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theplanner2010

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    Thoughts on MAGIC June 18-25

    in Carnival Cruise Lines

    Posted

     

    Roatan is absolutely one of my favorite places. Had a great time with Rony's tour company. I highly recommend them. Will go into more detail in the port section. Bummed that we missed Costa Maya as that was the only port I had not been to on this cruise. Other than that really can't complain.

     

    . :)

     

    I see you did the Western itinerary. Can you comment about the time zones in Belize specifically. Our itinerary from Carnival says we will be there from 9am to 6pm. Is that ship/Florida time or local Belize Time which I believe is 2 hours earlier. thanks!

    Post Dry Dock Magic Dining Spreadsheet

    in Carnival Cruise Lines

    Posted

    Hey, Cool Cruiser! Love the spreadsheet - thanks for all the legwork. One thing, though -- the last 7 "Menu" links in the Lunch section are all 1 line lower than they should be. Not a big deal, just thought you'd like to check on that. CRUISE ON!!!

     

    I think you might be looking at one of the first versions..the most recent version is on post #53 and the links should be in the correct places. Thank you for the feedback!

    Carnival First Impressions: Fancies and Fears

    in Carnival Cruise Lines

    Posted

    So having been on a few great RC cruises, but in the mood to try something new, we are taking our first family Carnival cruise on the Magic in July. Having absolutely no first-hand experience with Carnival I have developed a list of things I am anticipating and and a (shorter) list of things I am not looking forward to based solely on my research and reading these forums.

     

    Can’t wait to try:

     

    Our first waterslide at sea.

    RC has the flowrider, but that never interested me or hubby and even with private lessons my teenager thought it was meh…

     

    Our first ropes course at sea.

    I have a big fear of heights but for some reason I do ok on ropes courses (unlike zip lines…looking at you RC) and love to challenge my fear with them so this should be fun for the whole family.

     

    Dot eyes on the towel animals.

    This is so silly, but it makes them look so much cuter than the ones RC does with no dots…and cuter is better right? I know my girls will think so.

     

    The towel animal party on the lido.

    I sure hope we figure out when this is and don’t miss it!

     

    Checking out FTTF benefits.

    Like everyone I hate lines and lugging a carryon bag around the day of embarkation always annoys me so I am looking forward to getting aboard quickly and dropping our stuff off in the room.

     

    Extended balcony.

    Ooooooh a lounger on the balcony….extreme anticipation! I was sorely tempted to get a hammock to try like some of the review photos I have seen but I think I’m cool with the lounger.

     

    Looking for flying fish.

    Now I don’t know if this is something only people in the cove balconies have reported seeing a lot, but I never remember reading so many comments about flying fish as on these Carnival boards…and I have spent lots of time on the RC boards. Am I missing something? Maybe they are attracted to the whale tail? Is is possible to see them from the extended balconies?

     

    Singing at the Piano Bar.

    I never saw this on RC. That doesn’t mean that they don’t have it but I never noticed it on any of our RC cruises if they did. Now that I have read so much about it on the Carnival boards I can’t wait to drink and sing along….my kind of simple fun and no waiting like karaoke!

     

    New food venues.

    Guys, Blue Iguana, Brunch, pasta lunch, BBQ and maybe a first ever splurge at the steakhouse if I can turn of my cheapometer….they all sound delicious.

     

    New ports.

    Never been to 3 of the 4 ports on our cruise: Belize, Roatan and Costa Maya and have great private excursions planned at each. Going to start a new thing I saw my niece do and collect a bag of sand from each island we visit then layer them all in a jar. It looks really neat to see all the different colors and textures of sand when they are next to each other. Wish I would have started this 8 ports ago! Oh well, I’m sure we’ll make it back to all of them again eventually!

     

    Singing/Dancing Waiters

    We have My time Dining…will we see this or is that only for the regular seatings?

     

    Volleyball at Sea

    Hoping they have the court converted from basketball for this at least some of the time or have a VB tournament. I have a club player who thinks this is AWESOME!

     

    Sea day Brunch

    This one is self-explanatory…that menu looks awesome and allows us to sleep in and then enjoy.

     

    Chocolates on the Pillow

    Just kidding! Tee hee! I know this is one of the dreaded cost cutting measures that has caused much beating of breast and gnashing of teeth…so I will be bringing my own bag of Andes mints per the advice of a CC post. (I may or may not actually put them on our pillows at night depending on whether they survive the snacking on our 8 hour drive to Orlando)

     

    Not looking forward to:

     

    Loading up with insect repellant.

    I’m sure this doesn’t need an explanation and certainly not Carnival-specific.

     

    Lines and beepers at MTD.

    I have to say that RC does this really, really well. We have never waited more than 5 minutes on RC and I have read many accounts of long waits with Carnival….hope it’s not as bad as all that!!

