Carnival Magic 8 Day Eastern Caribbean Ports of Call: St. Maarten, St. Kitts, San Juan, Grand Turk

February 2022

Some of the ports on our cruise itinerary had paused cruise ship visitors before our cruise, so we were not 100% sure if any of our port stops would be changed. Locations were starting to reopen right when we left on our cruise, and Carnival Magic ended up stopping at all the original ports.

St. Maarten from Carnival Magic spa cabin 12038

St. Maarten 9:00 AM - 6:00 PM

We love this island! The people are great, and the beach within walking distance is beautiful. You can take a water taxi ride to the beach area for $7 roundtrip, if you prefer. We wanted to walk through the shops first, so we did that, and then continued out of the cruise terminal, then down the sidewalk to the beach, which is an easy walk of about 1 mile, one-way. 

Beach in St. Maarten in front of Kalua Bar & Restaurant

We rented our chairs from a friendly guy with chairs in front of Kalua Beach Bar & Restaurant. We paid $15 for 2 chairs, and an umbrella right by the water. You could also rent chairs that came with rum punch (I do not know if it was unlimited, as we did not purchase that). The beach and water in this area is beautiful! When you walk farther down the beach, toward the shopping pier and downtown shops, the sand becomes more like the beach near the cruise port in Grand Turk with crushed shells. It is still a nice beach; the sand is just not as soft as it was where we were seated. You can enlarge any photo in this post by clicking on it.

Above: some of the crushed shells on the beach near the west end
Below: looking east from in front of our seat in front of Kalua

With the chairs we rented, we were also allowed to use the bathroom in the bar, and the wifi code. The wifi signal was not strong enough to use by the water. There are benches along the sidewalk by the bar, so we used it there before we left for the day. A bucket of 5 beers with ice from Kalua cost $12, and the guys renting chairs were eager to please. 

View while on our walk back to the cruise port in St. Maarten

We stopped at Amsterdam Cheese & Liquor Store on our way back to the ship for complimentary tastings. This store is just outside the cruise terminal, so it is not far to carry purchases back. There is a public restroom outside at this location. Everyone on this island is extremely friendly, and the prices are fair. Payment was not expected to use any of the restrooms. When we politely declined sales by people on the beach and when leaving the cruise terminal, we were not resolicited.

Two of the ships docked in St. Kitts February 2022

Photos and Activity Schedules from Carnival Magic Cruise: 8-day Exotic Eastern Caribbean from Port Canaveral

February 2022

The photos and activity schedules in this post go along with the previous cruise post.

Additional food and beverage photos 

Above: Breakfast Board (breakfast)
Below: Eggs Benedict with Salmon & side of hash browns (Sea Day brunch)

Above: Signature tower tuna and salmon, side of cheese grits (Sea Day brunch)
Below: Prime rib dinner, ordered medium, second elegant evening (dining room)

Above: Turkey dinner in dining room
Below: Ceviche appetizer in dining room (dinner)

Above: Lobster bisque in steakhouse - delicious!
Below: Australian wagyu in steakhouse (the one cold entree)

Above: Risotto appetizer in steakhouse
Below: Cheese plate in steakhouse 

Although the steakhouse said our reservation had been cancelled,
we each received a confirmed reservation in the cabin

Misc. photos

Above: Main pool on Carnival Magic
Below: spa tepidarium and aroma steam room against back wall 

Carnival Magic Cruise: 8-day Exotic Eastern Caribbean from Port Canaveral

February 2022

Carnival Magic in Grand Turk February 18, 2022.

We went on a 7-day western Caribbean cruise on Carnival Magic from this cruise port in 2018. You can find additional info about the Magic in that post, and more photos in the 2018 Carnival Magic Facebook album. 

Booking and pre-cruise

This is the first cruise we have been on that we booked after the pandemic started. We had two cruises that cancelled, and Carnival was giving on board credits for rebooking a cancelled cruise. I was not initially interested in booking a replacement cruise, as we still had two B2B cruises in November and December 2021 that did not cancel. My husband talked me into it because he could not give up the $600 on board credit! We did let the first cancellation, of the four cruises we had booked prior to COVID-19, go by the wayside when that one cancelled. I was also not excited about this cruise because it was replacing our trip on the newly upgraded Radiance (which we did not get to go on), and we had already been on the Magic a few years ago. The itinerary was a plus though, as it was pretty much the same as the one on the cancelled Radiance cruise.

