TravelBluebird

@pcvtmom That is so special! We were having fun with geography trivia in the car on the way home talking about the most populated countries in the world, and when we got to Indonesia, grandkid said “That is where Ekka is from!”. They loved our wait staff also; such a great experience.

By the way, we have squeezed all 6 of us in our Ford Explorer WITH all our luggage, safely for our trip back from the airport. We had 1 of those extra Carnival folding bags all filled up on the way back, and were worried we couldn’t do it, but we did! 🎉

@pe4all January is only 8 months away (OK, that’s an eternity when you can’t wait to get on the ship!). Everyone LOVED the cruise—Magic is great for a family cruise; we have been spending time in the car ride just now saying what our favorite thing was, and our favorite port. Overwhelming favorite thing was the family dinners each night when we all came together at 6–even the grandkids picked that! No one could decide on favorite port—we liked them all for different reasons. Definitely going to plan another family cruise!!

You are so welcome @Hogladyrider! We are driving from the airport now Nd half of us are already asleep in the car! I’ll be sure to link to my videos when they are ready!

I’m watching Southwest‘s live TV and evidently there has been a ground stop at Atlanta airport this morning! So glad we are not flying through Atlanta as we normally do for a cruise!

Thank you for the info @elklemi! It seems at least like our area did not get a serious tornado

Due to the weather our flight is going to be much longer than usual—-over 3 hours from Ft. Lauderdale to Nashville! Going around the weather? Headwinds? Bought the $8 internet on Southwest to entertain myself. We have over a 2 hour drive home…lots of flooding advisories, but we think the severe thunderstorms and tornado warnings will have moved east by the time we land. Our homes had multiple severe thunderstorm warnings and even 2 tornado warnings yesterday and.last night! We are glad we didn’t travel yesterday as there were big storms and tornado warnings along our route home. I hope y’all reading this were not badly affected by the severe weather. For planning references if you ever fly from FLL, there is quite the long line at TSA for the early morning flights! TSA Pre was a short, easy line though. We left the hotel at 5am and got to the gate after baggage, printing boarding passes, TSA, getting water, restrooms, etc. about 10 minutes before our flight boarded at 6:20. We had 1 overweight bag by 3 pounds that we had to shuffle things around into other bags at the gate. Our hotel had a scale to weight baggage but it was $1 a pop so we didn’t do it. We also ended up with 1 jammed luggage handle we couldn’t get to retract.

We are headed home this morning on a 6:50am Southwest flight. Supposed to be leaving on time but will have a delay in air due to weather. Boarded in the middle B group and nothing but middle seats left! I truly dislike the Southwest gate shuffle. Fell asleep last night at 9:30 so unusual for me, and I hate to report I have a scratchy throat. I hope I don’t catch the cruise crud. DH has a cold; everyone else doing OK. Wake up call at 4:15am. Ugh, but i slept enough due to falling asleep so early! Hotel had a free airport shuttle. DH forgot his wallet in the room and had to do a sprint to get it. Glad he remembered! OK plane door closing!

@KKB I am just like you—just because a cruise isn’t perfect doesn’t mean I don’t enjoy it! And I very much enjoyed my Magic cruise, As did every one in my family; they all want to cruise again! Also, if you like the bigger ships, I highly recommend the Excel class Carnival ships as well. I have older LIVE blogs on Jubilee, Celebration and Mardi Gras here on Cruise Critic.

We were very pleased when we got to the hotel that one room was ready so we could drop off the luggage and change into bathing suits for the pool. We offered various amusements to the family…waterparks, boat rides, back to Miami, but everyone is exhausted! I’ve been sitting in the shade by the pool catching up this thread for y’all, kids been playing, DH having a quiet nap in the cold air conditioned room, A nice relaxed ending to our trip! We’ll pick a place for dinner tonight. Our flight is at 6:50 am. YUCK but we saved a ton of money to leave tomorrow really early on the flight no one wanted on Memorial Day. The hotel has a free airport shuttle so we’ll pile in at 5am and off to BNA (Nashville). Let me know if you have any questions or comments! Thanks for following along; I’ll also have links to YouTube videos up after I get home, and I’ll link them here for you.

