We had the opportunity to spend the day and entire evening on the Brand New Carnival Magic now sailing from Galveston.

We really enjoyed this new ship and it will be great having this large and new ship here in Galveston year round. So what did we think of the ship? I thought it was great. Now with that being said I want to give you all some pointers of what to expect. First of all this is a Carnival Cruise. Those of you who have been on Carnival probably know what I mean here. She is a glitzy, flashy floating Las Vegas Resort. Carnival has always been known to have a flashy design and this ship is no different. So if you think, “Las Vegas at Sea” you will be in the right mind-set. Also please keep in mind that Carnival is different than Royal Caribbean or Princess. That’s why one cruise line is called Carnival and one is called Royal Caribbean. Carnival is very laid back and casual and is different from its competitors. So compare this Carnival ship to another Carnival ship, but do not compare it to other lines. 

Life on board

Carnival has always been known as the “Fun Ships” catering to people of all ages.

The waiters sing and dance in the dining room and only on this ship do they have a Maitre’d in the dining room with a fantastic singing voice. The night we were on board he sang a great Frank Sinatra song as we dined. The Piano Bar was hopping, the Comedy club was standing room only, the night club was going strong till early in the morning, there were movies playing on the big screen up by the pool, and the pizzeria is open 24 hours a day.

The Red Frog Pub will be a big hit. They have a special red lager made just for this ship called “Red Frog Ale”. I tried it and it was very good. They also serve some light Caribbean fare as well as coconut shrimp and conch fritters. There is a small restaurant fee for the Red Frog Pub.

We were only on the ship for one night so we only got to see one of the Broadway style shows in the big Showroom. The show was good with lots of singing, dancing and costume changes.

The Spa was incredible. I had never seen a 3-story spa and fitness center, but I have now. The “Serenity” area (21 and above) was a great place to get some quiet time and they also have these awesome 2 person hammocks.

The waterpark is huge with many adults enjoying this new perk.

For those active folks there is a rope obstacle course at the very top of the ship with an awesome view of the ocean once you make it up there.

So all in all there should be plenty to keep you busy and entertained during this cruise.

 More on the Food

We didn’t get to try the “Steakhouse” (additional cover charge) on board but the dining room looked very nice and everything on the menu sounded fabulous.

The “Cucina de Capitano” is a brand new restaurant for Carnival and its decorated with lots of old ship photos and specifically a lot of pictures from all the Captains of all the Carnival ships from the early days of Carnival, hence the name translated to “The Captains Kitchen”. They serve a complimentary pasta lunch in this great Italian themed restaurant overlooking the ocean and then they have a small service charge for the heavier Italian specialties on the menu.

There are 2, two-story dining rooms on this ship serving breakfast, lunch and dinner daily, and as always the dinner menu changes each evening.

The Lido restaurant up by pool had a lot to offer. Besides the traditional breakfast, lunch and dinner buffet they also have a very popular “Mongolian Grill”.

Then by the pool you had the Pizzeria, and the Grill serving your typical grilled chicken, burgers, hot dogs and such.

Out at the very back of the ship, you have a New York Style deli serving freshly made deli sandwiches and a Tandoor styled buffet with lots of great Indian dishes such as the famous Tandori Chicken and Flatbread.

On the Promenade deck not too far from the Red Frog Pub and Plaza Bar you also have sushi served each evening beginning at 5pm. 

Just to summarize, all the meals are included with the exception of the specialty steakhouse and the Cucina de Capitano at night.

Early word on the new Carnival Magic: The best 'Fun Ship' ever

By Gene Sloan, USA TODAY

And the early word is ... it's a winner.

Cruise reviewers and other travel writers who have sailed aboard the Carnival Magic since its debut earlier this month in Italy are almost universal in their praise for the ship -- industry giant Carnival's 23rd at sea.

Anita Dunham-Potter of ExpertCruiser.com, dubs the 3,690-passenger Magic the 'best Fun Ship yet," and John Deiner of CruiseCritic.com calls it "one wickedly entertaining vessel."

To leading Canadian cruise blogger Phil Reimer of PortsandBows.com, the Magic is "a job well done," and Linda Garrison of New York Times-owned About.com declares it "bright and fun, although not quite as over-the-top as some previous Carnival ships."

