BethersD

Hi

We are cruising on the Magic next month and are picking up a rental car post cruise. My husband and I are wondering how busy the terminal is post cruise and if we are better to wait in line for a shuttle to the rental car place, or if we are better to grab a cab to the rental car place. Not concerned about the cost, more the wait time as there are 6 (two under 8) of us who need to be shuttled to pick up the rental car.

Thanks

As far as I know, times are always listed according to ship time.

Episode 2 is up

Day one part two

 

 

Also Karlee wants to do a Q and A video so if you have any questions about the magic or cruises please post them here or under one of the video and we will answer them in a video soon...

 

Part 3 will be out soon

Thanks for posting!

My kids are enjoying their sneak preview of the Magic before we sail in January. My 8 year old is wondering how Camp Ocean was? Was there a lot to do there?

We were very impressed with Camp Ocean last January when we were on the Conquest. They gave us a cell phone on the first day at orientation, and we were given a tour of both spaces and an agenda for the week, that was packed with tons of activities. Our 7 year old loved it so much it was often a challenge to get him to leave for lunch.... our youngest who was 3 at the time had his ups and downs. He wasn't fully potty trained but the staff were very good about calling and asking us to come up if he needed a change. There was also one day when he just wasn't happy to be there, the staff were very good about calling us when he clearly wasn't going to settle. They actually apologized for calling us and asking us to come and get him. Both kids came 'home' every day with crafts and stories, I was impressed as I thought maybe it would be glorified babysitting, but it's more like summer camp. When we told the boys we would be cruising again this January, the first thing they asked was if they could go back to Camp Ocean.

Looks like the Magic and Disney Dream are circling waiting for Port Canaveral to open on the ship tracker webpage

Keep it coming! DH & I are taking our boys (8&4) on the Magic in January. Thanks for the preview :)

I noticed on the Skyride website it says 'unlimited rides all day' for $21.

I realize Carnival offers tickets for $19 but I'm curious if they too are 'unlimited' or if they are merely one round trip ride.

I just wanted to make sure I'm comparing apples to apples.

Thanks

whaaat?! That's crazy! How does that even work with your loafers?:eek::D

tee hee :D

yes they are! I wanna buy it but I'm worried about that penny. What if I get on board and find something really cool to do but then I'm a penny short? Thanks a LOT, Home Port Advisory.

At least you guys still have pennies! We've gotten rid of them here and instead the price is round up or down to the nearest nickel. Combine that with the exchange rate.... oh boy! :rolleyes:

Sure, see the purser...er...guest services. Just consider what credit card they will be linked to.

Thanks, will do. Not concerned about credit card at all.

I'm sure this has been asked before, but I couldn't find it. Can I request an additional sign & sail card to allow my in-laws access to our room? We have a balcony and they have an inside, but more importantly, we have the grandchildren (:D). So if they are hanging out with them, or DH & I get a night 'out' and they want to bring the kids back to a room to sleep, ours would be more ideal because they can sit out on the balcony and the boys can sleep in their 'own' beds.

Thanks

Loving your review!

We're are just down the QEW in Burlington and will be on the Magic in January :) Nice to have a parents' perspective!

We were on the Conquest last week, it's a generator

According to Cruise TT we are the only ship in Key West, so it could be any of the three.... I'm guessing the Westin Pier, since that seems to be the general consensus when I google, but I could be wrong.

As for Cozumel, it's us and three other ships (one of those being ginormous (oasis) of the seas) so it's anyone's guess.

We were on the 6 day... We went to key west, grand cayman, and Cozumel. I'm sorry, we did not save the daily activity paper.

Thanks for your review, we're doing to the same itinerary on the 17th with our 3 & 7 year old. Glad to hear good things about the kids activities.

You're awesome H!!!! Thank you for your very detailed review!!!

My boys, their Dad and I will be on the Conquest in a few weeks and I really appreciate a three-nager's point of view, especially since it will by my three-nager's (and his 7 year old brother's) first cruise. I can't wait to read more!

Just wondering if anyone has visited the Firehouse Museum? Is it walkable from the pier?

We will be in Key West in January with our two boys (ages 7 & 3) and are wondering if this is something they would enjoy.

Thanks

For those who have asked, here is my full review.

http://www.cruisecritic.com/memberreviews/memberreview.cfm?EntryID=502588

Thanks.

I would be interested in how you feel Celebrity did compared to Princess and RCI. If all three had the same intiniary and price, who would you choose?

 

 

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That's something we've discussed a lot over the last couple of days. The 'product' and execution are very similar, and weighing the good versus the so-so of each line, they are pretty even. If all three had the same intinery, price (CDN$ plays a role) I think we may go for Princess or RCI. If for no other reason than we really like not having to go to the top deck if we want to walk around or watch the world go by from the front of the ship. For us, the design of the ship would play a big role.

Thank you for your review. I'm glad you enjoyed the cruise. Did you book another?

We did not. We have two young children at home, and don't want to take advantage of our parents' good will and book without making sure everyone at home is happy. We are many years away from that kind of flexibility ;)

It appears that the full review has not yet been published.

Looking forward to it.

I submitted it last night, but it still needs to be reviewed and approved by the powers that be. I will share the link once I see it's been posted.

Thanks for sharing your experience. We have had Juice & Cafe Al Baco coffees covered by the Classic beverage package, as recently as January, so am a bit surprised to read that wasn't the case on your recent cruise.

We were on the Eclipse Feb/Mar this year and Al Bacio and fresh OJ were covered by the Classic Package. Same as the last 3 cruises we were on with Celebrity.

