Magic is going to................

[MamaParrotHead]

John Heald says to pop in to his blog after 8 PM tonight. Let the speculations fly! LOL http://johnhealdsblog.com/2010/06/22/your-destiny/

[MamaParrotHead]

John H says on his blog to check back there after 8 PM on news on the Magic. Could all of your waiting be coming to an end? LOL ;)

[scchasgal]

John H says on his blog to check back there after 8 PM on news on the Magic. Could all of your waiting be coming to an end? LOL ;)

 

Is the Eastern time or the UK timezone :D:p

[firefly333]

John H says on his blog to check back there after 8 PM on news on the Magic. Could all of your waiting be coming to an end? LOL ;)

 

I very much doubt it .. at best a hint when we might know.. but he wouldnt announce it from his blog... Im no longer a optimist.

[Grits53]

Very interesting. I wonder what time zone he's in.....??

[gigibw]

Ok, this may be old news, but I thought I would share this blog from the Houston Chronicle today:

 

TEXAS CRUISERS PRIMED FOR UPGRADES

 

JOE KAFKA: Associated Press

The Mariner of the Seas, shown here docked at Ocho Rios, Jamaica, will be based in Galveston beginning in 2011.

One significant upgrade to Galveston's cruise fleet already is confirmed. And more good news may be forthcoming.

 

Don't pack your bags quite yet. The change, or changes, won't be effective until November 2011. But these developments would be a huge boon to Texas cruisers antsy that no new ships have arrived since December 2007.

This much is official: Royal Caribbean International will replace its 3,114-passenger Voyager of the Seas with the same-size but newer Mariner of the Seas for the 2011-2012 winter cruise season.

 

 

This is speculation (but with a reliable source): Carnival Cruise Lines may bring the island port its first all-new megaship. According to Cruise Critic, the world's most respected online cruise news site, "all signs point to Galveston" as a base for the 3,646-passenger Carnival Magic, now under construction in Italy. Carnival Magic is the second in the cruise line's newest class of ships, following the Carnival Dream, which sails from Port Canaveral, Fla.

The Magic will debut in May 2011 with a series of voyages in the Mediterranean. Cruise Critic's report cites travel agents as saying the ship will depart Barcelona, Spain, on Oct. 28, 2011, and arrive in Galveston Nov. 13. Participants on the site's popular message boards say Carnival briefly advertised that trans-Atlantic sailing on its website, but as of this past weekend it was not listed.

 

 

Carnival spokesman Vance Gulliksen says that an announcement is anticipated within the next two weeks regarding the Magic's North American home port. Neither the cruise line nor the Port of Galveston has revealed any concrete plans.

 

 

 

It's unclear whether the Magic would join the Carnival Conquest and Carnival Ecstasy with a year-round presence in Galveston or if it would replace one of those vessels. (Carnival currently is marketing Conquest and Ecstasy cruises through August of next year.) Also unknown is whether the ship would split time between North America and Europe, a strategy utilized by Royal Caribbean with its Voyager of the Seas (and later with the Mariner of the Seas).

 

 

Assuming Carnival Magic does sail from Galveston, its itinerary is also a suspense. The Conquest's primary seven-day itinerary includes Cozumel, Mexico; George Town, Grand Cayman; and Montego Bay, Jamaica. About once each month, the ship sails instead to Nassau and Freeport, Bahamas, and Key West, Fla. The Ecstasy conducts four-day cruises to Cozumel and five-day voyages to Cozumel and Progreso, Mexico.

 

 

As for Royal Caribbean, the Mariner of the Seas' move to Galveston is a win-win situation for two Gulf ports because the Voyager will transfer to New Orleans as the largest vessel ever based in that city.

SCOTT AUDETTE: Royal Caribbean

The Mariner of the Seas features a 25,000-square-foot pool deck.

The Mariner and Voyager are identical in size - 130,000 tons, -- and share the same basic layout and innovative features (including an ice rink, TV studio, in-line skating track, rock-climbing wall and indoor promenade). But the Voyager was launched in 1999, the Mariner in 2003. The Voyager was the first in a five-ship class; the Mariner is the newest among that quintet. Improvements in design and style are routine as a class of ships progresses, and the Mariner also includes a wine bar, a Ben & Jerry's ice-cream parlor and a steakhouse.

 

Condé Nast Traveler magazine readers, in a poll published in February 2009, ranked the Mariner No. 7 on the list of world's best large cruise ships.

The Mariner, currently based in Los Angeles, will take a circuitous route to Galveston, first offering cruises next winter in South America, then moving to Europe for the summer of 2011. It's scheduled to arrive in Galveston on Nov. 11, 2011, following a 16-day trans-Atlantic cruise from Rome. The ship will depart that same day on a rare nine-day cruise to four Caribbean ports. It will remain on the island for about five months.

 

 

Like the Voyager, the Mariner of the Seas will operate different itineraries on alternating weeks but with one major change - the introduction of Falmouth, a new Jamaican port conveniently located between Ocho Rios and Montego Bay.

 

 

Depending on the week, other port calls will include Cozumel and Costa Maya, Mexico; Roatan, Honduras; Belize City, Belize; and George Town, Grand Cayman.

 

 

Travel agents and Royal Caribbean already are accepting reservations for the Mariner's first season in Galveston. We'll have to wait a bit longer to unravel the Magic.

 

 

 

 

 

Posted by Harry Shattuck at June 21, 2010 12:05 PM

[familycruzinnewbie]

Yes, it will be 8pm for me in 10 minutes. If he's in the UK, it's been 8pm for him now for over 3hrs. So do I check back in 90 minutes or 2.5 hrs?

[glrounds]

Very interesting. I wonder what time zone he's in.....??