What's got the cruise press sounding so upbeat? For starters, a number are noting a somewhat dialed down decor on the Magic (at least in some areas) as compared to earlier Carnival vessels -- a change for the better, they say, that has come about since new management took over the line in recent years.

RELATED: Five things you'll love about the Carnival Magic
GALLERY: A photo tour of the Carnival Magic

There's also lots of praise for the ship's deck-top areas, which feature a number of fun new amusements including the first (suspended-in-the-sky) ropes course on a ship and first outdoor weightlifting area (think Venice Beach at sea). Unlike some other big mass-market lines, Carnival hasn't carved off a large chunk of the deck-top area on its latest ship for an exclusive VIP zone, leaving more room for creative, open-to-all activities.

Cruise reviewers also are liking the ship's Caribbean-themed pub and $10-a-head Italian restaurant, Cucina del Capitano -- both Carnival firsts (see our story on the new pub).

As Donna Tunney of industry watcher Travel Weekly notes this week in a story on the ship, Carnival is adding spaces that CEO Gerry Cahill is calling "destinations within a ship ... a new concept for us."

Not everything about the Carnival Magic is drawing praise. Deiner, for one, points to some serious soundproofing issues in cabins as well as some (probably start-up related) service issues. But so far there aren't a lot of complaints.

RELATED: A Cruise Log Guide to the new ships of 2011

The Carnival Magic isn't for everyone, of course. Budget traveler-friendly Carnival isn't a luxury line, for sure (and it doesn't pretend to be), and passengers on the Carnival Magic shouldn't expect the same sort of service and amenities as on some more expensive lines. As industry watcher Anne Kalosh writes this week in Cruise Week, a leading industry newsletter, the line's executives are determined to keep the Middle America-aimed brand affordable, and that means keeping a sharp eye on costs.

Still, as CruiseCritic's Deiner notes, "the buzz on this baby has been pretty good so far." 

Slideshow: Disney and Oceania Top List of 2011's 15 New Cruise Ships

Cruise ship entertainment smackdown: The three hottest new vessels compared

By Gene Sloan, USA TODAY

The skies above the Disney Dream explode with brilliant colors on every voyage during Buccaneer Blast, the largest fireworks display ever on a cruise ship (Disney is the only line to feature fireworks at sea).

CAPTION

Disney Cruise Line

TV talent show judges love to poke fun at cruise ship entertainment, but we're guessing they haven't been on the latest crop of vessels. From top-tier Broadway musicals to big-ticket Las Vegas shows, the new generation of mega-ships is dazzling passengers with a quality and quantity of acts never before seen at sea. Here, USA TODAY's Gene Sloan compares the three new entertainment titans of the waves: Royal Caribbean's Allure of the Seas, Norwegian Cruise Line's Norwegian Epic and Disney Cruise Line's Disney Dream. Which ships deserves the title of cruise ship entertainment king? Read on (for a photo tour of the three ships' many entertainment offerings, click HERE).

Most spectacular production show

Allure: Royal Caribbean goes big with a 90-minute version of the Tony Award-winning Broadway show Chicago: The Musical that remains faithful to the original (offered in the ship's 1,380-seat Amber Theatre). And unlike in New York, where top seats to the show go for as much as $250, tickets are free to passengers.

Epic: An icon of the Las Vegas Strip, the Blue Man Group appears eight times a sailing in the ship's 685-seat Epic Theater — also at no extra charge (in Las Vegas, tickets start at $64.90 a person and quickly climb to nearly $150).

Dream: Headlining a trio of Broadway-style musicals for the ship's 1,340-passenger Walt Disney Theatre is Disney's Believe, an original stage show that features appearances from Cinderella, Peter Pan, Belle from Beauty and The Beast and other well-known Disney stars.

Advantage: Epic

This was a close one, as all three shows are top-notch, but we think the high-energy hilarity of the blue men has the widest appeal.

Most kid-friendly entertainment

Allure: The ship is Royal Caribean's first to feature the DreamWorks Experience, in which characters from Shrek, Kung Fu Panda and other DreamWorks Animation films appear everywhere from stage shows to themed breakfasts.

Epic: The vessel is one of two in the Norwegian fleet to boast SpongeBob and other well-known Nickelodeon characters in poolside entertainment, dance parties and more, and there's even a Slime Time Live! event for those who don't mind getting a bit gooey.

