Do You Believe in Magic... Montego Bay, Jamaica

Horsing Around in the Ocean 

Wednesday, June 17, 2015 

This day started like many others on the trip with a morning sunrise watch from the balcony followed by morning prayer and meditation time also on the balcony. Despite our later arrival into Montego Bay of 10AM I decided not to jog on this day. Chris still pushed through with his daily 4 miles and then we met up for breakfast in the Main Dining Room. Even at 7:30AM we were able to see the mountains of Jamaica in the distance as we approached.

Morning sunrise at 5:47AM... Yep, I love watching the sun come up! No matter what time!
If you are new to cruising... DO THIS, at least once! It is worth it! 

Selfie-Stick pose from the Balcony!

This one was an accident but turned out OK! 

After we finished breakfast we went up to deck 11 to watch us port in Jamaica. We came in from the northwest and were able to see most of the northwest coast of Jamaica and towns such as Lucea and Hopewell as we pulled into Montego Bay.

A look at Lucea Jamaica as we sailed in! 

This was taken about 1 hour before we got into our final parking space! 

Hello Jamaica is has been too long... well just 10 months but it seems like FOREVER! 
I don't like the lengthy days that come along with Jamaica but the island itself if ABSOLUTELY GORGEOUS and one of my favorites in the Caribbean.

Watching the Pilot Boat and the Pilot get on board outside of Montego Bay!

Hello Montego Bay!

I usually take this traditional picture on embarkation day but the Magic had so much to offer I forgot about it so had to take it in Montego Bay! 

Once we began to back into our "parking spot" Chris and I decided we would do the SkyCourse, ropes course once again since it was not as busy as other guests were preparing to disembark in Jamaica. We were the first ones there as they opened at 9:30AM and were able to go through all 10 traverses 4-5 times each. In fact, it is here where I conquered ALL of the "HARD" difficulty levels on the traverses. This puts a whole new meaning on "American Ninja Warrior"... those people are crazy. I was freaking out with a harness and a parked ship. The contestants on the hit TV show do it all alone and without any protection. Nevertheless, I still consider myself a "Carnival Magic Ninja Warrior" because I conquered all the traverses on ALL the difficulty levels! Oh yeah... GO ME!  This attraction on the Carnival Magic is AMAZING and I highly recommend it! Simple enough for a 5-6 year old to do and challenging enough for even a very dedicated and trained athlete. The minimum height requirement in 42" and only "GoPro" style camera helmets are allowed! 

Time to conquer all of the HARD traverses! Kellie Davis- "Carnival Magic Ninja Warrior" 

Chris LOVED the SkyCourse... Be sure to check it out but remember it is a LOT less busy on port days! 

We knew we had a long day ahead of us as anytime one visits Jamaica, especially Montego Bay, you have to travel to your destination and our excursion was 3-4 hours long so we decided to eat an early lunch at the 24 hour Pizza Pirate! This pizza was pretty good and made fresh just for us! A very easy and hassle-free lunch as we prepared to disembark. Be sure to grab something to eat before disembarking in Jamaica as, like I said before, the travel time makes for a VERY long day! 

Once on land we found the Montego Bay cruise terminal to be exactly the same as it was in 2006, 9 years ago, when we went on our very 1st cruise. Lots and lots of memories began to occur as we relived that cruise with my in-laws! What a GREAT time we had and we were ready for the good time we were about to have! We ran into "Cowboy Comedian" within the terminal as he was about to fly home and then change ships! He was very nice and friendly and even posed for a picture!

Chris and I on our way to our Horse-Back riding excursion!

Another view of our MASSIVE and beautiful ship!

Somethings NEVER change! Same wall and mural as 2006!

He was on "America's Got Talent" in 2013 and while I didn't know of him before the cruise, I felt like I was taking a picture with a celebrity! 

