On January 29, 2012 Rich and I took our first cruise. We went on the Carnival Magic, a new ship sailing out of Galveston, TX. It stopped on Cozymel, Grand Cayman and Montego Bay, Jamaica. We left on Sunday. Monday was spent at sea - a very rough sea. According to seasoned cruisers it was unusually rough. My lunch menu was Dramamine and Pepto Bismol. That helped but it was tough. That night we went to a show and watched the spotlights swaying pretty bad. Even the cruise director mentioned how bad it was. On the walk back to our cabin I was literally bouncing from wall to wall. Luckily we woke up to calm seas on Tuesday and it stayed that way the rest of the trip. Phew!
We absolutely loved the cruise! I was afraid I might freak out when I couldn't see land or other boats but that was not a problem. It took us most of the week to explore the boat. It was as long as 3 football fields and 14 decks tall. Our cabin was on deck 2 in what they call a cove balcony. We really liked being close to the water and really enjoyed the balcony. The room was quite spacious and comfortable. Our room key worked the lights in the cabin. Upon entering we had to insert the key into a slot for the lights to come on. When leaving, we removed it and the lights went off. What a great energy saving program and source of anusement for me.
We chose "our time" dining which was really nice since we could eat whenever we wanted. Most nights we went to the main dining room, also most breakfasts. Lunches were spent at the many buffets. We had 2 "dress up" nights which was nice. The food was wonderful. Even with my lapband I was able to enjoy a wide variety of dishes. Every night we met new people - everyone was very nice. Most were seasoned cruisers and gave us a lot of tips. Every night in the dining room they dimmed the lights and the wait staff danced for about 5 minutes. Quite amusing!
Here are some pictures from the inside of the ship. Everything was brand new and shiny. We saw three Vegas type shows and 3 comedy shows. There was lots of various entertaiment everyday including trivia games, live bands and karaoke. Regretfully I couldn't talk Rich into the karaoke. The casino was fun but not very profitable for us. There was one deck full of shops, luckily not very profitable for them.
A good chunk of our time was spent on the outside decks. There were two pools and numerous hot tubs. There was a large water park - Rich went down both slides. We played miniature golf, pool and Rich went on an overhead ropes course. We got in lots of sun and relaxation time, especially enjoying the adults only Serenity Deck. I mostly relaxed and read!
Our first stop was Cozymel. We got off the ship and shopped for about an hour but didn't have any excursions scheduled. It was quite colorful!
The second stop was Grand Cayman. We had previously scheduled an excursion to swim with the dolphins and stingrays. There was no dock in Cayman so we had to take what was called a "tender" - a small boat that transported us from the ship to shore. From there we took vans to where the dolphins were. We then boarded another boat for a 5 mile ride to Stingray City, a beautiful sandbar in a cove. There were numerous other boats there. It took a little courage for me to exit the boat via a ladder but I finally summoned all my courage and did it. We were chest deep in the bluest water I have ever seen surrounded by stringrays with a 5' span. These creatures were extremely large and incredibly soft and we had a great time playing with them. Of course there were professional photographers with steep prices but these pictures are priceless to me. The underwater pictures were taken by Rich.
Getting back on the boat via the ladder was another challenge but I managed. We then went back to where we started with the dolphins. We donned life vests in preparation for our swim with the dolphins. Again - another ladder! I just could not do it with a bad knee and sore shoulders from the previous ladder so I finally just jumped in! Hence the wonderful hairdo in the pictures. Again, there was a professional photographer and we ended up purchasing pictures and a DVD. This was a once in a lifetime experience!
Stop 3 was in Montego Bay, Jamaica. We investigated exursions before hand but none got very good reviews so we decided to pass. We were warned about getting off the ship and being accosted by drug dealers. That didn't sound like much fun so we stayed on the ship. Actually, excursion day is the best time to say on board since we almost had the boat to ourselves. We really enjoyed it.
Being in the middle of the ocean with almost nothing around you is great for viewing sunsets and sunrises.
Although while sailing we didn't see many other boats we apparently were not alone. We saw quite a few other ships while at the various ports. The shear size of these ships is amazing.
Every night when returning to our cabin after dinner we were treated to chocolates and various towel sculptures created by our staff.
All in all our experience was fabulous and something we will ever forget. The boat was georgous, the food was wonderful and the staff was fabulous. I don't have one bad thing to say about the trip and would recommend it to anyone who hasn't already tried it. This was our first cruise but it won't be our last!!!
