kctwinmommy

I know they won't be as "professional" appearing------but this is the main reason we bought a Fuji XP waterproof camera (usually on sale for around $150) for our upcoming Freeport dolphin excursion. The description says you are allowed to bring a camera (though the dolphins MIGHT consider it to be a toy!).

True, some allow, but others don't. It just depends.

I've read on one of the reviews that the dolphin swim excursions booked through Carnival have very pricey photo packages, but that sometimes those pictures are available back on the ship in the pixels gallery. Anyone have luck with this? I would much rather pay the high pixel's price than the higher excursion photo price.

Maybe someone else can say for sure, but I've never seen any photos like that in the gallery. And the outrageous cost of photos is the biggest reason I have yet to book one of those excursions. We looked at doing it on our 2 last Caribbean cruises, but I really feel the companies are just gouging people because they know you're going to want a couple of pictures of it. I don't mind paying what they charge for the excursions themselves, but the extra $100 for a couple of pictures is ridiculous!

Day 8 - Sea Day - Once again, the standard issues arose, but since we had found our little table and chairs in the corner, it was all good. This time, the brunch was a bit better. We only had to wait like 10-15 minutes for food. We of course had the standard last night dinner with the waitstaff, same singing/dancing. We went to the Ship stars show, this time was quite good. They even had a couple do a dance routine, which was different.

We did have the table magician come by again. His name was Sameer. We found him to be quite good, so I'd recommend stopping to see his act if you come across him. I realize they don't always do shows on the ships, but we've found them in the Lido buffet area, later on night, or if you see them at dinner and they can stop by - ask.

Oh, and we did go to the balloon drop on the last night, with all the notes people write inside. It was OK, but I thought there was more of a purpose for writing the notes we placed in there. We also bought a canvas this time, our first one. We've often bought a formal picture, but never a canvas, so we thought we'd get one this time. It really came out pretty! Although on that last night, when we picked ours up (we ordered it the night before), the sales counter was understaffed and very busy. People were waiting 15-20 minutes just to get helped. I think there was some miscommunication on who was supposed to be doing what. A worker came over from the other side to start helping and seemed frustrated that there weren't more workers there.

My overall notes, general impression of the Magic - The lines for things were definitely longer than we've dealt with in the past. It's a big ship though, so there's a lot to do and see. I liked having more options for food. I felt that there was more motion/movement than past ships/cruises. But I also realize that could be due to the ship, the weather, etc... I also learned early on about the light control by the door. I saw the piece of paper sticking out of the slot, by the front door, and took it out to look at, then put it back in. Maybe everyone else knows about it, but what they expect/thought people would do is put their S&S card in there. We didn't, neither did the previous guests, nor did our friends. People stick a piece of paper in t here. This is how your lights are able to stay on!

Debarkation - We walked off, after having breakfast on the Lido deck, at 7:50 a.m. It took us about 15 minutes to walk off and go through customs. And we took all our luggage with us. Then we had to wait about 20 minutes to get our shuttle (Cocoa Beach) to go to Orlando airport.

Dr. E hosting the balloon drop

The waitstaff at the farewell dinner. The one on the far left (in the red frilly thing) was our head waiter, William.

Here's a few more pictures before I finish the report...

Passing by the Dominican Republic on our way to Grand Turk

The view from the Margaritaville pool, you can see the Magic there

The 2 ships docked in Grand Turk

Snorkeling near the ship in Grand Turk

Yeah, like others, not quite sure what you'd want them to do. Some people completely ignore the news & TV when they're on vacation. Making announcements during a highly fluid situation can cause massive panic as well. People can watch the news and see what's going on themselves. I feel it's best to wait a little bit to see how the airports are handling things. And I'm sure Carnival was quite busy with the people trying to GET to their cruises. If you're already there, then there's less for them to focus on for you, if that makes sense. I'm just saying, they were probably dealing with the hundreds of calls they were getting for people who were going to be delayed getting to their cruise because of this.

We were sailing when the 2015 Paris attacks happened. Yes, less likely to impact our return to port, but certainly a much larger attack. We do watch the news, so we did see what was going on. Other people had no idea though.

How does carnival track if a kid should be in tween club or older teen club? Do they scan the card or just look at the kid?

 

 

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They look at their S&S card, and use the information you have entered for them for your cruise. We always register our son before we sail, but you still have to sign paperwork in the club though. If you're looking to see if your kid can move up to the teen one, because of siblings/friends/or close to that age, that you'll have to wait until you get on board. It always depends on the camp director and capacity of the kids in each group.