We got in our line for leave for the Horseback Riding Excursion and left for the bus without Chris. Luckily he made it back from the bathroom in time to find our bus because with over 30 buses waiting to take quests around the island it could have gotten confusing. We traveled by bus from Montego Bay to Sandy Shore Bay for our Horseback Riding Adventure. This was a 45 minute trail horseback ride followed by a ride on the horses in the ocean. I have never rode a horse and told that to the guides and was lucky enough to acquire my own personal guide to help me along the 8-10 mile mountainous path. Carlos was incredibly helpful and allowed me to stay next to him for nearly the whole ride. I was able to figure it out and ride by myself for the last 2 miles but I know I would have flipped out had it not been for our guide Carlos! We made it back to the shoreline where we rode the horses on the shore back to the stables before changing and getting on them in the ocean.

A view of Chukka Sandy Beach as we approached from the bus!
The lush mountains and beautiful countryside made for an AMAZING day in Jamaica!

Chris all saddled up on his horse, who turned out to be VERY stubborn! 

A view of Sandy Beach from the tour camp site! It was a gorgeous shore line! 

As we changed and got ready the rain began to fall and the thunder and lightning started to appear. I am not afraid of storms or lightning or thunder but a crazy non-stable horse bucking in 3 feet of ocean water due to the thunder and see lightning touch the ocean on the horizon will make anyone's heart skip a few multiple beats. Despite the rain and my nervousness, this was a very memorable experience and Chris and I LOVED it! We have now been to Jamaica 3 times and to nearly all of the cruise ship passenger tourist areas so while we had a great time, we have agreed that the next time we cruise to Jamaica we will just stay on the ship and enjoy an additional sea day and the ship all to ourselves. The distance of travel in Jamaica always makes for a LONG LONG day so be forewarned if you are planning on doing practically any excursions on this island. 

We are ready to get on our horses and in the water... It's poring down rain! 

We are mounted and ready to go! Let's do this! 
This was bareback so there was no saddle and I felt VERY unstable! It was pretty frightening actually, with the lightning striking on the horizon and thunder! Haha... looking back it is kinda funny but in the moment I was freaking out! 

A video Chris took while riding his horse in the ocean!

Me and my personal guide, Carlos! I will never forget him! 

A view from our bus ride back! There she is... our home away from home! 

Even in Jamaica there is a KFC... Although I did see live chickens running around outside so... Your call! 

A traditional Jamaican marching band playing as we arrived back at the boat!
In my humble but "professionally" accurate opinion... they were "brassy"! 

We made it back to the ship around 4PM, about 1.5-2 hours later than we expected, so we were not able to do the WaterWorks water-slides like we planned. We showered and then went to dinner expected a bad menu and it proved to be one of our favorites. There were so many things on the menu which sparked interest with us and we thoroughly enjoyed all of our selections. Be sure to check out our upcoming food blog for more info and best of all... the food pictures! We watched the sail away from our balcony which started at 6:38PM. We were not sure why we left so late as we were supposed to leave by 6PM and we could tell we had to go faster that evening to make up for lost time.

I am such a NERD... I think this was so cool! While we were in Montego Bay Carnival said they would need to clean and wash our balcony and when we got back we saw the crew members cleaning them... from the top of the lifeboats! It was AWESOME! Check out the video below! 
Balcony washing in Montego Bay- Carnival Magic

Dinner Time... A picture from our Cove Balcony!

Pre-Dinner Picture in the Ocean Plaza!
This is ALWAYS a great pre-dinner spot... They have the Taste Bar, the Ocean Bar and so much more! Go and check it out! 

A Panoramic shot of us leaving Jamaica!
It is a beautiful island! 

Goodbye Jamaica! I am sure I will see you again! 

The last activity of the evening was the Illusionist Show in the Spotlight Lounge. Carnival really hit a home-run with this show as they had a real magician and illusionist flown in from Las Vegas and he and his team were incredible.  They effectively used lasers and sound to augment the show. The 1st scene alone was a him magically appearing from a live helicopter in the center of the stage (on the cruise ship... CRAZY). There were massive scorpions, bodies being cut in half and so much more. They really achieve the WOW factor with this and it is quite possibly the best show we have seen on a cruise ship! 