So, disembarkation was easy, but was the system broken? No app notifications or announcements in pubic areas seemed weird. Anyway, the line moved quickly also once off the ship. Instead of the usual giant warehouse of luggage with numbers, the luggage came out on conveyor belts in zones B,C etc. depending on your disembarkation number. I’ve never seen that before! We all walked off with the facial recognition, no passports had to come out. We were planning an Uber, but were going to be flexible and if we saw a taxi or shuttle we could take, we were going to do that so we didn’t have to wait. Right when we walked off, we saw a guy with a sign for a shuttle to Ft. Lauderdale airport. We inquired and he was happy to take us to the Courtyard Marriott Ft. Lauderdale airport, where we were staying. $20 a person (half the price of the Carnival shuttle), so we hopped in. Lots of room for luggage, air conditioned and cold waters for everyone (Mercedes van). had to wait just a short while till the shuttle filled up. company was ridemiamiservices.com . Also offered to give tours, but at $100 an hour was a bit much for us.

Disembarkation morning! Beautiful views of Miami from our balcony; not hazy like when we left. We decided on breakfast in the MDR (Southern Lights) so we didn’t have to fight the crowds up on Lido. Our scheduled group was 22, which was estimated to leave the ship at about 9:05. We got down to the breakfast about 7:45. We didn’t know reservations were required, but we made them on the spot in the app and no wait—not terribly crowded. I did the most important thing first—check in for our Southwest flight which leaves 6:50 tomorrow, right the second we could check in. YAY; group B, not group C. Nice breakfast menu; I got the avocado toast with poached eggs (tiny bread LOL) and some hash browns and orange juice. Kids had waffles and pancakes. DH the corned beef hash. We sat there as long as we could justify, but we didn’t hear any disembarkation announcement on the loud speakers AND we got no notifications in the app. About 8:45, we walked to the Atrium. Still no announcements or notifications. I asked staff what number we were on, and they sort of shrugged and said it didn’t matter at that point, so we got in line and disembarked! You can see my iPad which I used to get my Southwest Boarding pases hiding behind the breakfast menu. The line in the Atrium to disembark the ship.

Well…maybe not quite over. After tucking DH in bet with his book, I had to have my final Pizzeria del Capitano delicious, true Italian style pizza! LONG line. Miraculously, however, no one in the entire front of the line wanted the Margarita Pizza, so i was in line less that 5 minutes. Last pizza trip put my steps for the day at 19,000, Which is not a problem when I’m not in an RA flare up; so glad that resolved. Brought the pizza back to my balcony, and watched the moon and the water. The moon was SO red when it rose that it tricked my iPhone…the first few photos made it look like the sun was out at night! I was a little worried I’d missed the apocalypse while on the ship, until the moon rose a bit more. When it got more yellow, I got some nice images of the boat wake and the moon. Also, I saw 3 cruise ships headed in the opposite direction in a line on the way to the Caribbean…all the Saturday departures just starting their week of fun in the sun!

DH and I split off for some last night on the cruise as a couple fun. We made our last stop to say goodbye to Zora at the Alchemy Bar. Then we headed over to the Magic Atrium for the White Night Farewell party. I am used to the White Night being a deck party, so this was definitely new for me. I wasn’t sure how I’d like an indoor White Night, but DH LOVED that it was 8:15pm so he still had energy, and it was crowded but not awful. The party was always scheduled this way (it wasn’t due to rain or anything). It was a great farewell party! We danced to music through the decades. A little line dancing, but mostly just dancing and singing along. Frankie made it really fun. Our only problem was that we ended up sweating all over our clothes and then had to pack them right away to put our luggage outside, which had to be done before 10:30. After sorting the luggage and putting it outside. we went to the comedians final showcase, a packed show in the theater with both Sean Finnerty and Kier performing. We really have enjoyed both comedians, but were a bit perplexed when Sean, who sort of complained how hard it was to do the earlier PG show we saw, used a TON of the same material, just with much more R rated language. And that was it! A final stroll. A knock on the door to make sure everyone knew the disembarkation plan.