Getting very excited for cruise (only two weeks away). I have a few questions regarding the comedy club:

 

1. What are the show times?

2. How far before show starts would you recommend getting there?

3. Also how good are the comedians? We have gone to the comedy club in the past on Carnival, but it has been a while.

 

Thanks.

If you read my review (in my signature) I talked about a couple of the comedians we saw. We first started going to the comedy club on the Legend last summer, we had never been on our previous cruises. We could walk right in and get a seat. So, when we decided to do it on the Magic, I was shocked the first time when I got in a line that stretched back 100 people! Now, we still got a seat, I was surprised at how many people that place can hold. They do kick everyone out after every show though, so you have to get back in line to see the next one. The next times we went, we got there a little earlier, about 30 minutes and got better seats. But I wouldn't get there are showtime and expect to get in.

I don't remember the exact show times though, but they were typically later in the evening for the ones we went to. They often had PG shows at like 7 & 8, then around 9 they started the adult shows, going until like 11. There were usually 2 comedians each night as well.

Like the others said, I think this always depends on the capacity. I can't comment directly on these programs, as my son was never in those (he didn't cruise until he was 12). But that first cruise, he was in Circle C. And like denrusk said, they do make exceptions for those kids when it's not too busy. That cruise (Nov. 2015), there was a girl in Circle C with my son and our friend's son, and her brother was 11. They allowed him to join Circle C, but there were only about 10 kids that whole session.

You're going to just need to ask when you get on board and explain the situation, see if they can do anything.

Dont think this guy did but some of them will put on a show in a lounge during the cruise. One asked people to put something on comment card that we liked his show as he wanted to become a flyon.

Oh this one did have a show the one night. And maybe I'm confused, but it may have been because of a cancelled comedian. I can't remember. But I know he told us that he was going to have a show one night, but we didn't make it to see it.

We are planning a cruise with some friends. My kids will be 17,17, and 15.

 

Theirs will be 14,12,and 11.

 

Will their 14 year old be able to go with my 15 year old in the teen area and will their 11 and 12 year olds be able to go together?

 

I'm aware of the age group splits, I just didn't know how strict they are.

So, it's 12-14, and 15-17 technically. But, it will really depend on the capacity. On our Nov. 2015 cruise, there was an 11 year old sibling who was able to be in Circle C with the 13 year old. But, overall there were probably like 10-15 kids in Circle C. Then, this past summer, my son took a picture with the Circle C group and there had to have been at least 40 kids, and they weren't all there. So, I think they were a little more strict on things.

Now, this past November's cruise, my son and his friend were once again in Circle C (they're 13 & 14), but they did do some things with the O2 kids. And keep in mind, the camps for the older kids offer activities, but a lot of times, kids do their own things, or meet up with a group and hang out, etc... If you look at my Magic review (in my signature), I posted pictures of Circle C for most of the days, so you get an idea of what they do.

You mention renting a cabana at Margaritaville. Did you rent it when you got there or from a website? We have a large gruop also and that would be a good spot to come and go from. Thanks.

It's only done as an "excursion" through Carnival's website. And if you're going to do it, book as soon as you can. There's only 10 of them, and on our day, there were 2 ships in port, so they will sell out.

https://www.carnival.com/shore-excursions/grand-turk/poolside-cabana-rental-440035

He did 2 tricks for us maybe 5 minutes. Always wondered if you slip him a 5 or 10 will he keep coming back?

Well, I can say that we didn't tip him anything. I really do think that if there are kids at the table, he's more likely to come by. On the Legend during the summer, we actually found the guy on the Lido deck, hanging out. So we sat down and he did a couple things. Then a couple of tweens/teens nearby even came over.

We enjoy table magician and wonder how many tables he visits each night. We have been on cruises and never even seen him walking around the DR.

We did too! And yeah, not sure how many tables he can get to in one seating. I mean, he spent like 10 minutes at our table. And I saw him go to a table nearby, with some kids as well.

How did you get to Cocoa Beach from the Airport (assuming you flew and flew into Orlando.)

 

Also, what time did you go out to get chairs when they were all taken up? My husband usually gets up early and sits out there until I join him and finds a seat. Just wondering what time he needs to get out there haha.

 

What did you do about transportation from the port to the airport if you flew? This is our 16th cruise but our 1st leaving Port Canaveral so I am lost :eek:. There are 5 of us and I'm trying to figure out the most cost efficient way to get us to the port as early as possible.

 

Thanks!