Many folks in the Facebook group for this sailing said they received wonderful upgrade offers for minimal cost, although we did not receive any offers. Online check-in for diamond and platinum guests opened up 16 days before the cruise, and boarding zones went quickly. We checked in before 8:00 AM, and received boarding zone A03.

View of Port Canaveral from Carnival Magic spa cabin 12038.

Arrival and check-in at Port Canaveral

Our arrival appointment was for 10:00 - 10:30 AM. We arrived about five minutes after 10:00, and the terminal area was quite full. It only took us a few minutes to complete check-in, and then we were directed to the general waiting area. It appeared that there was a VIP waiting area in this terminal that became full right before we completed check-in. An agent walked behind the person completing our last check-in step right before we finished, and told everyone, "No more diamond and platinum." When the boarding process started, guests were called in the following order: guests with suites, diamond guests, and then zone A01. We did not see anyone move toward the boarding area until zone A01 was called. The agent had told us all to board when zone A01 was called (our son had boarding zone A01). We were on board around 11:00 AM. 

Departing Port Canaveral; view from Carnival Magic spa cabin 12038.

Spa balcony cabin 12038

Our son's room steward on deck 6 was just finishing his cabin after we boarded, although our cabin was not ready until after 12:30 PM. 

Carnival Magic spa cabin 12038.

This is a typical spa balcony cabin; however, there are a couple of things worth noting. Deck 12 is the first floor under serenity deck, and there is no roof over the balconies on this floor. I suppose this is nice if you want lots of sun, and the view is better without the roof. However, without a roof, there is no shade, and you cannot sit outside when it is raining. If the balcony door is open when it rains, the floor and foot of the bed will get wet. It rained at least three different times (for only a short period) during our cruise. 

This cabin is not in a quiet area like we expected for a spa floor. We could hear noise from lido deck when on the balcony, or if the balcony door was open, and the overall noise in this room seemed much noisier than we usually experience. We could hear our neighbor's phone ring, commotion inside their rooms, and one day they blared their music on the outside balcony when apparently everyone was inside the cabin (we could not hear any voices). The music in the video above is much quieter than the volume had been right before I started recording.

Dining room breakfast: Corned Beef Hash above,
Masala Dosa below.

Food and beverages

Again, check out my previous blog posts for more details about dining options. Following are a few things that were new on the Magic since 2018, or that I did not write about before.

Breakfast

• Dining room breakfast is still my favorite meal! Corned Beef Hash and Egg was different, and I tried a new item; Masala Dosa. Although Masala Dosa was flavorful, mine did not look anything like the photo posted on John Heald's page. The photo John posted looks more appetizing than what I received (my photo above).

• Sea Day Brunch was extremely packed every morning, and the check-in app was not working correctly two of the days. The salad tower continues to come out differently every time, and the bagels and tomato portion are not included unless you request it. Pancetta Scrambled had good flavor, except I could only eat a small portion of it because it was extremely salty.

Pancetta Scrambled at Sea Day Brunch on Carnival Magic.

One negative about the breakfast foods on this ship, is that the eggs were always undercooked unless they were scrambled. Although I do not like overcooked eggs, I do not like the whites runny either. The Broken Egg Sandwich ran out while eating, as the inside was not cooked. Egg whites were runny in all of the following dishes: Breakfast Board (supposed to be soft boiled), eggs-over-easy, Breakfast Bowl, and Eggs Benedict (at breakfast and brunch).

Lunch

• Guys Pig and Anchor was only open on sea days, and on the day we boarded. The least busy time was right after we boarded, and when we went through a patch of rain one afternoon.
• Cucina del Capitano was open almost every day at noon (no charge for lunch).
• Guys' Burger Joint, BlueIguana Cantina, Carnival Deli, Seafood Shack (extra charge), Pizzeria, and Lido buffet were open every day.
• Sushi (extra charge) and Light Lunch in Ocean Plaza were not open every day. You can check location hours for each day in the app, if you want to plan your meals. I tried to visit Ocean Plaza for lunch the day we were in St. Kitts, and neither location was open.  
• Tandoor, which I loved in 2018, is no longer on this ship.

Complimentary house wine in steakhouse first evening.