 

Iowa (born and raised there) is on Central Daylight Time . . . its 5:30 pm there right now.

[Grits53]

Iowa (born and raised there) is on Central Daylight Time . . . its 5:30 pm there right now.

 

So you're saying John is in Iowa now? :confused:

[scchasgal]

So you're saying John is in Iowa now? :confused:

 

LOL not likely

[LHP]

John Heald says to pop in to his blog after 8 PM tonight. Let the speculations fly! LOL http://johnhealdsblog.com/2010/06/22/your-destiny/

 

Actually, John just said 8PM...... (not 8PM tonight)

 

since he did not say which DAY.... :eek:

[firefly333]

I think its just going to be yet another tease. Im getting tired of teasing and not really telling us what we need to know to book.

[sea_u_onboard]

Interesting that a newspaper (blog) would site Cruise critic as a reliable source when the site itself hasn't reported it. At this point it is still speculation by cruisers until it becomes offical.

 

After reading some of the recent posts about RCL and good prcing on Mariner maybe I'll be check that out - just in case.

[spunkanutter]

Actually, John just said 8PM...... (not 8PM tonight)

 

since he did not say which DAY.... :eek:

 

 

Ugh you're so right about that! :rolleyes:

[astros77]

What's unprofessional is that something has obviously been leaked/disclosed internally and is being discussed without an official annoiuncement.

 

 

Nothing good could come from an "official announcement" on the leak before all is set in stone. The only choice would be to confirm or deny. If they confirm and then lets say that Galveston backs out before contracts are signed or they get some new report that says that home porting the newest build in Galveston is risky, then Carnival makes a lot of loyal customers irate. If they deny that Galveston has been decided as the home port, Carnival runs the risk of losing customers to RCI.

 

Since the earliest sailing from the U.S. is still a year and a half away, I really don't see the problem in waiting until everyhthing is final to issue an announcement.

[viaggi_per_mare]

Is the Eastern time or the UK timezone :D:p

 

That is exactly what I thought when I read it on the blog....8pm UK time is already past so....

...it does make you wonder if he will be up at 1am UK time to post it 8pm eastern time...or was that pacific time....or central time...

[firefly333]

Interesting that a newspaper (blog) would site Cruise critic as a reliable source when the site itself hasn't reported it. At this point it is still speculation by cruisers until it becomes offical.

 

After reading some of the recent posts about RCL and good prcing on Mariner maybe I'll be check that out - just in case.

 

The $100 OBC sale ends June 30th. To my knowledge, this is the first time RCL has ever done a sale like this where the OBC is combinable. If you are a C&A member (only need one previous cruise on RCL), there is a further C&A coupon that can be applied. Thats how I got the extra $100 ($50 pp) off the price of $479, which is showing for several dates to bring it down to $429. C&A coupons on Mariner for early Dec and late January cruise dates.

 

The $100 OBC offer ends June 30th. So, besides getting $429, Im getting $100 in OBC. Plus I have a RCL VISA card, and probably will get $300 off the final price of the cabin.

[prattmom]

Nothing good could come from an "official announcement" on the leak before all is set in stone. The only choice would be to confirm or deny. If they confirm and then lets say that Galveston backs out before contracts are signed or they get some new report that says that home porting the newest build in Galveston is risky, then Carnival makes a lot of loyal customers irate. If they deny that Galveston has been decided as the home port, Carnival runs the risk of losing customers to RCI.

 

Since the earliest sailing from the U.S. is still a year and a half away, I really don't see the problem in waiting until everyhthing is final to issue an announcement.

 

They could vallidate that their pvps and cds have been indicating that it is coming to galveston, but that they are still negotiation with cities x, y and z or ports a, b and c. At this point they aren't denying what has already been leaked which is pretty disappointing. Heck they could even blame bp LOL!

[sea_u_onboard]

The $100 OBC sale ends June 30th. To my knowledge, this is the first time RCL has ever done a sale like this where the OBC is combinable. If you are a C&A member (only need one previous cruise on RCL), there is a further C&A coupon that can be applied. Thats how I got the extra $100 ($50 pp) off the price of $479, which is showing for several dates to bring it down to $429. C&A coupons on Mariner for early Dec and late January cruise dates.

 

The $100 OBC offer ends June 30th. So, besides getting $429, Im getting $100 in OBC. Plus I have a RCL VISA card, and probably will get $300 off the final price of the cabin.

Where would I get the C&A coupon (have one RCL cruise? Where is the OBC showing? Is that per person up to 2 people? I'm looking for pricing but maybe I'm looking at the wrong week. Looking at the 9 night leaving on Nov 11th (my sons birthday). Looks like a good cruise as I would only have to take 6 days off work.

[spencercoop]

Probably talking about 8PM eastern.

[douglinc@msn.com]

It would be nice if Royal Caribbean would lower their prices in Galveston.

 

Doug

[waiting4acruise]

John H says on his blog to check back there after 8 PM on news on the Magic. Could all of your waiting be coming to an end? LOL ;)

It that 8pm UK time or EDT?

[robtx100]

Where would I get the C&A coupon (have one RCL cruise? Where is the OBC showing? Is that per person up to 2 people? I'm looking for pricing but maybe I'm looking at the wrong week. Looking at the 9 night leaving on Nov 11th (my sons birthday). Looks like a good cruise as I would only have to take 6 days off work.

 

On RCCL dot com, go to Crown & Anchor Society, Special Offers, (may ask you to login), Savings Certificate.

[BeeBeeCee]

Maybe we should change the thread title to "Mariner is going to..." instead of Magic is going to...:eek:

 

At least we know the answer for that :rolleyes:

[scchasgal]

So where on John Heald's blog does it say anything about Magic at 8 pm?