We've always used Cocoa Beach Shuttle. We used them almost 10 years ago for the first time and went back to them again in 2015 & 2016 when we cruised from there. No problems at all. I feel the price is best for the 3 of us and I don't care about waiting 15-20 minutes for our van to arrive, I'm not in that much of a hurry. I know some want/need a private car, but that was much more expensive. I think we paid like $130 round trip for the 3 of us. So we have the reservation for them to pick up at MCO, take us to the Radisson in Cocoa Beach, and then we have the return reservation for when we disembark. There are a ton of other companies around there, so you just check in at a central desk by the parking garage and they let the drivers know how many they're picking up. Looking at their website, it looks like it's $88 one way for 5 people.

We didn't get out to the decks until around 10ish maybe. I realize that's later, but I would also look at the video in our room, that shows the Lido deck cameras, and still, at like 8 a.m. there were chairs covered in stuff with barely anyone around. So even when we got out there, later on, the same stuff was still sitting there. Honestly, one day I couldn't find ONE single chair along the entire pool deck (10 or 11)!! That was the day I ended up on deck 5. I just wish that Carnival would actually enforce people hoarding the chairs.

A few more comments.

 

We also saw flick. Huge number of people were saving lots of seats. Lucky to get a good seat even by getting there a half hour early. Show was good but many times had no idea what movie they were doing.

 

See no reason to tip MD. Did nothing for us other than when he came around one night to see how everything was I asked him if the ship had table magician as we had not seen him. He brought him over to the table one night and he did a few things for us.

 

Waitstaff was excellent. We were well aft and about as far from the galley as can be and our food was brought out promptly and hot.

Oh we knew all the movies, except one! LOL!

And yes, I don't see any reason to tip the MD either. We had a table right near the front, so we saw him go by us several times. We did get the table magician though, twice! But we had the teen boys at our table, so not sure if he gravitates towards those tables more or not. But he was pretty entertaining.

Day 7 - Grand Turk - We got off at 8 a.m. to make sure we beat the crowds of the 2nd ship that was heading our way. We had rented one of the cabanas at Margaritaville, which we really enjoyed. As I probably said early on, there were 7 of us, and technically, it's for 4 people, but nobody really cares. There were 2 nice chaise lounges on the deck, plus there's chairs/sofas inside. We actually pulled some of that out on the deck too, just open both of the doors. It was nice to have the fridge there, plus an a/c place to cool down when needed.

The other wife and myself mostly hung here the whole day. She actually had surgery a month before the trip, so she had to stay out of the sun for the most part, so it was perfect! The husbands and 2 boys went down by the beach like 3-4 times to do snorkeling. There's a ton to see right there, so if you want, save your money and just bring your own gear! They loved it! I realize some people want to go much further and do more, but if you're looking for easy and simple, it's perfect. We did use the waitress service, which was OK. Early on, she came by a few times, but then when we pushed the button, there was no way to know if it was actually working, and it took like 15-20 minutes before someone else came, our waitress was busy. Not a huge deal for us, it's not like we needed our stuff immediately, but just if you're going to do this, don't wait until you're starving! LOL! We ordered some cocktails as well as calamari and the nachos - which were awesome! We stopped at the shops on our way out and picked up a few things. Nothing truly local, but just a t-shirt or 2, plus a Christmas ornament.

Dinner that night was fine. Someone ordered the sea bass and said it was OK, nothing great. We also went to see a new comedian, CeeJay Jones. He was pretty funny, much more R rated than the other 2 that we saw earlier in the cruise. And again, the lines were super long, so get there early.

The view of our ship from our cabana

Our nachos!! Yum!!

We did a lesser known beach in Aruba, but it was fine. We spend a few hours there. It's right near the airport.

We didn't go down by it, but there's a water playground thing here

I don't know which one, but this was dinner from one of the formal nights...

Most of the Circle C itinerary

The boys on our balconies. We did get the partition removed, which is nice!

Sail away party

Curacao beach

And this was an excursion where we stayed until sunset

I apologize that I didn't finish this earlier, I just got sidetracked with the holidays. I'm going to put up some pictures too.

Day 6 - Another sea day - Once again, the biggest problem is the hogging of chairs. We could see that there were rows & rows of chairs right by the pool with stuff on it from in the morning and nobody ever came to use them. We had a spot on deck 11 above the pool and could see it. I just wish Carnival would actually enforce the rules regarding this practice.

