Bing-Bong. The sing-song notes perked up our ears and we lifted our eyes up to the ceiling in anticipation for the announcement. The crisp voice of the cruise director rang out with instructions about what activities were upcoming, and every member of the family smiled. In the goofy way that pre-teens are prone to speak, my oldest son said it best-“Ah, nostalgia!” The sound of the chimes brought us all instantly back to our first cruise and gave us an aura much like that of coming home.
When we signed up for our first family cruise aboard the Carnival Magic none of us really knew what to expect. We all, parents and kids alike, had enough preconceived ideas about the cruise experience to wonder whether it would really be the kind of vacation we would enjoy. Would we be bored? Would we feel trapped? Would we get seasick or even sick of the sea?
Not only did none of those things happen, but it was exactly the opposite. We had the time of our lives, made great memories, and overwhelmingly agreed that this was a vacation experience we would be glad to repeat. That chance came when we were invited to spend the day on the Carnival Magic. I was excited to sit back and watch how the kids would respond to the encore performance, and to judge from their reactions whether the things they had enjoyed two years before would be just as entertaining without the freshness of the first time.
Of course, they stepped onto the ship like they owned the place, possessing a confidence like that of knowing something well enough to feel at home. Not only that, but they had plans. They knew that we only had a few hours to hit the best parts of the ship, and they didn’t want to miss a moment.
So, what were the things onboard the Carnival Magic that called them like a siren’s song?
- Waterworks: It’s hard to miss the splashing and swimming masterpiece that is the water playground aboard the Carnival Magic, but even though it is like wonderland to a kid, we spent very little time there on our first cruise. Since we cruised in November, it was just a tiny bit too cold (and windy) to really enjoy the waterpark, but the August weather in the Gulf was perfect for as many races as was humanly possible down the twirling slides.
- Sky Course: There is only one thing that could pry them away from the Waterworks, and that is the Sky Course-the first ropes course at sea. In fact, this would have been stop #1 if it had been open when we boarded the ship. Of course, it’s easy to see why a kid would love the course, but this was also my favorite spot on the boat. Once the kids are on the course, they are locked in and can’t go anywhere other than around and around. That gave me a little break from counting heads to sit back and enjoy the ocean views.
- Pizza Pirate and Unlimited Ice Cream: Really, what kid isn’t going to love that? Pizza Pirate has become legendary in our family for having the best pizza in the history of ever. The kids couldn’t get enough, and since it was one of the only restaurants on the ship open 24 hours, they could have it whenever they wanted. I honestly thought that they had to be over exaggerating, but I tried a piece on the last day of the cruise and it was fantastic. I may or may not have snuck out of the room to grab one last slice before we had to leave.
- Sports Square: The Sports Square kinda plays second fiddle to the awesomeness that is the Sky Course, but after so many rounds on the ropes, it starts to look appealing down below. The mini-golf and the giant board games are so much fun here, and there are plenty of activities to appeal to all interests. It’s a great place for family time.
- Cherry on the Top: If you ever really want to have a visual understanding of what a kid in a candy shop looks like, this is the place. Basically, they have candy of every kind in buckets, barrels, and bins. There are lollypops the size of your head! It’s candy overload. Tragically, Cherry on the Top wasn’t open while we were onboard during our second visit to the Magic. The sadness on the faces was extreme, as they pressed their faces to the glass and drooled. Sorry, to whomever had to clean off the smudgy finger prints and tongue marks. We promise the next time, we’ll try to control ourselves.
~Carnival Cruise Lines hosted my family aboard the Carnival Magic. They did not require that I express a particular viewpoint and all opinions are my own.~
I went on the sister ship, the dream, and it was so much fun!
We’ve never even been on a cruise! But it’s so good to know which ones are great for kids, thank you!
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Looks like a lot of fun…we’ve done a couple of Carnival cruises, and one with the kids, but the last one was hard…the kids were sick and the baby was…well, a baby! Now that they’re older (2 and almost 5), I’d love to go on another one…with children who are WELL…it’s hard traveling with sickies.
The candy store would probably be my son’s favorite place to be!
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