     

    Not getting the soda pass for my kids for the first time.

    We do this every year, but being the mean mom that I am have told them they can have a soda a dinner and that’s it. This is such a port intensive cruise I don’t think we will get our money’s worth from the passes (at least that’s the excuse I give them ….really I just don’t want them drinking soda ALL DAY). RC has a non-alcoholic beverage package that includes soda, fresh juice, bottles water and virgin frozen drinks and I found that to be a great value (yes we shared shhhhhh).

     

    The smokey casino.

    We are both ex-smokers so like all good hypocrites it bothers us twice as much as other people to smell it ha ha! Hopefully we can squeeze in a bit of slots before we can’t stand it anymore.

     

    So-so entertainment.

    I am really hoping it is not as dull as everyone says it is. We have really enjoyed the RC shows. That being said, I find that the shows take up a lot of time and your schedule is always revolving around them. If the shows do stink, I think we will try to just do simple family things like ping pong, dive in movies, shuffleboard…it might be more fun than the constant schedule of dinner and show…again, especially with the already hectic port intensive itinerary.

     

    Let me know if there is anything else you think I should be anticipating/dreading….(cue the wisecrackers!!:D)

    Post Dry Dock Magic Dining Spreadsheet

    in Carnival Cruise Lines

    Posted

    Thanks for the nifty updated sheet, just in time for my cruise in 2 weeks on the Magic for 7 days to Coz, Belize and Roatan. First time to the second two and first time on the Magic.

    Bo

     

    Awesome have a great time...if you are able maybe you can report back on the status of Fat Jimmy's/Oceanside BBQ ;)

     

    You and Jac-3 making the drink spreadsheets sound like you're going to have much more fun than me on your cruise!! :cool:

    Hol Chan vs Caye Caulker Snorkeling and Shark/Ray Alley

    in Belize

    Posted

     

    It made a significatnt difference in whether we would be able to take the 9a over and the 3:30p water taxi back or if we would have to take the 8a over and the 1:30p water taxi back -- Which the latter might have not made booking the tour worth it in my mind, considering also visiting Hol Chan (in addition to Shark Ray Alley and the turtles) being the primary draw for us.

     

    .

     

    I am struggling with this right now. We have him booked for July 9th on Carnival out of Port Canaveral. It says we are there from 8-5 but I have heard that Carnival stays on ship time which means local time will be from 6am-3pm? The first ferry local time is 8am and if we did his half day tour we would have to take the 1:30 ferry to make it back by the last tender. We always do excursions on our own but this one just has me thinking its too rushed to be worth it?? plus with the half day we don't see Hol Chan even though Ive hear the half day is great without it. Soo conflicted!!

    Carnival MasterCard

    in Carnival Cruise Lines

    Posted

    Thanks for the tip. I will give them a call. You are right, it can't hurt to try to get the offer. If I can get an offer for myself and my wife that's an additional $150 off our cruise. If I can't get the offer I will just keep waiting; I figure I realistically have until next May or so to get the cards and get everything set in time for final payment. :cool:

     

    That's an additional $350 off your cruise👍That is what my husband and I did

    Carnival MasterCard

    in Carnival Cruise Lines

    Posted

    Yes, I did.

     

    Have you actually tried applying yet? The link on my email wasn't working so I had to apply through another offer (that was not as good) then open a case with Barclay customer service to get the terms stated in the email.

    Post Dry Dock Magic Dining Spreadsheet

    in Carnival Cruise Lines

    Posted · Edited by theplanner2010

    GREAT WORK!!! One of the best, most helpful posts I've ever seen here.

     

    Wow thanks! I have been mostly a lurker for many years and so appreciate all the helpful information I have received from others. It's nice to be able to give back ;)

     

    Newest version attached with deletion of Fat Jimmy's and location of Pizzeria del Capitano locations. It should be formatted to print to a letter size page.

    MAGIC DINING 2-22.pdf

    Post Dry Dock Magic Dining Spreadsheet

    in Carnival Cruise Lines

    Posted

    Also I guess Fat Jimmy's BBQ is not going on Magic.

     

    I thought I had read that was the case but its not listed anywhere anymore that I can see.

     

    Sticking with the BBQ it already has.

     

    I'm almost positive it was listed as coming soon and had the Fat Jimmy's menu when I made this spreadsheet because I was only researching the Magic, but I just looked again and it is Ocean Side BBQ with its menu (which to me seems a little redundant to the new venues with its menu of burgers, hotdogs and some type of taco...oh well if we hear different I will change it back to Fat Jimmys.

    A la carte drinks

    in Carnival Cruise Lines

    Posted

    Unlike past cruises I am not planning on getting the soda card for my kids, Since the western is so port intensive I figure they will only be needing a soda at dinner each night. Are sodas in the dining room $2 as well and do they come with refills or do they bring you a can each time? Thanks!

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