 

Loved the Eclipse - also love Equinox, beautiful ships.

Then that would have been our misunderstanding... thanks for clarifying.

I've submitted a review, but here's the coles notes version

This was our eighth cruise having previously sailed with Carnival (1), Princess (5) & RCI (1). We decided to try Celebrity, as we were disappointed with our last cruise on Princess, and had heard good things about Celebrity from various family members. We are in our early/closer to mid thirties and having been on Princess, knew we would be in the minority as far as passengers goes; not a big deal to us, as we generally keep to ourselves anyway.

We stayed one night pre-cruise at the Hilton Marina, it was clean, the breakfast was good and the transfer to the port was easy.

Embarkation was in one word - EASY! We left the hotel at 11am and were on the ship by 11:35, of course our room was not ready, but the Oceanview Cafe wasn't too busy so we stopped there for some lunch and to test out the beverage package(which I will get back to in a little bit).

The ship was clean, and well maintained. While we both agreed we liked the dark woods, we missed the grand atrium of the Princess ships, and we definitely missed the promenade around the ship. We disliked having to go up to 14 every time we wanted to walk around the ship.

We had originally booked at 1C Oceanview Veranda Stateroom, but were able to upgrade (and keep our beverage package perk) during the Presidents Day sale to a 1A Oceanview Veranda Stateroom, which was a slanted balcony with an aft view on the forward hump (7161). The storage wasn't fantastic, I missed the walk in closet we'd had on both Princess & RCI but the storage was adequate and being able to put all three suitcases under the bed was a bonus. Our bed was by the balcony, which was nice, but could have been nicer if the view from the bed was ocean, not the extended balcony divider. All of that aside, we did spend the bulk of our sea days on our balcony, as though it was always warm, it was also mostly shady.

We saw 'A Hard Days Night' on the first formal night, and for a tribute band they were really good. I was impressed with their attention to detail on their costumes, especially when they put on their Sgt. Pepper jackets and 'Paul' had the OPP badge on his left shoulder, though I'm fairly certain that may just be something a Canadian would notice. We heard good things about the comedian, the pianist and the violinist but we were either at dinner, or just too tired to stay up for the 9pm or 10pm show. We also went to lectures by Jim Kennedy, the former director of the Kennedy Space Program. My husband and I are both very interested in space, and the space program, and although Mr. Kennedy was very engaging and clearly loved his jobs (both as Director of KSC and now) we found his lectures very basic, and left wanting a more in depth discussion. That being said, his lectures were held in the theatre and they were generally 80-90% full. The house band, Front Row, were great! We had dinner one night in Bistro on Five and listened to their whole set, which turned out to be all of the songs on my 'guilty pleasures' play list. The atrium was packed with people listening and dancing to their sets on a nightly basis. We also attended the Connections gathering, but as we had a large group, it was difficult to mingle and I felt the whole proceedings a bit rushed in order to get trivia started on time.

Service was good, though I found when we ate at the Oceanview Cafe or outside at the aft of the ship, if my husband had already gotten himself a drink at the bar and sat down with me, the staff would come and turn down the menu on our table and walk away. I had a tough time flagging them down, and usually ended up having to walk up to the bar. Not a huge deal, I realize, but none the less a pain. Service in the main dining room was generally good, we had select dining so we never sat at the same table, and aside from the last night service was prompt and attentive.

Generally the food was good, both in the Oceanview & MDR. We also ate in Murano, which was great. I almost asked if I could wheel the cheese tray back to my stateroom (I'm not kidding). Honestly, I wish you could get that kind of service without paying the extra $50pp. We also tried Bistro on Five. I've read a lot on the boards about the new menu & the new cover charge. Suffice to say, the menu was delicious, easily one of the best meals of the cruise, but the fact that for a time we had the restaurant to ourselves speaks volumes about the new price point. As part of our package when we booked we went for the beverage package, and then upgraded it to premium before we left. My husband and I have talked a great deal about this, and we're not sure if the package was worth it for us, given the amount we drank. That being the case, we were glad we upgraded to the premium package as everything we drank (juice, coffee at Al Bacio, and alcohol) was not included in the classic beverage package.

I have heard/read all sorts of horror stories on here about long waits, and miserable customs agents. I must say we had the easiest disembarkation we've ever experienced. We chose to do the Express Walk Off, and I don't foresee us choosing anything different the next time. We lined up on Deck 5 shortly before 7:30 and the line stretch all the way from mid-ship to the theatre, but it moved quickly. We were through customs by 7:50 and at our hotel just after 8am.

Questions? Let me know and I'll answer them as best as I can.

Playoffs?:confused:

 

What, prey tell, is this playoffs thing you speak of?

 

Regards,

Maple Leafs' Fan

I was just going to ask the same thing.

Best wishes

Long Suffering Leafs' Fan

 

This first picture is of the little snow bank in front of our garage.

 

 

Next picture of Donna standing in our driveway just before we made our attempt at driving to work in Charlottetown this morning. Of course our road was blocked / impassable and headed north for about a 25KM detour instead of 4 Kms.

 

 

Donna works at UPEI and they had delayed until 1:00PM and later cancelled for the day. Donna took this picture with her iPhone when she got back from town, Road had opened up for the return trip. (more like a tunnel than a road)

 

 

Regards,

Kevin Reid

Really enjoyed your Equinox review. We sail on her in a month and it was helpful in creating a 'follow along' travel journal for my 6 year old who is staying home. Am looking forward to this review.

Spent a glorious week on your island (now my favourite province, sorry Ontario & the others) with my husband & boys last July and although I have seen the pictures, I can't imagine all of that snow.