Dream: The ship takes Disney-themed kiddie entertainment to a new level with such technological marvels as digital animated characters in kids clubs that converse with children. Kids also can join Goofy on a ship-wide detective game that uses "magical" card readers to unlock clues hidden in the art on the vessel. And, of course, there's Captain Mickey presiding over it all.

Advantage: Dream

Shrek and SpongeBob may be the new princes of youngster fun, but 82-year-old Mickey is still the king.

RELATED: A first look at Royal Caribbean's Allure of the Seas
GALLERY: A sneak peek at the new Disney Dream

Most eye-popping entertainment

Allure: The 735-seat, open-air Aqua Theater is home to OceanAria, a highly choreographed water show featuring high divers tumbling from towering heights into a 17-foot-deep pool — the deepest at sea.

Epic: Taking place in a specially built, tent-shaped theater that's billed as the first "big top" at sea, Cirque Dreams & Dinner is a circus-themed extravaganza featuring dazzling aerialists, acrobats and contortionists performing around and above passengers as they nosh on jumbo shrimp and beef tenderloin (tickets, $20 to $30 a person).

Dream: The skies above the vessel explode with brilliant colors on every voyage during Buccaneer Blast, the largest fireworks display ever on a cruise ship (Disney is the only line to feature fireworks at sea).

Advantage: Epic

Kudos to the line for taking a chance on something so ambitious.

Biggest party at sea

Allure: The vessel's three-deck-high, indoor Royal Promenade gets its groove on weekly with the ship-rocking '70s Street Party, which features lively music, special effects and cameos from Madagascar penguins among other DreamWorks characters.

Epic: Be sure to bring your white leisure suit for the White Hot dance party, a highlight of every cruise located in the outdoor, adults-only Spice H2O party zone (a pool area that transforms into a buzzing beach club at night). "White Hot" shirts to wear to the party also are available for purchase on board.

Dream: The pool deck on the ship transforms into a giant dance floor (via a clever mechanism to cover the pools) for Club Pirate, a high-tech, open-air dance party featuring stunt elements on every voyage.

Advantage: Allure

Say what you will about cruise ships, but you don't see many land resorts offering this sort of over-the-top extravaganza weekly.

Most entertaining bars and restaurants

Allure: Waiters carrying heaping trays of meats (13 varieties in all) glide from table to table at the Brazilian-themed, $25-a-person Samba Grill, one of the first churrascaria eateries at sea (and one of Allure's record-for-a-ship 26 dining options).

Epic: When it comes to an entertaining bar scene, nothing at sea is as cool (literally) as the ship's Svedka ice bar, a first at sea. Passengers don faux fur-lined parkas to enter the ice-lined hideaway, chilled to a cool 17 degrees, and sip ice-cold specialty cocktails (two of which are included in the $20 cover charge).

Dream: Passengers rotate among three main restaurants that are as much about showmanship as food, including one eatery (Animator's Palate) that transforms into an underwater wonderland where an animated Crush from the movie Finding Nemo talks with diners.

Advantage: Dream

Nobody does dining-as-theater better than Disney.

Most offbeat entertainment option

Allure: Like a number of recent Royal Caribbean ships, the vessel houses its own ice skating rink, Studio B, with stadium seating for 775 people and regular ice shows featuring world-class skaters (in a special-effects-laden How to Train Your Dragon-themed production).

Epic: Look-alikes of Britney Spears, Rod Stewart and Michael Jackson share the spotlight at Legends in Concert, a staple of the Las Vegas Strip that plays weekly in the Epic Theater (they also make a cameo every voyage in the ship's Manhattan dining room). The "stars" rotate every three months, and next up, starting on Jan. 22, are Aretha Franklin, Janet Jackson and Neil Diamond.

Dream: For the first time ever, the bad guys of Disney lore (Cruella Deville, Captain Hook and Ursula, to name a few) get their own musical show, Villains Tonight!, which plays one evening per voyage in the Walt Disney Theatre.

Advantage: Allure

An ice show on a cruise ship shouldn't be possible, should it?

And the winner is ...

Call it a tie. With so much to offer on each of the three ships, it's impossible to choose just one as the new king of cruise entertainment. In our book, all three are winners (for itineraries and other details on the three ships, click HERE).