MAGIC - Our Photo Review of the Inaugural Sailing of the Magic

[joand452]

[quote name='cruisinskier']Hi Joan. No one in our group spoke a word of Spanish so you would be fine. English was spoken at all tourist locations and every restaurant we went to had menus in Spanish and English. The only spot we had an issue was in the subway station on the platform trying to get directed towards the right track to Montserrat....but everyone was trying to assist and once we got to the right spot they were used to dealing with tourists and English was common again. The difference in languages is part of the fun of finding your way around foreign cities and overall English was spoken in most places that are willing to take your $$$....[/QUOTE]

Thanks! That makes me feel a lot better.

[troublemaker12]

Thanks so much for all the pics and info....sailing the TA and these were very helpful.

[trikinimaster]

Many of the onboard photos answered questions that have been hanging for months Am on the TA and will be in Bacelona from Wed AM thru departure Friday. My companion uses a mobility sccoter and you mentioned one of your group did so are there any cautions in Barcelona. We are on LaParrelel <?> at the columbus end (South) <?> and plan only walking from there. Wed and Thursday Los Ramblas, the market off it, maybe a few parks and buildings in the area.

Great Review and can't wait:D

[cruisinskier]

[quote name='cobocai']What a wonderful review!!! I'm sooo excited to get on the Magic!!! Thanks again for sharing!!![/quote]

Thank you cobocai and enjoy your cruise on the Magic!

[quote name='troublemaker12']Thanks so much for all the pics and info....sailing the TA and these were very helpful.[/quote]

troublemaker, glad it was helpful and enjoy the TA!

[quote name='trikinimaster']Many of the onboard photos answered questions that have been hanging for months Am on the TA and will be in Bacelona from Wed AM thru departure Friday. My companion uses a mobility sccoter and you mentioned one of your group did so are there any cautions in Barcelona. We are on LaParrelel <?> at the columbus end (South) <?> and plan only walking from there. Wed and Thursday Los Ramblas, the market off it, maybe a few parks and buildings in the area.

Great Review and can't wait:D[/quote]

trikinimaster, glad I was able to assist. Yes one member of our group used a scooter and we did find that Barcelona was much easier to get around than other European ports. Overall the sidewalks in Barcelona are very wide and mostly flat. Having said that at times they are crowded, especially La Ramblas at peak times. If you do decide to explore other areas, the subway is very much geared to assist those with mobility issues with elevators at selected stations and raised platforms for easy access. I will post a few pictures here to hopefully show what I am trying to say.....enjoy Barcelona and the TA on the Magic!

La Ramblas just north of the Columbus Monument...very wide and flat
[IMG]http://i1182.photobucket.com/albums/x448/cruisinskier/Magic%20Med%20Cruise/DSC02972.jpg[/IMG]


Elevators within the subway stations...most are visible right on the streets
[IMG]http://i1182.photobucket.com/albums/x448/cruisinskier/Magic%20Med%20Cruise/DSC02856.jpg[/IMG]


Raised platforms for easy access to the subway
[IMG]http://i1182.photobucket.com/albums/x448/cruisinskier/Magic%20Med%20Cruise/DSC02855.jpg[/IMG]

[islandcruisersnc]

Great review with pics! Thanks so much! :D

[jmcancruise]

Thankyou for an amazing review. Have to admit, I mostly looked at the pictures. One in particular stood out to me as something I must do some day. We have been kayaking in the Mangroves of the Bahamas, Zip Lining in Honduras, Cave Tubing in Belize. Someday I must Kayak the canals of Venice. That would be so cool.

[cruisinskier]

Great review with pics! Thanks so much! :D

 

Thanks....glad you enjoyed it.

 

Thankyou for an amazing review. Have to admit, I mostly looked at the pictures. One in particular stood out to me as something I must do some day. We have been kayaking in the Mangroves of the Bahamas, Zip Lining in Honduras, Cave Tubing in Belize. Someday I must Kayak the canals of Venice. That would be so cool.

 

jm, yes it looked like they were having fun kayaking the canals.....just don't fall over into that water. Somehow I don't think there are any Venice snorkel tours!

