For my first cruise ever, I booked with Carnival. It's the more price-conscious, family-friendly cruise line.



The specific ship for my cruise route was Carnival Magic. Each of the ships have their own names and individual amenities.



"At 1,004 feet, this one continued the Dream class tradition of large-scale, bow-to-stern cruise ship fun including the food-and-entertainment space Ocean Plaza, the splashy stylings of Carnival WaterWorks™... and The Lanai, a convenient, scenic half-mile outdoor wraparound promenade deck. In other words, a cruise on Carnival Magic has no shortage of its namesake charm! This is also the ship that introduced the world to Cucina del Capitano®, which serves up Italian favorites fit for a captain. Who can forget their first taste of RedFrog Pub®, with its laid back, not-a-worry-to-be-found atmosphere... plus its exclusive, tasty, not-a-drop-to-be-found (on land, that is) beer, ThirstyFrog® Red. And if you wanted to visit the original Guy's Pig & Anchor Bar-B-Que Smokehouse™... guess which ship you'd check out! Keeping with the times, Carnival Magic features the delicious good times of Guy's Burger Joint™, BlueIguana Cantina™, Alchemy Bar® and RedFrog Rum Bar®."



I decided that I wanted to try as many food options as possible. It required a bit of planning because some restaurants are only open on certain days, certain times, some are included in the cost, some are an additional cost, some need reservations in advance, some have food waiting for you.

MAIN DINING ROOM
-Dinner-
This is the main dinner option that is included in the price of the cruise. You select "your time" dining or a "set" dining time, and you essentially have reservations in the dining room each evening of the cruise. It is a seated three-course meal, and the menu changes each night of the cruise. Sometimes there are themes, and there are always standard options, like chicken breast and broiled steak. Each menu also includes some "Emeril Selects," which are interesting options inspired from Chef Emeril Lagasse. And each menu also includes the option to "upgrade" to steakhouse selects and enjoy higher end entrees for an additional cost. I chose to have dinner in the main dining room - Northern Lights - several times during my cruise. But, here are the menus for the whole 7-day cruise:

Day 1



Day 2



Day 3



Day 4



Day 5



Day 6



Day 7



Day 8



Here are some of my dishes from the above menus.



First, they all begin with bread & butter.



Papardelle with braised lamb, tomato cream sauce, garlic and parsley.



Cornish game hen with root vegetables and pan sauce.



Lemon sorbet.



Spaghetti carbonara with bacon, parmesan, garlic and cream.



Broiled striploin steak with creamy peppercorn sauce, vegetable succotash, and buttered parsley potatoes.



Banana cream pie.



Chilled strawberry and chia seed with sweet yogurt and poached strawberry.



Chicken cordon bleu with ham, swiss cheese, creamy lemon caper sauce.



Carnival melting chocolate cake.



Emeril Selects appetizer - fried tomatoes - Louisiana special, breaded and fried, creole shrimp remoulade.



Poached pig ale and cheddar soup with roasted vegetables, mushrooms and smoked onions.



Penne Mariscos with shrimp, calamari, mussels and tomato cream.



Baked Alaska.

MAIN DINING ROOM
-Breakfast-

While dinner is the biggest meal of the trip, the Main Dining Room also serves breakfast on port days. And, it happensd fo be in the other dining room than the one I was assigned for dinner, so I was excited to get to experience both.



Here is some of what I tried:



Avocado toast with poached egg. Cheese on the side.

MAIN DINING ROOM
-SeaDay Brunch-

On sea days, there is brunch. It is served a little later and has some different options from the traditional breakfast menu.

Here's some of what I tried:



First, some small pastries for the table.



Skillet cake with whipped ricotta, guava preserve, marshmallow & maple butter.



Huevos Rancheros with tortilla, roasted chicken, manchego cheese and fried eggs.

MAIN DINING ROOM
-Afternoon Tea-

During the afternoon on sea days, tea and pastries are served in the main dining room.



I did just a light tea because that's not really my thing.



And, waiters came around with little nibbles - like pastries, cucumber sandwiches and tarts.



And that's it for the Main Dining Room! Stay tuned for more dining options.

"In 2010, Panther Coffee began roasting and developing its wholesale program in the Wynwood neighborhood of Miami. Shortly after, the coffee shop was opened to the public ... Founders Leticia and Joel Pollock have decades of combined experience in the coffee industry. They met at a coffee convention and decided to combine their expertise and open a wholesale and retail coffee company. Visiting Miami in 2008, they quickly realized that although Cuban-style coffee shops were abundant, the specialty coffee scene was nonexistent. They thought this would be a lovely place to call home and to build what is now known as Panther Coffee," according to the coffee shop's website.



"Each single origin coffee we serve have been selected for taste as well as individuality and origin ... After the selection of green coffee, the roasting team defines the specific roast profile to be used. Their goal is to achieve full development and caramelization of the sugars present within the coffee bean, without the conversion of these precious caramelized sugars into carbon, which can result in an ashy or smoky taste."



I went with an iced coffee, which doesn't have all the bells and whistles of some other coffee places. You really get a feel for the coffee bean flavor, which is definitely more on the bitter side.



This is a wonderful. For those who want to know the origins of their coffee and really appreciate the individual flavors of what each bean can offer. I can't pretend to be that knowledgeable; I only judge based off of what tastes good. But, I can appreciate the art.

Grade: B

I'm on an international snacks kick.



A vape shop in downtown Charleston, King's One Stop Shop, has a decent selection of chips, Skittles and some other odds and ends.



I visited to pick up a couple of snacks to get through the snow days.



The garlic steak chips were pretty good - not sure I would recognize that flavor - but they were a little sweet and a bit smoky. The tomato flavor was a tiny bit spicy and sweet. I was a fan of both.



Have you been?

The last stop on my cruise was actually the very reason for taking the cruise at all.



Cruising was never at the top of my bucket list, but visiting all of the national parks IS. And, there are several that are best visited via cruise.



The Virgin Islands are a group of islands that are split between Britain and the U.S. The U.S. Virgin Islands consist of the main islands of Saint Croix, Saint John, and Saint Thomas.



St. John specifically is about 60% designated as a National Park. And that, folks, is the entire reason for this trip. To mark off the US Virgin Islands National Park on my list.



We docked in Charlotte Amalie, which is the capital. Then, I went in search of a quick breakfast before my excursion started.



I landed at Delly Deck, which is a popular diner that has been around since 1976. They offer traditional breakfast fare, like omelettes, pancakes & waffles, hash browns, the works.



I started with bush tea. Bush tea is a traditional morning drink in the Virgin Islands that's made from a variety of herbs, flowers, and fruits like lemongrass, basil, mint, bay leaves, ginger, cinnamon, soursop leaves. Not for me.



I did a single blueberry pancake because sometimes a diner pancake just hits right. This one did.



I also did eggs benedict to fill me up. This was a very homestyle version and could've used some more seasoning. But not bad.



Either way, I was stuffed and ready for my excursion.



My excursion started with a boat ride from St. Thomas over to St. John. On the way over, we did see a few famous spots, which included a house that appeared on Charlie's Angels, the famous dolphin house, Jeff Bezos' yacht and even Jeffrey Epstein's island.



My first stop was Trunk Bay, which was absolutely beautiful. I even was able to find a shady spot and enjoy watching the waves. And, of course, grab a snack at the Trunk Bay Snack Shack.



I had pulled pork nachos with tomatoes and sour cream, which was pretty average. The views, though, you can't beat.