We then immediately went into the Atrium Lobby for the Madri Gras party. This was a great time of singing and live music and all you had to do to get beads was flash your smile! It was so much fun and for the 1st time in my life I caught some Madri Gras beads! Then we watched the largest obstacle course ever. Over 200 people participated in a Hula-Hoop musical chair style game and it was a great people watching adventure.

Madri Gras on the high-seas!

The Mardi Gras party on board. 

We went back to the room to get our FunTimes (daily schedule) and ended up laying down and then not getting back up! Sometimes we vacation pretty hard and we were tired... who are we kidding ALL THE TIME we vacation hard! We still had fun and it was a GREAT day! 

Up next... Grand Cayman and Ocean Kayaking! 

God is good... All the time

Do You Believe in Magic... Sea Day #2

The Real Fun FINALLY Begins

Tuesday, June 16, 2015

Morning

Our view from our balcony this morning!
The seas are much less choppy!

The sun was out and we were feeling refreshed after a decent night's sleep and smoother seas. We were ready for a FULL day of adventures on the high seas as we explored this MASSIVE beautiful ship. As usual, Chris was up early and ran 4 miles on the jogging track and lifted weights in the gym before I could get out there and run my 2 miles on the jogging track. Today's run was SO MUCH EASIER than yesterday's as the seas were much less choppy and rough.

We will see you soon WaterWorks!

Did 2.2 miles on the high seas! I am feeling good! 

It was still pretty windy but WAY BETTER than yesterday!

Chris and I showered and got ready and went to investigate the Lido Breakfast buffet. While it looked good enough to eat, we opted to get the full service breakfast in the Main Dining Room. The food was very good despite the service being slower than usual but I still think the experience is much better than that of the buffet. Enjoy your vacation and get full service breakfast at the MDR on a cruise... In my opinion the food is better and much less rushed feeling. 

We beat the crowds... It looked good enough but we LOVE the full-service option of the Main Dining Room! Do be advised that the lines are LONG around 8:00-9:30AM!

We knew the afternoon was going to be loaded with activities and after Chris getting a sunburn from overcast the day before we knew we need lots of sunscreen so we went back to the room to get lathered up. We headed towards the WaterWorks water park before the crowds... or so we thought. Despite it only being 9:45AM there was still a line of nearly 20-30 people kids. We decided to stay in the line because we really wanted to have fun and live like a kid! This water park, WaterWorks, had 2 large water slides, 2 small racing slides for the toddlers, and a very large splash pad area. It was amazing and so much fun... especially for being on a cruise ship. Cut loose and have fun... like a kid! Sliding down a water slide in the middle of ocean in a thrill that EVERYONE should experience at least once in their lifetime!

Chris and I on our way to the water slides! 

A view of the middle and aft of the ship from the top of the water slides! 

Chris going down the TWISTER water slide. 

Here are the height requirements for kids to go down either of the water slides. 

We had a GREAT time at WaterWorks and I highly recommend it to ANYONE cruising on the Magic!

Me riding down the TWISTER water slide... This was about my 4th time to go down this one! 

Here is an overview of the WaterWorks Water Park. It pretty much outlines all it has to offer! I apologize about the lack of steadiness...It was still pretty windy! Enjoy! 
WaterWorks Introduction

After having fun with the kids we decided to go and hang out with the adults on the Serenity Deck. We were lucky enough to get a large comfortable hammock and laid there for over an hour before realizing we were hungry and wanted to get lunch.

A view of the Serenity Deck from the stairs up to the water slides.

Time for some SERENITY deck! 