[salboz]

I echo all of the previous praises of your review. If you don't currently do such things as a profession, you should start. I am willing to bet that you would not have much trouble finding a publisher. Am doing the Magic TA and am looking forward to being back in Barcelona. Did the Med from there last year and have been there in the past on a land tour. I never came close to having all the wonderful photographic memories that you have shared, let alone the 100's more I'm sure you have. Thanks so very much.

[cruisinskier]

I echo all of the previous praises of your review. If you don't currently do such things as a profession, you should start. I am willing to bet that you would not have much trouble finding a publisher. Am doing the Magic TA and am looking forward to being back in Barcelona. Did the Med from there last year and have been there in the past on a land tour. I never came close to having all the wonderful photographic memories that you have shared, let alone the 100's more I'm sure you have. Thanks so very much.

 

Salboz, thank you for your kind words. If you can find someone who wants to pay for my future cruises, I will gladly provide a review :D

Have a great cruise on the TA and enjoy your time in Barcelona!

[lovecruzing]

So to wrap up this review, here are a few final pictures from our time on the Magic......thanks for letting us relive our trip!!!

 

Thanks

Jerry

 

 

Until we cruise again......

 

 

OMG, what a great picture review. To my fellow Bramptoner, my hats off to you. Job well done. We are planning on going on the Breeze next year so it was great seeing pictures of the ship, knowing the the Breeze will be similar.

 

Bevie

[cruisinskier]

OMG, what a great picture review. To my fellow Bramptoner, my hats off to you. Job well done. We are planning on going on the Breeze next year so it was great seeing pictures of the ship, knowing the the Breeze will be similar.

 

Bevie

 

Thanks Bevie. Enjoy the Breeze....and Happy Canada Day to you and all the other Canadians on this board :)

[cruise_girl2002]

looks like a blast! would love to sail the magic

[adjoankora]

These are some of the most beautiful photos I have seen of Venice. My DH and I are on a 18 day TA Venice to Ft Lauderdale in October and we need a new camera and/or camcorder. May I ask what equipment you used to take these wonderful shots? Please email me with info at brendaoanderson at comcast dot net. Thanks much!

[cruisinskier]

looks like a blast! would love to sail the magic

 

cruise_girl, it was a blast.....hope you make it on the Magic one day.

 

These are some of the most beautiful photos I have seen of Venice. My DH and I are on a 18 day TA Venice to Ft Lauderdale in October and we need a new camera and/or camcorder. May I ask what equipment you used to take these wonderful shots? Please email me with info at brendaoanderson at comcast dot net. Thanks much!

 

Brenda, Glad you enjoyed the review. My pics were taken with a Sony Cybershot DSC-HX7V which is basically a higher end point & shoot camera. No interchangeable lens, etc...but it does have a 10 times optical zoom and is 16 megapixel. I had bought the camera for this trip as our old Canon Powershot G4 died (I think they are up to G11 now so it had paid it's dues...). I am happy with the camera but had some issues along the way, mostly because it was new and I was still getting used to it :) I wanted something that I could just throw in my pocket and go and it worked great for that....enjoy the TA

[cruisinskier]

To those of you lurking behind the scenes, I just want to say thank you and hope this review has been somewhat helpful in your planning process. Never in my wildest dreams did I expect over 70,000 views.

WOW! :o:):cool:

[mississauga]

To those of you lurking behind the scenes, I just want to say thank you and hope this review has been somewhat helpful in your planning process. Never in my wildest dreams did I expect over 70,000 views.

WOW! :o:):cool:

 

 

That's what a fantastic review like yours will do for you. Everyone comes back to check for more ....and you delivered!:D:D:D

[WECRUISE4US]

We go in about 80 days to Barcelona and on our 9 day Carnival Magic cruise. We really enjoyed your entire review and it makes us feel like we have already been there. Thank you!

[afcj1]

Thanks so much for sharing with us. I shared your link with my roll call group, so I hope that they enjoy it as much as I did:)

 

I LOVED all of your info and pics, especially your excursions with RIL. A large group of us have reserved their services also.