We did find a nice spot in the corner of deck 11, which was close to our rooms. It was in the corner so there was a table for us to eat at, parts of it were shaded and some sunny, so we could all get what we needed. We spent most of our day hanging here, people in our group coming and going. Our friends went to Cucina for lunch and said the service was very poor that day. I get that being a sea day more people will come, but they said it took well over an hour to have lunch, and over 20 minutes just to get their order taken. My husband and I had Guys again, and eve at the noon time, there was almost no line. Their fries are just awesome! And I'm not normally a seasoned fries kind of person!

We saw the new show, Flick, which was very good. We enjoyed it and the theater was packed! As many others have said, get to the theater early if you want good seats. We also had our formal pictures taken that night, with some nice results, so the next night we actually purchased a canvas of one of our pictures.

If you have anyone going who likes snorkeling, you can also snorkel right off the beach by Margaritaville. I was there last Thursday and was surprised at how good the snorkeling was, out by the line that you're not supposed to go past (but we did, a little. :) )

 

There are two anchors and a cannon submerged out there (15-20 feet deep) to encourage coral growth, and there were more fish there than there were last year. Next to there it drops to 40 feet deep.

Yep! My husband, son and friends went snorkeling there like 3-4 times throughout the day. They love the snorkeling there because it's nice, clear, and just easy to do. If you want, you can see about renting one of the Margaritaville cabanas, then you have a nice, secure place for everyone to hang and meet up throughout the day. It's technically for 4 people, but we had 7, since again, people in our group were coming and going all day. Just the other wife and myself pretty much hung there.

It's been two Carnival cruises now where we have heard people telling those who ask that their dogs are emotional support dogs. One couple each had a Westie on their lap and admitted they just couldn't be without their pets so they renamed one Paxil and the other Zoloft for the cruise like that was funny and they pulled one over on Carnival. We were disgusted.

See, that's why I wish businesses would start actually clamping down on this crap! They know it's b.s. and are still "pulling one over." Nice! :rolleyes: Unfortunately, businesses are so afraid of being sued for every little thing, so they just keep giving in to things it seems. Just like a parent to a child, it's OK to say no!

Our 13 year old has been hanging at Circle C for the past year on his 3 cruises. The last one, the Magic, there seemed to be a lot of cross-hanging between Circle and Club O2 kids. My son registers and starts off at Circle C most days, but he also branches out on his own, or with a couple of kids and just hangs out.

And it seems to really depend on the capacity/number of kids registered. Last year, on the Valor, they allowed an 11 year old sibling to register with Circle C where his sibling was. But there weren't a lot of kids on the ship. Over the summer, on the Legend, there was an actual school group of h.s. kids, like 50-75 of them! They were using the O2 lounge and such, I don't think my son did anything with them. And he also too a group picture of the Circle C kids, and there were at least 40 in that picture, with some missing. So in that case, they were a little more strict on who went where.

I've done #2 & #4, enjoyed both. We just the #4 itinerary on the Magic. It was the biggest ship we'd been on, so it was more crowded at times and in certain places, but I never felt overwhelmed by it. Just longer lines for some things that I hadn't dealt with before. We also usually cruise during slightly less busy times. I actually enjoyed the 8-day cruise we just did because I enjoy sea days. Again, I'm pretty much a cruiser for relaxing, sitting in the sun, having some food, etc... I don't need much! ;)

It says on the Carnival website that the cabanas hold four people but we are a family of five? Is that actually an issue? Will they object? Also what is the location of the cabanas? I would hate to book one and then find it too "off the beaten path" and not close to pool/beach/etc.

 

Thanks!!

We had 7 people in ours! There were 2 young teens, and 5 adults. Us 2 moms pretty much stayed at the cabana, relaxing, along with the other mom's adult daughter. The dads and 2 boys went back and forth to the beach to snorkel and swim. It was a great thing to have for the day! We paid for the cabana and the other family paid for everyone's food and drinks (we each had one) so it worked out pretty evenly.

No! I don't like seeing people dragging their pooches through all the stores these days either. I wish more businesses would actually start enforcing the no animal policy better.

Again, no problem with legitimate, real service animals. In fact, our last cruise had one on board. Beautiful German Shepard, and of course, extremely well behaved. It was cute though, the guy took his pictures with the dog. But again, while that's fine because the dog is trained to handle these things, most animals aren't like that.

And like others said, unfortunately, it's gotten easier to "certify" your therapy pet, which is wrong. Maybe I'll get it done for my bearded dragon and snake!! :D

Yep! Free for lunch. We went twice, it was a nice option to have. They have the create your own pasta during that time. There were about 4 different sauces, like 6 pastas, and then you can add meat (shrimp, chicken, meatballs), and you can also get a salad and bread on the side.