We opted to avoid the Lido buffet as this seemed to be where all 4,700 people congregated continuously. On the Lanai deck there was an Oceanside BBQ offered which was much less crowded and offered a delicious and LIVE BBQ on the open decks. If you sail on the Magic I would recommend trying this lunch option on Deck 5 instead of the insanely busy Lido buffet. The food will be better, the lines will be shorter and the experience is more unique! Try it out... You will not regret it!

The Oceanside BBQ offerings! It was delicious!
Avoid the lines and check this out for Sea Day lunches! 

A look behind the scenes of the Oceanside BBQ... Lots of workers getting ready for us!
Carnival really knows how to do service! 

Afternoon
After lunch as we were walking around the ship Chris noticed he was missing his Sail and Sign card so we immediately went to Guest Services to get him a new one. Another perk of FTTF is our own priority line at Guest Services, which meant we could bypass the otherwise long line of 5-10 people at any given moment. They discontinued his previous card and set him up a new folio number and we were ready to go back out and have some fun! We decided to go back to our balcony and enjoy the sun and the beauty of the open seas, especially since we had missed it the previous days. The time of day was perfect for sitting on the balcony as the lifeboats above us provided us with nice shade to prevent burning! 

We enjoyed the balcony for quite some time before headed down to the Spotlight Lounge for the Love and Marriage show. This is a great show because you get to hear stories from real couples on the boat. We knew there were people getting married on the boat as they board just right before we did but we didn't realize how many people were married on board and were honeymooners. There were 4 couples who got married on board and over 10 couples who were honeymooning, of course not all of them were in attendance at this show as some of them were still in their cabins! This show was not as funny and comical as that we have seen on Royal Caribbean and even other Carnival cruises but since there is no way of knowing what is going to happen and it depends on the other guests response it can vary from cruise to cruise. None the less, we had fun watching the other couples relive some of their funny stories!

The sun is out and so are the crowds! I swear all 4,700 guests were on a deck chair!

This is what you will expect on the Carnival Magic (or any large ship for that matter) on any given day... Especially a sunny day! Be forewarned and get there early if you want a deck chair! 

The next thing on our afternoon agenda was Tea Time, which proved to be one of the biggest surprises and one of our favorite things to do on Sea Days. We were greeted by the Main Dining Room staff and given hot water and tea varieties. Then we were served delicious cakes, scones, macaroons and even fresh strawberries and cream. This was very high class, especially for Carnival, and we thoroughly enjoyed it! This is something that is not to be missed while on the Magic! 

Since I do not care for tea we went to the on board coffee shop and got my usual iced Vanilla Latte and let me just say... It was not Starbucks! I remember how well I enjoyed the actual Starbucks on board the Royal Caribbean Navigator and I was very much let down! Then Chris decided to join the singing ranks and participate in karaoke. He sang "Wonderwall" by Oasis and did a fantastic job!

Chris singing "Wonderwall" during Karaoke time!

Evening
Now it was time to clean up and go to another wonderful dinner in the Main Dining Room. Chris went to play fuse ball while I got ready and went undefeated against his opponents, he dominated his opponents never allowing more than 2 goals in any match... But he was impressed with himself and had fun and that is all that counts. We had been arriving for dinner around 5:30PM despite the dining room opening at 5:45PM. Carnival was consistent with being on time and in most cases early which I very much appreciate. Since Chris got caught up in his game he was late getting ready and we did not make it to dinner until nearly 6PM where we found a line of about 40-50 people deep. We were still seated and ordering with 15 minutes and this was also consistent with Carnival. Overall the service proved to be consistent and in some cases better than that we have experienced in the past with both Carnival and Royal Caribbean. During our dessert time we were brought a cake to congratulate our anniversary and additional cruise with Carnival. The waiters sang to us and Chris and were put on the kissing spotlight. It was loads of fun and a great memory!

Our waiter was so fast that I missed taking a picture of the entire cake!
I love you Chris Davis and cannot wait to spend our next anniversary sailing with you!