 

Thanks again!

[dfishner]

Your pictures of Venice were incredible, I do not belive I have seen better and love your review. I am not a big Carnival fan but I did like the pictures of the ship, I thought there were some really nice areas and may have to re think doing a cruise in the future.

[cruisinskier]

That's what a fantastic review like yours will do for you. Everyone comes back to check for more ....and you delivered!:D:D:D

 

Mississauga, thanks again for your kind words. Have a great time on the Magic and I look forward to your review :D

[cruisinskier]

We go in about 80 days to Barcelona and on our 9 day Carnival Magic cruise. We really enjoyed your entire review and it makes us feel like we have already been there. Thank you!

 

wecruise4us, enjoy Barcelona, it truly was one of the highlights of our trip. And have a great cruise on the Magic!!

 

Thanks so much for sharing with us. I shared your link with my roll call group, so I hope that they enjoy it as much as I did:)

 

I LOVED all of your info and pics, especially your excursions with RIL. A large group of us have reserved their services also.

 

Thanks again!

 

afcj1, glad we were able to assist in some small way. RIL were true professionals and they will take very good care of you. We had a total of 5 RIL drivers for our 3 tours (2 drivers each in Rome & Florence) and all were fantastic. You will see much more and learn the history as a result of their experience and flexibility. And if any questions arise form your roll call, feel free to ask.....we will try to assist. Have a great cruise!

 

Your pictures of Venice were incredible, I do not belive I have seen better and love your review. I am not a big Carnival fan but I did like the pictures of the ship, I thought there were some really nice areas and may have to re think doing a cruise in the future.

 

Dale, thanks for your kind remarks. We had selected this cruise based firstly on the itinerary and the price. To be totally frank, Carnival would not have been our first choice however we had a great cruise, the Magic was very enjoyable, the crew were very friendly, and they were extremely organized with minimal issues given it was the inaugural cruise. Yes dinner was slow the first few nights as the team got used to working together however the food quality was very good. Overall we had a fantstic trip and would not hesitate to do a Carnival cruise in our future, especially this class of ship.

[pacruiseaddict]

Hi

 

Thanks so much for the BEST review I have ever read on CC. I am a "lurker" but I just had to register and sign-in so I could express my appreciation for two days of great enjoyment!

The pictures are magnificent and I found myself gasping at so many of them...

 

Thank you again and best wishes to you and your family. I cannot wait till you cruise again

 

Eileen

[cruisinskier]

Hi

 

Thanks so much for the BEST review I have ever read on CC. I am a "lurker" but I just had to register and sign-in so I could express my appreciation for two days of great enjoyment!

The pictures are magnificent and I found myself gasping at so many of them...

 

Thank you again and best wishes to you and your family. I cannot wait till you cruise again

 

Eileen

 

Eileen, firstly welcome officially to Cruise Critic. I am humbled that you would feel the need to join CC just to comment on my review. Thank you for your kind words and glad you enjoyed the review...it was a lot of fun to relive our trip.

 

As far as next cruises go, you may have to wait a little while. Our son has one more year of school to become a paramedic and our daughter starts University in the fall and will be moving across Canada to BC to pursue her dreams. So at this point our next "trip" will be flying out with her to help her move and get settled. Then we hope to head back to BC in February 2012 for a family ski trip during both the kid's winter break, so our next cruise at this point is August 2012 on the Oasis of the Seas. Although I have started dropping hints that if the right deal came up this fall we should do another cruise....we will see what happens but with two kids in University the budget does get a little tight, especially when we did this unscheduled Med trip. :D:D

 

Thanks again for your comments and for "unlurking" :)

[ninkb]

Love the pix you posted. DH is hoping for your success on our upcoming cruise. Would you share some details about your camera? Make? SLR? If so, what focal length you used for the canal pictures? Thanks for sharing your experience with others.

[ninkb]

Sorry I didn't read the whole thread before posting the question to cruisinskier. Answer has been forwarded to DH! Thanks for the "early" response.