I just got off the Magic on Sunday and had the large water bottles each night in the MDR...included in the cheers package for me. 

1 hour ago, coevan said:

 

 

what port is 2 miles from D.C.?

Geography obviously dictates that there are no ports within two miles of DC. However, the question was, "how far would you drive to get to your port on departure day?" Since we ALWAYS arrive at least one day before we sail (to any port of departure), and book hotels within a couple miles of the port, my comment stands.

On the day of...about two miles. 

We have gone over to St John on our own a few times. Super easy. Even thought eh ship excursion may be similar in price, you’ll get WAY more time of you just do it on your own. And Trunk Bay isn’t to be missed...you’ll want several hours there! 

1. Get off ship as soon as possible.  Catch taxi to Red Hook Ferry Terminal: about $10pp. 

2. Purchase round trip ferry ticket to Cruz Bay.  $12.00pp

3. There will be taxis at Cruz Bay.  They will go to Trunk Bay ($6pp) or Cinnamon Bay (a little more, maybe $8pp). 

4. When done at Trunk Bay, take a taxi back to Cruz Bay terminal. There will be plenty of taxis waiting to take folks back. I’d leave an hour and a half before you have to be back on the ship.

5. Take the ferry back to Red Hook. It takes a half hour to get back to St Thomas from there. 

5.  Taxi back to port about $10pp.  And depending on the number of ships it can get crowded and slow. 

If you get back quickly it gives you some time to look around the shops in the port area.

Here is the ferry schedule:

https://www.usvi.net/information/transportation/ferry-schedules/st-thomas-to-st-john-ferry-schedule/

1 hour ago, CruiserBruce said:

It will be big...but it will be like being in the Penthouse!!

Haha, I like the way you think! 

We cruise at the end of January...

My wife and I have been to Half Moon plenty of times and normally get a cabana for the two of us. However, we expected a few more people to join us on this cruise, so we reserved a Villa. Unfortunately, those people had to back out so now it is just my wife and I. There are no more cabanas available to reserve at this point, so if I cancel the villa we will just be on the beach. 

Has anyone ever had a villa with just two people? I’d still like a place to get out of the sun, and the private bath and shower are a plus...it just seems like it’s going to be way too big for just the two of us. 

For about the past 5 years, I have only cruised on Premiers, Ultras, etc. and have only had to pay taxes and port fees. I typically get onboard credit that covers the taxes and also cruise cash (anywhere from $500-$1500 or promotional chips). I play UTH and Blackjack and average $50-100 per hand and up. I always have the drinks on us card waiting  in the cabin for both my wife and I.  I’ve never played a slot machine, so I couldn’t tell you how many “points” I get each cruise But I can tell you that win or lose in the casino, Carnival keeps me in good supply of cruises. As I’m sure you know it’s based solely on time, average bet, and theoretical losses for table players. You’ll undoubtedly be better comped in land based casinos for this level of play, but we love to cruise so I’ll continue to take advantage of what they give. Good luck!

Probably our last 15 cruises have been Premier/Ultra. They USED to be really great and they USED to make us feel at least a little appreciated. Like the OP has stated, they are not very good now and the perks are pretty weak. Our next cruise with Carnival isn’t until January and we’ve purposefully booked a non-premier cruise (although they seem to make many of the cruises premier nowadays, so it’s always possible this changes). But we are actually looking forward to going on a regular cruise for a change. I can get a lot better return on investment and comps with any of the nearby land based casinos. 

2 hours ago, Camberly_T said:

While I can't answer all of your questions, I wanted to say I recently booked a surprise cruise as a present for my Mum and step-dad's anniversary. I just booked her room under her name but with my own email and phone number for the confirmations to come to, and paid for it on my card. It has a separate booking number than my own reservation which she will be able to make changes to once she receives the cruise. I even used her VIFP number to book the room (the site will let you put in the VIFP when looking at room rates and again when completing the booking)

 

This is perfect and exactly what I will do. I really appreciate you taking the time to assist! 

47 minutes ago, wo5m said:

1. Any way I can marry into your family before Christmas? just kidding

 

2. It should be a problem doing this.  We have done something similar. We are going on a cruise with my family in august. We have three room total. I made all the reservation thought our PVP and I am the one managing the bookings. I have each of them added to my carnival page even thought I am only listed in one of the cabins. Just made your your PVP link the booking you will have dinner at the same table(if you do assigned dinning)

Haha, we are very fortunate and are happy to be able to do this. Great information, thanks very much!

Thanks for sharing your experience. My daughter just recently moved into her own place and works in DC with me. I am familiar with her ability to take time off and have tried to gauge her interest in the January cruise surreptitiously. I’m more concerned with the actual booking and having it in her name vice my name and how that works. 

Do you remember what the playlist production shows were? We will be on the Magic again in January and are really hoping some of the shows have been updated. Thanks!

I’ve cruised Carnival since the 90s and have taken cruises with my children plenty of times. My kids are grown now and my wife and I would like to surprise them with a cruise gift at Christmas. We are already booked for a January cruise and would like to give my daughter and her fiancé the same cruise. But the cruise seems to be selling fast and I’d like to go ahead and purchase it now and make it a surprise for her. 

What is the best way to do this? Can I just book it in my name (even though I’m already booked) and change it to hers after Christmas? Am I eligible to book it with discounts I am entitled to (casino, military, etc)? She has a VIFP number already from her many cruises with us before she was an adult. 

If if anyone has experience doing something similar, I’d appreciate any insight you may have. 

Just got this in our room this morning. We don’t watch much TV in the room but im

guessing this new lineup will please some and upset others. Looks like some of the kids channels (Cartoon Network, boomerang) are gone as well as the 10 CNN channels. 

Absolutely. I’ve done it several times. 

We’ve rented a cabana on several occasions and enjoyed it. However, with the limited time docked at Grand Turk nowadays and the increase in price to over $200, it may not be worth it anymore.

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A properly sized theater for the shows and enough, well-trained staff to effectively handle 5,000 passengers.

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We did the brewery tour on the Horizon. Collin, the brewmaster, said they will brew a seasonal ale in small batches and once it is gone, they will move onto something new. We tried the Big Apple Pie Ale and it was pretty good. We got off the ship on the 21st and he said our cruise was probably the last one with the Big Apple Pie Ale. They were almost out of it.

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Juts off the Horizon this morning. It was the headphones...lol, we also left both of them in the cabin.

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I just got off of the Horizon and used the Sirius app extensively to listen to sports. It was never blocked and with the premium internet on the horizon, it was never choppy either.

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Try a Baileys Banana Colada (BBC). It’s pretty sweet, but delicious!

1 oz. Baileys Irish Cream

1 oz. Rum (Preferably Dark Rum)

1 oz. Banana Liqueur

3 oz. Pina Colada Mix

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I guarantee they aren’t sold out. We eat at the steakhouse multiple times on a cruise and have never had a problem getting reservations the day of and in many cases just walking in. They are simply trying to get you into an early time slot because those are less desirable and don’t fill to capacity that early.

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We had it on the Magic earlier this month and loved it! This was our dessert. Very cool and delicious!

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Got the Tervis tumblers in the room tonight on elegant night. Guess the blankets still haven’t made their way to the Magic yet.

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Thanks very much, Couldn’t remember and we haven’t seen them in the room yet.

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