Had to do a little work in the morning, but had a great view. Time for coffee and then we went o Emeril’s for breakfast. Had specialty juice, beignets, French toast and shrimp and grits. Afterwards spent some time in the spa.
Next up was time on the Lido deck, Guy’s burger and some drinks at the Fortune Teller and then enjoyed the Backyard Bash at Guy’s BBQ.
We went to the comedy show, had BBQ for dinner and listened to the Band in the BBQ place for a while.
Welcome to Costa Maya! When we go to Costa Maya, we always go to Maya Chan, but first breakfast from Big Chicken and morning coffee on the balcony.
We did the long walk at the port and was in our way to the bumpy ride. I had to bring my laptop and work for a few hours. The owner asked me about it, but I told him it was a great scenery and I would be able to enjoy the day afterwards.
Back on the ship, time for fries, dessert and afternoon coffee. I spent a while in the Serenity area. We had dinner at Guys BBQ and listened to the band for awhile.
I started off with some time on the treadmill with the great view. Then breakfast at Emeril’s, coffee, beignets and croissant sandwich with sweet potato fries.
We always go to Mr. Sanchos when we are in Cozumel. We get the romance package, which is the all inclusive, with the day bed and a 30 minute massage for each of us. The swim up bar is one of my favorites as well. One of the things I like about Mr. Sanchos is you order food off the menu instead of a buffet. The coconut shrimp is something we always get.
Back on the ship it was time for afternoon coffee, then drinks at Alchemy then we had dinner at the steakhouse and ended the night at the Havana music area.
Did a workout at the hotel and the pool area was so peaceful. We had breakfast in Orlando and drove to the port and was on the ship fairly quickly. The first drink of the cruise was in the Center Stage area. We then checked out our Havana Cabana room, the Havana area and having lunch at Big Chicken.
Time to explore the ship and spend some time at Fortune Teller. Saw Rock Revolution, saw the sunset, had dinner, spent time at the piano bar and ended with late night pizza.
This was going to be our second time on the Carnival Mardi Gras, we drove to Orlando to stay at Avanti Resort. Nice room, gym, cafe, large pool and spa, and pool bar.
We went to Cafe TuTu Tango, my favorite restaurant in Orlando. It is set up as a Spanish artist loft and they have artists working on painting while you eat and he entire restaurant is covered with art. It is tapas and we had pizza, jalapeño macaroni and cheese, Cajun chicken egg rolls, Nashville chicken, and nutella flan. Later we went to Howl at the Moon dueling piano bar. They have a lot of fun shots and drinks. Loved the strawberry shortcake shot with whipped cream. A good start to our vacation.
The last day and a Seaday, I am usually trying to do as much as possible. In retrospect, there was not much I did not do on this cruise. I had a great time and cannot wait to do another solo cruise.
Seaday brunch with a Bellini and Lobster Benedict and beignets. Spa time, the drinks at Blue Iguana and the final Guy’s burger, afternoon comedy, then the none too subtle towel creation that it is time to leave, then spending time on the balcony just looking at the water.
Then time for Alchemy and Karoke at Red Frog, where someone lost ta bet, before dinner at La Cucina. Amazing Garlic Cheese Bread, Fried Calamari, Veal Marsala, Irish Coffee and Dessert.
The piano bar was the highlight of the cruise and the last night was no exception. It was Cinco de Mayo, so there were some fake mustaches. Maxed out the drink package and was able to say goodbye to the other regulars in the piano bar and of course, Henry the bartender and Ben the piano player. What a great cruise!
I had only been to Amber Cove one time before and was not feeling great, so I was looking forward to the port. It was an early morning arrival, and when the alarm went off, I was not feeling it and went back to sleep and thought I might just stay on the ship. When I woke up, I went to breakfast and had coffee on the balcony, afterwards I decided to go ahead and go see the port.
I am glad I did, they had a huge pool and a ton of open chairs. They had a swim up bar, one of my favorites, they served coke, Carnival served Pepsi (Boo!). Plus the lunch of fried food was good.
Back on board there was an afternoon session of Deal or No Deal, a comedy show, drinks at Alchemy and live music. Tonight was the second formal night with prime rib and lobster.
Next it was off to the piano bar and to make up for it being closed the night before. We had fun with props. I reached my 15 drinks, and it was not the only time, during the cruise that I did so.
We had a later arrival in Grand Turk, so I had breakfast in the dining room. Usually at Grand Turk I would get a cabana at Margaritaville, but they were sold out, by the time I started looking at excursions. I had planned to grab a table, but since there was another ship there before we got there, none were available. I was able to get a chair close to the pool.
I enjoy the pool at Margaritaville, as I like pools more than the beach and one of my favorite things are pools with swim up bars. Done and Done. I was on a cruise once and someone told me that she thought the pool at Grand Turk was what she thought a cruise should be, a big pool party.
Back on the ship, was time for a drink or another drink at Blue Iguana and a burrito, then spa time, live music, alchemy, deal or no deal, then dinner and then time for a nightcap at Alchemy since there was no piano bar tonight.
After cruising for a while, particularly in the Caribbean you repeat ports and don’t often have ports you have not been to before. One of the reasons to book this cruise was Half Moon Cay, as I had not been there before.
I started with a workout, then breakfast in the dining room. I had booked the clamshell so I was able to get one of the first tenders. It was about 20 minutes. I was anxious to get there so I could get a choice of clamshells, but I should not have been concerned, I got one in front of the pirate ship and it was a great spot. There were people in front of me. But I thought the location was a good one.
I scheduled a massage for early afternoon, had a sandwich from the deli, as I was planning to eat later since I was going to see the early show, then have dinner and then the piano bar.
Spa rooms get two free fitness classes. So I signed up for the yoga class, as did other people. I was the only one who showed up so we could not have the class, the instructor said if there was only one person, it was considered personal training. I used the treadmill with the great view. I went to the Seaday brunch, with their version of chicken and waffles, the cookies were good. I then spent time in the thermal suite then the Serenity area. I only ended up spending about 30 minutes up on Serenity and used sunscreen but still got some sunburn.
After that I went to Red Frog and then had Guys BBQ for lunch. One thing I enjoyed on the Magic were afternoon comedy shows, as something different to do. After that it was time for afternoon coffee and then time for trivia.
Because I wanted to see the show and be at the piano bar when it opened, I ate dinner early. It was the first formal dinner and normally they had lobster, but on this cruise it was the second formal night. The show was flick and after the show I had time to get a deal closer at Alchemy before the piano bar opened.
Next piano bar and late night snacks after closing.
