Carnival Magic 2011 – Installment #7 11/14/2011 Embarkation Day!!!

After a long countdown, the day has finally come for us to board the Carnival Magic.  Jim and I must start with coffee.  After appropriately caffeinated, we make sure everything is packed up and luggage tags are on everything.  I double check to make sure I have our parking confirmation.  I also make sure our passports and boarding passes are in the front of my cruise binder.

We arrive to the port and happily hand our luggage over to the porters and gave them their much deserved tip.  We then drive across the street to Galveston Park N Cruise to leave our vehicle in their covered parking lot.  This was our first time to use them, but it will not be the last.

It’s an easy walk across the street to the port.  There were not many people in line at this time.  We took this as a good sign!  After a short wait for the doors to open, we were able to check in very quickly and were given Zone 1 to board.  It wasn’t long before we were taking the obligatory Welcome Aboard photo then crossing the gangway to enter the ship.  My first impression of her… WOW!!!

As is customary, the Lido deck was our first stop.  Jim and Dawson were hungry and I was in search of our first drink of the day.  After those needs were met, we decided to explore the ship and drop off our carry on stuff in our stateroom.

During our time exploring, we were able to watch dolphins playing in the harbor.

Then came the dreaded Muster Drill.  This time, our muster station met inside for the safety briefing.  It was so nice to be able to sit on a comfy chair inside than being on an open deck, squished together with fellow passengers!!!

Sail Away was delayed due to propulsion issues, but that did not stop the deck party!!!

I was ready for dinner… more specifically, I was craving a Warm Chocolate Melting Cake.  So, we went to the my time dining location which was Northern Lights.  Dinner was good and the wait staff was attentive, but the dessert was beyond delicious.  Yes, I am an admitted WCMC lover.

With all of the fun and anticipation of actually boarding the ship, we found ourselves tired and decided to retire for the night.  When we returned to our stateroom, we found our first towel animal of the cruise.

Please come back for Installment 8… Sea Day adventures!!!