Then we headed to the Comedy Club for some comedy by "Cowboy Comedian" Jon Weddling. This was a "PG" show and family friendly and there was standing room only! We only missed a few minutes but we were left in the back. His show was hilarious and we both enjoyed it! Since the comedy club had both "PG" and Adult shows they required us to completely clear the venue at the end of each show to ensure no kids remained in the audience. While they cleared and cleaned the venue we went to take comedic pictures of us dressing up like Pirates. Poor Chris didn't have any formal clothes so this would be the one picture we would buy this cruise! 

We went back for the adult comedy show in the Comedy Club and I was highly offended by amount of cursing and topic discussion. There were 2 more shows that evening but we both agreed this style of comedy was not for us. A word to the wise for those who are going to the Comedy Club... The adult shows are pretty bad so be prepared. The "PG" are more highly attended because they are earlier and have added people in the addition of kids, so be sure to get there early if you want a seat. Also, don't look at the line to get into the Comedy Club and think "Oh wow... never-mind". Despite the length of line you will more than likely be able to get in and find a seat. The venue holds over 350 guests and is quite large. We enjoyed the Comedy Club but be forewarned of these tips before you go! 

Comedy Club time! We did have some laughs but again, know it can be vulgar! 

We explored the ship a little bit more that evening before going to bed for the night since we would be in port tomorrow at Jamaica! It was a great day of exploring the ship and having FUN! 

Next up... Jamaica and Horseback Riding in the Ocean! 

God is good... ALL the time! 

Do You Believe in Magic... Sea Day #1

We have had our FILL with Tropical Storm "BILL" 

Monday, June 15, 2015 

Morning
Despite not being able to sleep most of the night due to the massive amount of swaying of the ship, I was up and at 'em by the regular 6AM. Chris had already left to go jogging by this time and completed 4 miles on the jogging track. I on the other hand was only able to make it around the track 1 lap before I had to stop because I was not able to stay on my feet. We didn't realize it at the time but we were facing tropical storm "BILL" and it's 50+ MPH winds! It was pretty intense but will make for some GREAT memories! I finished my 2 miles on the treadmill in the gym. Then Chris and I went to play our traditional game of mini-golf. Chris won this time by 1 stroke as we played match-play. I will have a rematch on the Carnival Triumph in November... you're going down Chris Davis.

This picture does not even begin to describe the crazy seas.
Notice all of the empty deck chairs! Everyone was inside! The Pool was even closed!

Chris playing (and winning) at Mini- Golf. 

A video of the waves, winds and choppy seas!

Another video of the crazy day at sea we had on Monday!

The Main Pool will give you a real idea of how crazy it really was! 

After showering and preparing for the day we went to the Seaday Brunch in the Main Dining Room. This was just as we remembered it on the Conquest in 2013 as it offered both breakfast and lunch, even dessert! During the entire meal the plates and tables were swaying and the drinks were spilling over randomly. Even the wait staff, who spend their lives on moving vessels, were feeling the waves and having trouble standing and walking.

Sea Day Brunch is AWESOME and you should check it out while on Carnival ships!
They serve from 8:30AM to 1:00PM!

This was taking around 10AM and the seas were especially choppy!
Notice all the waves in the background!

 Upon completion of our breakfast we went to guest services to try to plead our case to open the balcony. They were nice but were almost laughing at me as they were not allowed to open these Cove Balcony rooms since they were only 15-20 feet above the water line. A Cove Balcony is actually in the hull of the ship, this is why they are so close to the water level. The potential for wave surges were too high to warrant opening the balconies. I was very nice but wanted the record to show that I paid for a balcony room and now have missed a FULL DAY of using it! We were compensated 1 free drink each but I still feel as if this was not enough.

This is the sign that was posted at Guest Services. We were traveling just on the outside of the center of the storm. The wave surges were 12-15 feet! 

A more detailed picture of the storm and our course!

