Day 7: Carnival Magic 7-night Western Caribbean

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FINAL Sea DAY

Day 7 Seaday Brunch

Friday turned out to be a cold, extremely windy, and lightly rainy day. We started the day off at the Seaday Brunch in the Southern Lights Restaurant (3 Aft). (Click here for Seaday Brunch Menu.) They didn’t have those super delicious soufflé like bread things they had at Sunday’s Seaday Brunch. We asked for the bread, thinking that’s what would be brought, but what we received was a large platter with many breads and sweet breakfast pastries. We don’t know what happens when we leave the table and a whole tray of breads and pastries is left at the table, but it would seem unsanitary to then offer those items to another group, but it also would be wasteful to throw all that food away. In any case, we didn’t want any of the breads from that platter.

For brunch, my husband ordered two items – Bagel Breakfast, which is lox and bagel with cream cheese, and he also ordered a chicken entree called Hen alla Diavola. He didn’t care for the chicken entree, but he really liked the lox and bagel with cream cheese. I ordered the same thing I had ordered at Sunday’s Seaday Brunch – the filet mignon, which is listed as Steak-n-eggs on the menu. It wasn’t cooked medium rare as I had requested, it was cooked medium, but I enjoyed it anyway.

We noticed that the servers we had both times for the Seaday Brunch seemed annoyed and were very slow; they were not friendly, they seemed unhappy to be working, and they seemed to be irritated by any requests we had. But we didn’t let that affect our mood – we were enjoying ourselves despite their grumpy attitudes.

After brunch, we went to the Lido deck and discovered how cold, windy, and rainy that day was. Fortunately there is always good hot chocolate available at the Lido buffet, so we both warmed up with hot cocoas.

Day 7 Lido Buffet

While at the Lido buffet, we noted some of the items they were offering for breakfast: Sausage Combo, Red Skin Potato; Pancake; French Toast; Hard Boiled Eggs; various cereals; various yogurts; Blueberry Compote; Strawberry Compote; Prune Juice; Tomato Juice; Sliced Fruits; Cottage Cheese; Various pastries; and so on.

Chocolate Extravaganza

That day there was a Chocolate Extravaganza at the Lido Buffet, and that section of the buffet is blocked off while they bring out the items. The employees were kind enough to allow my husband to photograph the items before the Chocolate Extravaganza began.

The Chocolate Extravaganza items were: Pear Chocolate Cake; Candied Orange; Orange Chocolate Cake; Espresso Palmiers; Chocolate Muscavado; Peach Compote; Chocolate Carre; Pear Compote; Chocolate Almond Cake; Pineapple Compote; Lemon Bacardi Mousse; Mandarin Compote; Chocolate Lemon Cake; Swans; Chocolate Cheese Cake; Chocolate Fudge; Chocolate Diet Cake; Chocolate Cream; Sugar Frosted Walnuts; Rice Pudding; Almonds & Pistachios; Vanilla & Strawberry Ice Cream; Choc Chip Madeleine’s; Strawberry Sauce; Almond Biscotti; Chocolate Sauce; Citrus Sugar Rocks; Caramel Sauce; Marshmallows; Chocolate Fountain; Strawberry & Lemon Jujubees; Doughnuts; Pineapple On Skewers; Melons; Dry Fruit & Chocolate Pound Cake; Chocolate, Rum & Raisin Pudding; Chilean Patties; Banana Fritters; Chocolate Churros; Chocolate Wontons; Vanilla Sauce, Butterscotch Sauce.

There were so many items to choose from, but we weren’t very hungry, so we each took just a couple of items. The Candied Orange and the Espresso Palmiers were both very good.

After the Chocolate Extravaganza, we photographed the items at Tandoor. Those items were: Chicken Kebab; Fish Kebab; Veg Kebab; Beef Stew; Potato n’ Peas; Steamed Rice; Wheat n’ Gram Four Bread; Cheese n’ Tomato Curry; Dahi Bhalla; Kachumber Salad; Papdi; Potato Shakarkhandi; Moong Sprout n’ Greens; and various accompaniments.

Deck 5 Light Lunch and Salad Bar

Then we went to the Promenade Deck, deck 5, midship, where a light lunch was available. Some of the items were: Garbanzo and Spinach Soup; Tomato Cream Soup; Egg Salad; Chicken Salad; Tuna Salad; various meats, cheese, lettuce, tomato, and condiments, along with bread choices. You let the employee know what you want on your sandwich, and they prepare it in front of you

There was also a Salad Bar on deck 5, midship, which offered a good variety of salad items.

Day 7 Lido Buffet Lunch

There wasn’t much to do due to the weather, so we went back to the Lido buffet to note what was being offered for lunch that day. Some of the items were: Beans n’ Walnut; Beets n’ Apples; Corn n’ Cherry; Stir Fried Beef; Vegetable Puff; and Cheesy Potato.

What To Do On A Cold, Windy, Rainy Day At Sea

We were planning to finally try out the Mini Golf that day, but it was way too windy for that. Hardly anyone was out and about on the ship. I think nearly everyone decided to hang out in their cabins and order room service, because we saw a lot of food trays in the hallways.

We decided to go to the Library and play a board game or do a puzzle, and it turned out that a number of other people had that same idea. All the games and puzzles had been taken except for one puzzle – and that’s all we needed, just one puzzle. We did the puzzle, then headed to our cabin to watch movies on my husband’s laptop. It was a very relaxing day. As windy as it was outside, we didn’t feel much movement on the ship; we were pleasantly surprised by that.