Our last dinner! It’s not over till the fat M’aitre D sings Leaving on a Fun Ship (he was not fat on our cruise, but the saying works better if I say that…) . I got the beet salad (very nice, maybe a tad too much dressing) and the very good coffee glazed duck dish on the Emeril’s menu that was so good on the Jubilee I was looking forward to having it again, and it did not disappoint! And of course the Baked Alaska for desert. However, we do NOT recommend the Enchiladas…not authentic at all. We loved our wait staff so much! Ekka (from Indonesia) Jerome and Jvauna (both from Jamaica). So attentive and good with the boys. We really got to know them, and we had hugs and photos and some extra tips as well for the exceptional service. Everyone ran off to Pixels after dinner-we really had good photographers on this trip; the photographer with the staircase background was extra. You know you are buying two many photos when they start throwing free gifts at you! My family LOVES shopping. I guess I did when I was much younger, but you get to an age where you have so much stuff! SIL got DD a gorgeous emerald ring to replace her wedding//engagement ring that she lost her emerald stone from. Do they give out free cruise cabins if you spend lots in the shops like when you spend lots in the casinos?? 😂. Anyway, she had to stop by the shops also for her certificate and warranty. And please don’t tell us if the jewelry on the ship is a bad deal (I have no idea if it is or it isn’t)…sometime you just have to live in the moment!!

We did our last trip to the arcade so the boys could finish off their birthday arcade budget. Then time for my DH’’s free gold drink (he’s 3 cruises behind me so won’t be platinum till the next cruise). I completely, again, forgot about the Platinum party. Honestly, I’d rather have 1 free drink in the evening of the last day like Gold gets than a party. Yes, I know the alcohol is unlimited at the Platinum/Diamond party, but I’m not a big drinker, as you know.

Spent some time out enjoying the sun (so much easier to get a lounger on Lido on the last day, and a bit of time on the balcony (I could sit out there on the aft balcony forever!) and then did my ship tour videos for YouTube. Here are a few images from my walkabout on the Magic:

Almost forgot—before Frankie’s talk we went to the Playlist Productions cast Q and A. With our theater background we really enjoy those. We were interested in how they were going to do the shows with the one cast member who just retired, and also what happens when a cast member is ill and cannot perform.

Ok, winding back to the last day now! I guess this is the LIVE-ISH part. That last cruising day is always a killer—packing, picking out photos, cashing out at the casino, and all the last chances at food, pool, events, and evening activities. Plus the last day I walk literally all the public areas in the ship for my video tour of the ship for my YouTube channel. Total whirlwind! After our Thing 1 and Thing 2 Birthday Breakfast and ropes course, everyone went to pack. I was packed up in time for the CD Talk with Frankie. I did not do the Groove for St. Jude for the first time ever—I’ve done 4 in the last year, and its such a great cause, but I really needed the extra time to pack etc. By the way, if you don’t have the new blue -shirts they are VERY nice (I got mine on the Jubilee in March). Enjoyed Frankie’s CD talk. He’s a “floater” in that he is currently filling in when other CDs take breaks or when other breaks in the schedule show up. He’s been a CD for 22 years, and he started as a CD with Royal Caribbean. When he was asked about memorable cruises, he was on the cruise where Glory//Legend collided in 2019, I believe he is on the Magic till the end of June, and he’ll be on the Dream from mid-August to mid-October

Before I catch you up on our last day on ship, this is my current view at the Courtyard Marriott Ft. Lauderdale Airport. A bit skewed because more kids are in the pool than just the grandsons so I don’t want to show minors without permission. DD is dead asleep on the lounger next to me, grandies are in the pool, and our big boys are up in the rooms hiding somewhere from us, I think (too much family togetherness?? 😂).

Yes, yes they do have that according to the buffet goers in my family! It’s like pomnegranate mixed with quava and some other juices, correct?

Quick summary. but seriously, read my LIVE thread for full information. Best Cabin Steward ever! Frankie the CD showed us all a good time! Wait staff so good we tipped them all extra at the end, and many hugs and photos were taken the last evening. Yes some furniture is looking a little shabby, and there is rust here and there (some of which was painted in port in San Juan, so ongoing maintenance, of course, is happening)l My only real complaint was that our room was too warm for the entire trip; location at front on 9 I believe had lots to do with thatl.

Pog juice? I have not had breakfast buffet on this cruise but other family members have, so I will find out which juices have been offered.

Formal Night Dinner photos!

I am completely packed! I find that my last day at see is always more fun once the packing is out of the way. After the thing 1 and thing 2 Breakfast, we attended the Wave show live, and there was all of six people in the live audience! The boys did the rope course (sunny warm day!) and then packing and the playlist productions cast Q&A. We’re going to Frankie’s Q&A and then pretty much have the afternoon free! Window cleaning has happened—out on balcony as DH finishes his packing.