We went to the Captain's Intro, where we were introduced to the Captain and his officers followed by a Fun Aboard and Fun Ashore show that highlighted all of the activities offered both on board and on land. If you are new to cruising or new to the itinerary you are sailing I highly advice you to go to this show on the 1st Sea Day. It is offered on all Carnival ships and is worth the 45 minutes. Since our itinerary had changed and the times in port had changed, all of the shore excursions had to be rescheduled for all 4,700 people on board. This was a nightmare and a hassle but Carnival handled it very well. It was confusing but when it was all said and done, they took care of it and of us! I was impressed!

This was the info we were given for Shore Excursions. You had to find your excursion and starting time and then look for your new time. It was somewhat confusing but once again I was impressed with how Carnival handled it! 

We did in fact have an excursion that was booked with a private company, not with Carnival, so we had to deal with the hassle of calling and emailing them and try to reschedule. It was pain and took over an hour at Guest Services but we were able to get it cancelled and then book a new excursion through Carnival for Cozumel. 

Afternoon
We went to Cucina del Capitano for the complementary lunch pasta bar. This came highly recommended from Cruise Critic and we were anxious to try it out. The food was delicious and I would go there every day it was offered if I sailed on the Magic again. If you sail on the Magic (The Dream offers it too) be sure to check it out on Sea Day lunches! We spent the next few hours enjoying the aft hot-tubs and meeting some amazing fellow cruisers from Texas. The sun was not shining but Chris still managed to get a sunburn.

The beautiful entrance to Cucina del Captiano.

The sun finally made an appearance and you could literally hear the whole ship whoop and holler with excitement. We knew the sun meant even more of a burn so we went back to the room to get ready for dinner. As we entered our cabin we saw some deck workers in our balcony ready to open the massive and heavy steel doors. Within minutes our balcony was open and we felt like our vacation had FINALLY started. We got ready for dinner and spent nearly an hour in the shade of our balcony watching the waves roll by. Both of our mindsets had changed and were ready to have the time of our lives.

These chairs have been calling my name since Sunday at noon!
It is FINALLY time to enjoy them! 

The view we had from our balcony!

Balcony time had finally started! Thank you LORD! 

1st official balcony selfie! So incredibly excited! 

It was formal night and we were going to make the most of it... even if it meant Chris wearing jeans and tennis shoes, which he did! We went down to the Ocean Plaza to meet James, the cruise director (Not a fan... at all), and the Captain. This is the second ship in a row wherein we were the first to take a picture with the Captain. Most cruise ships do this or some type of Meet and Greet with the Captain on the 1st formal night and it is such a great feeling to meet the captain and take a picture with him! Take 10-15 minutes and get a picture... you will not regret it! This will be a memory we will always have as everyone is all dressed up and there's Chris in jeans and a polo shirt! We will never forget... Love memories like this!

Formal Night #1... Ready to go!  I am so lucky and grateful that I packed this dress in my own suitcase and not the garment bag! 

Chris and I on formal night from our balcony!

Chris and I with James, the Cruise Director!

Chris and I with the Captain of the Carnival Magic!

Evening
Dinner in the Main Dining Room was outstanding and the menu featured Filet Migon and Lobster tails. We wanted to make up for lost time so after dinner we spent over and hour on the balcony before going to the 70s music trivia in the Ocean Plaza. We did not do well on this trivia but wanted to keep this theme for the night so we headed to the Vibe Nightclub for 70s and 80s night! It was awesome to dance and have fun listening to classic 70s and 80s songs. However, I think we enjoyed the people watching more!

The 1st time Chris and I have been "clubbing"! 70s and 80s night was a LOT of fun! 

We were tired from a lack of the sleep the night before so we called it a night early at 11:30PM. The day started off with some "waves", literally and figuratively speaking, but it ended well and we knew our vacation was going to be AWESOME! 

Next up... Sea Day #2!

God is good... ALL the time!