they would do virgin ones, but I really like the ones with rum😄.

Edited March 20 by ninjacat123
Needed pic😁

[Butterbean1000]

3 hours ago, ninjacat123 said:

Tip: 😉 If you find yourself in Nassau again, walk up the hill about 15-20 minutes from port to John Watlings Distillery.  They have a free tour about the history of the distillery and the best Pina Coladas EVER! I'm sure they would do virgin ones, but I really like the ones with rum😄.

We visit John Whatlings every time we're in Nassau.   The pina coladas are the best.  However, we always take a taxi up there.  We were warned once by a local to not walk. 

[ninjacat123]

1 hour ago, Butterbean1000 said:

We visit John Whatlings every time we're in Nassau.   The pina coladas are the best.  However, we always take a taxi up there.  We were warned once by a local to not walk. 

I walk up to JWD when I'm with my DH.  If my DDs and/or my mom are along then we grab a taxi. Both ways.👍

[travelinjess85]

1 hour ago, Butterbean1000 said:

We visit John Whatlings every time we're in Nassau.   The pina coladas are the best.  However, we always take a taxi up there.  We were warned once by a local to not walk. 

I was about to ask if it was safe to do that walk! We are going to Nassau next year and wanted to check that place out. Is it easy to get a taxi? 

[Bostwick girl]

6 minutes ago, travelinjess85 said:

I was about to ask if it was safe to do that walk! We are going to Nassau next year and wanted to check that place out. Is it easy to get a taxi? 

The new port area is so much nicer and easy to get a taxi. They have a little area where you can tell them where you want to go and someone will get one for you.

[ninjacat123]

2 minutes ago, travelinjess85 said:

I was about to ask if it was safe to do that walk! We are going to Nassau next year and wanted to check that place out. Is it easy to get a taxi? 

Yes! You walk through the port to the gates by the street and there are people who will direct a driver to you. More often than not, you will have to follow the assigned driver to a lot about 3 blocks away.  Make sure you repeat the price quoted to the driver and have them acknowledge it. I think our party of five was quoted $25. Ask the cashier at JWD to call you a taxi when you are ready to go back.

[travelinjess85]

Thanks for the help 🙂 we had thought about walking around a bit (DH is a big guy and I feel safer with him for sure). But maybe will do a mix of taxis and walking. Will see what safety concerns are like at that point too. Thanks again! 

[ninjacat123]

8 minutes ago, ninjacat123 said:

Yes! You walk through the port to the gates by the street and there are people who will direct a driver to you. More often than not, you will have to follow the assigned driver to a lot about 3 blocks away.  Make sure you repeat the price quoted to the driver and have them acknowledge it. I think our party of five was quoted $25. Ask the cashier at JWD to call you a taxi when you are ready to go back.

 

14 minutes ago, Bostwick girl said:

The new port area is so much nicer and easy to get a taxi. They have a little area where you can tell them where you want to go and someone will get one for you.

I just read through my Thanksgiving review where we went to JWD and Mr. Lucky drove us up and back.  He gave me his contact info, nice guy!

Edited March 20 by ninjacat123
Mr Lucky info😃

[Butterbean1000]

2 hours ago, travelinjess85 said:

I was about to ask if it was safe to do that walk! We are going to Nassau next year and wanted to check that place out. Is it easy to get a taxi? 

So easy.  If you get a good driver, you can tell them when you want to go back to the port and they'll be back to get you.

[travelinjess85]

Thanks all for the help and thanks OP for a great review! Helps tide me over til next years cruise haha. Although it also makes me need to book more on some different ships. 

[heath7767]

Rooms 

We are a family of five, and now that two of my kids are teens and bigger than I am, one of our rare splurges for this trip was to book 2 staterooms instead of one. We’ve always shared one room previously, and while it was never terrible, it was always tight, especially with the shower/bathroom usage.

 

I was thrilled to discover it actually was not a whole lot more to book 2 rooms for our family instead of one. It was still cheaper than all of us being in one balcony. We booked 1439 and 1441 on Deck 1 aft. They were directly across the hall from each other.

1441 was a basic inside that worked fine for my 3 kids. They had two twin beds and one top bunk. It was nothing fancy, but it was clean and met their needs.

 

One of our best surprises on this trip was realizing that 1439 was a deluxe ocean view room. It felt so spacious for my husband and I, and it’s longer so it also included a couch. It looked huge compared to the kids’ interior.

 

But the best thing about deluxe ocean view is 2 bathrooms! One had a toilet, sink, and shower, while the other had a sink and tub/shower. Three showers for our family or 5 felt like a luxury—we only have 2 at home haha! It came in so handy when we came back fairly late from ports and everyone needed to shower before dinner.

 

We also really liked the location. We were just a few steps away from the stairs and elevator. Most of the places we went, like the Lido food and sports court were aft, so it worked great for us.

 

Deck 1 is also convenient for leaving and coming back to ports since that was just one floor below. We didn’t have much problem getting elevators most days except for right when people were coming back from port and going to Lido. We wanted to get our exercise, so we prob made the trip from deck 1-10 on stairs at least once a day going up and almost every time going down. 

 

We never heard noise from our neighbors or the rooms above us. However, you need to know that these rooms are LOUD when you are pulling into ports. I don’t think we were ever in the room while pulling away to know if it’s loud then, too.

 

And by loud, I mean a ton of noise, clanging, and the whole room vibrating for maybe 10 mins or so. We brought white noise machines, and there is still no way you could sleep through that.
 

This isn’t a complaint, because we knew what we were getting with a lower floor, and we also wanted to get up and go to the ports anyway. However, if sleeping in is a priority to you, you’ll want to book a higher deck.

 

Our rooms were very clean, and we didn’t notice any stains or heavy wear in them that some people complain about on the Magic. 
 

We didn’t really need much or interact with our steward a lot, but he kept the room very clean. We were a bit chilly, so we all requested the soft blue blankets on day 1 and enjoyed using those. 
 

It was easy to request extra keys for both rooms at guest services so everyone in the family had access. 
 

Overall, we were pleased with our rooms and absolutely loved the deluxe ocean view. I’m not sure we’ll ever cram into one room again!