Guy’s Burger Joint One Last Time

Because it was the last night, and we wouldn’t have the pleasure of eating a delicious burger from Guy’s Burger Joint after that day until our next Carnival cruise, we decided to skip the Main Dining room for dinner that night and eat at Guy’s Burger Joint. I ate nearly two cheeseburgers! My husband had two cheeseburgers, and almost got a third! They really are that good. But because they are so good, we kept gobbling them up and forgetting to take photos of them! It’s ridiculous! After we each ate our first burger that night, we both realized that yet again we ate the burgers and forgot to photograph them, so we both said that for sure we would get photos of our next burgers. We got up from the table, got our second burgers, put all the yummy toppings on them, sat down, and gobbled them up, again forgetting to photograph them! What is wrong with us?! It’s not our fault – it’s the fault of those yummy burgers that just beckon you to gobble them up.

Day 7 Main Dining Room Dinner

We took note of the Main Dining room choices that night so that I could list them here.

The appetizers were: Beef Carpacio – Shaved parmesan, lemon vinaigrette; Shrimp Cocktail – Traditional cocktail sauce; Flatbread – Bbq chicken, monterey jack cheese; Steamed Mussels – Garlic toast; Mango Cream – Iced mango soup, fresh ginger; Baked Onion Soup – Swiss, parmesan cheese; Caprese Salad – Tomato and fresh mozzarella balsamic, virgin olive oil, basil; Vine Ripened Tomatoes and Chopped Lettuce – Choice of dressing; Kale or Romaine Caesar Salad – House made dressing, shaved parmesan. The Rare Finds appetizer was Frog Legs, Provencale Herb Butter – Warm brioche.

The entrees were: Ricotta Ravioli – Arugula, tomato cream; Tiger Shrimp Creole – Tropical tomatoes, peppers, onions, jambalaya rice; Cormneal Crusted Chicken Breast – Black bean and corn medley, steamed broccoli; Prime Rib – Red wine sauce, grilled onion ring, baked potato; Cinnamon Pumpkin Cheese Pie – Glazed cherry tomatoes, cheese puffs; Featured Indian Vegetarian – Lentils, basmati rice, papadam and raita.

From the Grill: Salmon Fillet – Citrus and pepper rub, broccoli, carrots, red potato; Flat Iron Steak – Pepper, herbs, broccoli, baked potato; Chicken Breast – Roast garlic and herbs, peas and carrots, red potato; Pork Chop – Caramelized onions, stewed apple, mash. Sauces: Chimichurri, BBQ Sauce, Peppercorn, Roasted garlic and tomato tapenade, Béarnaise.

Side Dishes: Corn and Vegetable Succotash; Whipped Potatoes; Baked Potato – Sour cream, bacon, chives; Sauteed Green Beans – With bacon; Steamed Broccoli; Fragrant Basmati Pilaf.

The Port of Call menu items were for the Eastern Caribbean. The appetizer was Caribbean Pepper Pot – Stewed peppers, tomatoes, yams, okra, potatoes and plantain with coconut milk. The entree was Jerk Pork Loin – Slowly roasted pork loin, marinated in island spices and herbs.

Day 7 Lido Buffet Dinner

The featured items at the Lido Buffet for dinner that night were: Striploin; Ricotta Ravioli; Jambalaya; Caribbean Pepper Pot; Steamed Mussels; Cornmeal Crusted Chicken; Tiger Shrimp Creole; Beef Stroganoff; White Rice; Baked Potato; and Sauteed Beans. As always there were other items being offered.

The Shrimp Creole was delicious! I was expecting it to be mediocre, but it was exceptional. We put it over the white rice, and we both enjoyed it.

Hot Chocolate Machine

After our second dinner it was even colder outside, so we got more hot chocolate, and that’s when I learned something I wish I had known days before. The Hot Chocolate machine is extremely easy to use, as most are – just put your cup under the nozzle, hit the button one time (you don’t have to hold the button down as the hot chocolate pours out, as we saw many people doing), and wait until the nozzle fills your cup to the machine’s preset amount. Every cup of Hot Chocolate was the same, the first few sips were yummy –  creamy and foamy, not too sweet and not too chocolatey. But then about half way through the cup the drink becomes way too sweet and chocolatey. I told my husband that was my one complaint, and he immediately solved the problem. He took my cup over to the coffee machine which has a hot water dispenser, and he added hot water to my hot chocolate, and then my drink was yummy again! I’m including a photo so you can see where the hot water dispenser is on the coffee machine. (And just an additional idea – you can mix hot chocolate with coffee and have a mocha.)

No More Pizza

We were planning on giving Pizzeria del Capitano a second chance that night, and even though the FunTimes listed that Pizzeria del Capitano was open 24 hours, we went there before 11:00 p.m., and it was closed. But that’s OK because we had eaten plenty of food, and a lot of that food was really good, much better than Disney Cruise Line’s food.

Overall we were pleased with our cruise for the price we paid, and we have already booked another Carnival cruise for 2017 on the Carnival Sunshine; it’s for the 8 night Eastern Caribbean itinerary that includes Grand Turk, Turks and Caicos Islands; San Juan, Puerto Rico; Saint Kitts; and Philipsburg, St. Maarten. So if you’re considering Carnival Magic vs. Disney Cruise Line, it might be a good idea to give Carnival a try – you’ll save money, and you might even enjoy the food more.