I've spoken to one of the harbor pilots from St. Thomas, and apparently, the Magic always requests to back into the pier there (port side to the pier). That way, the ship can get out of the harbor quickly for the long run up to
Castaway Cay. There are a few things which will influence whether the ship will be allowed to back in. If the harbor pilot feels that the wind and/or currents won't allow the maneuver, they will require the ship to pull straight in. Also, the Coast Guard will sometimes request that the ship's crew drop the lifeboats from a certain side of the ship, which would require them to face that side to the harbor.
So it really is a crapshoot, but you're probably more likely to be facing the harbor in Charlotte Amalie if you're on the staboard side of the ship. The two times I've been to St. Maarten since the new pier has opened, the Magic faced bow-in there, giving the starboard side a view of the cargo pier. You could also get a view of another ship, depending on which side of the pier the Magic is tied to (it's a long pier, and ships tie up to both sides). So in St. Maarten, your side of the ship could be facing the harbor, but your view may be of another cruise ship. Lately, it's been the Golden Princess.
Castaway Cay seems to be up to the Captain. I don't know if there's a better side there. It seems to me that when the ships initially called there, they would pull straight in, and lately they tend to back in. That's just my impression, though. There was a thread on the boards a few months back where people were tracking whether the ship pulled in or backed in to Castaway Cay. In four times there on the Magic, we've backed in three times.