Carnival Magic Cruise with John Heald - For Fun's Sake #1

February 2018, Carnival Magic from Port Canaveral

View from our dinner table aboard Carnival Magic FFS cruise

What is FFS, and how do you join?

This was our first time joining the FFS group. Although this was our 15th Carnival cruise, I had only learned about FFS cruises a few years ago. At that time, the cruises were called Blogger's Cruises, and I thought it was a group of bloggers that cruised together with special blog events, or something. Since I maintain a few blogs, I inquired about joining one of the cruises to see if it was something I could become a part of. The reply I received then was vague, and it was not until this year, when the name was changed to FFS, that I fully understood what Blogger's/FFS cruises are. 

FFS stands for "For Fun's Sake." The name of the group has been officially changed to, Cruise with John - For Fun's Sake. Apparently a lot of people, like me, did not understand that the Blogger's Cruises were for anyone interested! The official word I received, says, "John started these sailings with guests that followed him on his blog and so he opted to originally call them blogger's cruises; even though no one was actually a blogger other than himself. Now most everyone follows him on his Facebook page."

When a [Blogger's] FFS cruise is set, the 500 guest spots are filled on a "first come, first serve" basis after the sign-up date starts. We had our Magic cruise booked far in advance, and I did not learn that it had become the official John Heald/FFS cruise until after the 500 spots had already been filled. I sent an email to John/Mischelle with our names asking to be waitlisted, and hoped for the best. About three months later, less than 10 weeks prior to our cruise, I received an email saying we were in! This was very exciting for us because we had met John back in 2003 when he had been cruise director on the Triumph. Also, our adult son enjoys all the Carnival events and activities more than pool or sun lounging, so I knew being part of this group would mean more for him to enjoy. I have provided a link to the FFS 2019 cruise below.

FFS events page 1

FFS activities onboard

We received a weekly schedule of events in our cabin upon arrival. We were able to attend several events, although not as many as we would have liked, because of other activities or excursion plans that we had.

Western Caribbean Ports of Call from Carnival Magic: Cozumel, Belize, Isla Roatan, Costa Maya

February 2018

With the exception of Costa Maya, we have been to all of the ports in this post more than once, ranging from 2003 to the present. You can find additional port and shore excursion information from our previous visits by clicking on the labels at the bottom of this post, or links within this post. I started this blog in 2010, so information prior to that is not provided. That information is probably outdated, anyway! I also have more photos posted in the Western Caribbean Facebook album.

Carnival Magic in Cozumel port Puerta Maya

Cozumel

Cozumel was our first port of call, and our ship was docked there for most of the day. We arrived before the scheduled 9:00 AM arrival time, and we stayed until 6:00 PM. We have visited Cozumel in 2014, 2011, 2010, 2005, and 2003. You can find information about the Deluxe Sail & Snorkel Tour that we took in 2011 in my Carnival Glory blog post. We did not book an excursion in Cozumel this trip.

The Carnival Magic docked at the farthest out dock at the Puerta Maya pier. I thought there were two other ships docked at Puerto Maya (Triumph, and I do not recall the other one); however, the port schedule website only lists two ships for the day we were there. A couple more ships were also docked at the pier next door, across from Royal Village Shopping Center.

Shops at Puerta Maya pier in Cozumel

Transportation Choices: to/from Orlando Airport (MCO), Cape Canaveral, Port Canaveral

February 2018

We flew into the Orlando airport for a cruise from Port Canaveral. We needed transportation three different times: from the airport to Cape Canaveral, from our hotel in Cape Canaveral to the port, and from the port back to the airport. Following are the options we found, and our experiences.

Transportation for three from Orlando Airport (MCO) to Cape Canaveral

• If you are heading directly to the cruise port, the Carnival shared transfer service is $35.99 per person one-way. 
• There is also a link for a private car service on the Carnival page, which looked to be around $66 before tip. This seems like the best choice, if you do not want to use Uber.
• The online cab fare estimator said this trip would cost over $100 in a cab.
• We chose Uber, and the fare was less than $50 before tip. We were happy with the end result of this trip; however, we had some difficulty at the start. The first Uber driver who showed up refused to take us. We are three small to average size adults, and we had three pieces of luggage; one large bag, and two medium to large size bags. He said he did not have room, which was untrue. The second driver who showed up was Murat, and he was great. He had a smaller vehicle than the first driver, and we all easily fit in his car with our luggage in the trunk. I think the first driver did not want to take us that far, and then have to drive all the way back, most likely without a fare (it is about 45 miles one-way). I wanted to report the first driver; however, his name disappeared from the app as soon as he left. I had received a text from him before he arrived, and his number is (407) 439-2406. I will make sure I never do business with that number again, and I will advise others to avoid it. After we waited 10 minutes for him, we had to request the trip again via the app, and then wait for another driver. The Uber app says you have to be ready when requesting the ride; however, at MCO I observed three other passengers also waiting over 10 minutes for Uber drivers.

