My wife and I are well traveled, even though this is only our second cruise. We know a good trip when we see one.

We booked a cruise on the Carnival Magic, part of a group of twenty-five, including friends and relatives. It was a romantic getaway, considering we were celebrating our recent wedding anniversary. We came the night before, on January 3rd, and stayed at the Hyatt, in Ft. Lauderdale, less than a mile from port. The place had a shuttle. Embarkation went smoothly, much more so than my first cruise, which was also Carnival, but that one was out of Miami. In fact, almost everything about this cruise was better.

Our ports of call were: St. Maarten/St. Martin, St. Kitts, San Juan, and Turk. We didn’t make Turk. The seas were too rough to dock. Safety over everything! I was extremely disappointed, to miss out on taking great photos. Debarkation for the three remaining ports went much better than on my previous cruise. Why? I don’t know. We stood in long lines the first time. On the Magic it was off – easy, on – easy. Maybe they refined the system. Read more