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.