Map of the area

Transportation from Cape Canaveral hotel to Port Canaveral (Carnival cruise port)

Carnival Magic Cruise ~ 7-day Western Caribbean [Cozumel Plus] from Port Canaveral

February 2018

Sunrise from Carnival Magic cabin 7455

This is a long post, which covers our experience on the Carnival Magic. You can find additional photos in the Carnival Magic album on my Facebook travel page. I will have separate posts for the ports of call, and information about John Heald's For Fun Sake (FFS, formerly called bloggers cruise) activities. Being on this cruise to join the FFS group was an exciting coincidence for us, as we had this cruise booked long before it became designated as a FFS cruise.

Pre-cruise

We checked in online and printed our boarding passes, as usual. This was the first time we experienced "setting an appointment" for our arrival time. We have Platinum status, so I am not sure if we actually needed to schedule our arrival; I chose the first time slot available when I checked us in. 

We purchased the Cheers package, and one Carnival shore excursion beforehand. A better shore excursion price was offered through a different company, so after booking the excursion through Carnival, we filled out their "Best Price Guarantee" form. You can find details for their price guarantee in one of my previous blog posts. There was not much price difference; we received an onboard credit of $5.49 per person. The Cheers package cost including the 15% gratuity was $57.44 per day. Carnival raised the daily price to $59.74 (with the 15% gratuity) at the end of 2017, and it is 10% higher, if you purchase it onboard.  

Arrival and check-in ~ Port Canaveral

Our appointment time was scheduled for 11:30 AM - 12:00 PM, and we arrived around 11:15 AM. Everything was well marked for Priority Boarding, and we were on board in less than 20 minutes. Priority guests had already boarded when we arrived, so we were ushered into the priority lounge, where we had no wait to check-in, and then we boarded the ship. Our son was not able to board with us this time, even though we had our reservations linked together, so were not able to get our boarding photo taken together.

View from Carnival Magic cabin 7455 at Port Canaveral

Balcony Cabin 7455, category 8B

I did not take as many photos of our cabin as I usually do. We had this same cabin on the Carnival Breeze, and the layout is exactly the same. The furnishings in the Breeze cabin were a bit more deluxe than this one. For example, the in-room chair on Carnival Magic was a straight-backed chair with cushioned back and seat only, rather than the soft cozy seat and footstool on the Breeze. You can see the room layout and balcony photos for the Breeze cabin in that blog post.

Carnival Magic cabin 7455; balcony door open, bathroom door on right

Carnival Cruise Lines Shore Excursion Best Price Guarantee

January 2018 claim for cruise sail date February 2018

I had forgotten about the ad Carnival has on their pages for the 110% shore excursion price guarantee, until after we booked our excursion. Fortunately, we had booked our excursion with Carnival, and I recalled the offer within the allowed time frame to submit it. This was my first time submitting a claim like this, and I was impressed with the results.

Photo of Tulum ruins we visited last year.
The excursion we booked with the price guarantee was for the ruins in Belize.

Terms and Conditions for the price guarantee

• You must reserve the excursion through Carnival prior to your cruise. 
• You must complete and submit an online Shore Excursion Best Price Guarantee claim form at least seven (7) days prior to the commencement of your cruise.
• The Best Price Guarantee is available only for exact shore excursion matches, for example, duration of the shore excursion, transportation fees, and the exact same dates of the shore excursion as booked through Carnival Cruise Line. 
• Lower rate must be publicly advertised and available to the general public at the time your claim is filed, as determined by Carnival Cruise Line personnel. (Rates offered on membership program websites, corporate discounts or rates; group, charter, rewards program, etc., etc., or prices available only by using a coupon or other promotion not offered to the general public are ineligible.) 
• Full T & C can be found via a link on the claim form, which I have included under the next heading.