*OFFICIAL CC GROUP CRUISE*"Spirit of the 'Magic'al Dream" CARNIVAL MAGIC, FEB 26,2012

[satex]

Good afternoon SMDers. Another really warm day today, but I won't go into that Vicki lol.

Marie - The hotel is going to shuttle those that need a ride to the terminal. That and the parking are the two things that I made sure of before choosing the Hotel Galvez. The shuttle is free and the parking is $15 the first day for valet and then free for the rest of the week. This helps the hotel keep track of the vechiles that are there.

Janet - best of luck to ya. I remember how hard it was to quite. We've got your back:p.

Sadie - good luck with buying that bathing suit online.

Well as most of you know, I work for the VA hospital. So, with the government shut down, I still have to go to work. The last time this happend, I still had to work while others were given off with pay:mad:. Now how is that fair? I won't go into that.

OK, yesterday was the start of fiesta here in San Antonio. It's a 11 day party with more then 100 events to choose from. Only problem is that with each year the prices have gone up and up. What use to cost $5 to get into 10 years ago is now $12. Anyway, it's still a good time to be had and there are still some events that are free. So, Viva Fiesta!

Saying Hi to Sherri, Kathy, Bobbie, Vicki and everyone else.

[satex]

The Carnival Magic is coming to Galveston, Texas!!!

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Come join us for the "Spirit of the "Magic"al Dream" cruise.

 

 

This official CC group cruise is from Feb 26th through Mar 4, 2012 with the following itinerary.

 

 

Sunday, Feb 26 GALVESTON, TX 4:00pm

 

 

Monday, Feb 27 FUN DAY AT SEA

 

 

Tuesday, Feb 28 COZUMEL, MEXICO 8:00am 4:00pm

 

 

Wednesday, Feb 29 GRAND CAYMAN, CAYMAN ISLANDS 9:00am 4:00pm

 

 

Thursday, Mar 01 MONTEGO BAY, JAMAICA 9:00am 6:00pm

 

 

Friday, Mar 02 FUN DAY AT SEA

 

 

Saturday, Mar 03 FUN DAY AT SEA

 

 

Sunday, Mar 04 GALVESTON, TX 8:00am

 

 

 

Here is the list of those booked so far:

 

 

 

Rich & West – Group Leaders satex, early dining, 4C

Lori & Don leaderdogmom, Anytime Dinning

Andrea & Dave flippr5657, Anytime Dinning

Janet & Judie jandjfun, None or Anytime Dinning, 4C, Judie's B-day cruise

Nancy & Asa lilnan

Chelle & Pat doddsm, 4B, Early Dinning

Dawn & Marie Dragonfly34 & Koval, 4B, Early Dinning, Celebrating, Dawns B-day and cruising with old friends

Bobbie & Betty 1tuckersmom, Anytime Dinning, 8B, Bobbie's B-day

Ron & Carmen San Antonio, early dining, 4C

Jerod & Emilee illeniumsd & Pretty-N-Pink, 4C, anytime dining and celebrating the "Best cruise Ever" again

Steven & Julie ChiBearsSuperFan & jbags58

Sherri & Mike She-ra, Late Dinning

Dale & Pete

Peggy & Bert San Antonio, early dining, 8C

Chad & Holly SDphotoGrl

Fabian & Nessa Fabismommy

Kathy & Gary NMCruiser55

Vicki & Kimi Oregon,MICKIDE

Migdelia and June San Antonio, 4C, anytime

Vickie and Kermit San Antonio, 4C

Madelene Fort Lauderdale

Pat & Sadie, East of New Orleans, 8c

 

Who's next to be added to the list?

 

 

Here is a list of things that we will be doing while on the Magic cruise:

 

M&G the night prior at the Hotel - Director Rich and West

M&G while on board - Director Rich and West

Cabin crawl - Director?

Pub crawl - Directors Sherri & Dale

Slot pull - Directors Janet and Judie

Cocktail party - Director Rich and West

Gift exchange - Director Marie

B-day party Director - Director ?

Putt-putt tournament - Director ?

Steakhouse Dining - Director ?

T-Shirt - Director Janet

 

 

Excursions

Cozumel: Cozumel Bar Bus Hop – Tour Director Lori

Paradise Beach - Director Marie

 

Grand Cayman: ?? - Tour Director Andrea

 

Montego Bay: Jamaica Freestyle tour - Director Janet

 

 

And of course: Group Leaders - Rich and West

Countdown Director - Andrea

Official Photographer - Jerod

 

The official cruise hotel will be the Hotel Galvez in Galveston (information on the hotel is located in the business pages):

 

 

To book this Cruise Critic Group Member Cruise, please contact Johna at ******.com (JohnaN@******.com) or call her at 1-800-493-6609 . Please be sure to state that you are interested in booking into the OFFICIAL CRUISE CRITIC GROUP CRUISE for the Carnival Magic, Feb 26, 2012.

 

Once you have booked with Johna, please let me know so that I can add you to the list.

 

 

 

 

So who will be next to join in on the fun? Don't be shy. Call Johna and book today. Come join the party.

[She-ra]

Sunshine!!! Heading outside :D

-Sherri

[doddsm]

Checking in, I have been absent so long I have no clue what is going on.

 

 

 

[mickide]

Checking in, I have been absent so long I have no clue what is going on.

 

Hi Chelle!

And Rich, thank you very much :).

[jandjfun]

Hi everyone!! Thanks for the encouraging words on my journey to being a non smoker. I will start taking the pills tomorrow, and I can smoke for another week. I guess it takes that long to get the medicine into your system. So one week from tomorrow is my quit date. April 16th.:eek::D I am hoping none of the side effects take hold of me. They aren't pretty! lol But I have my family on high alert to watch for all the side effect symptoms so I will know if I'm losing it or not!

 

Rich, I didn't know the pub crawl was a trivia thing too. My bad. But Steve did do an awesome job and it was so fun!!

 

Marie, I totally agree with you!!

 

Chelle, I wondered if you booked the air today since it is open now. I found flights that would hook Judie and I up in Dallas so we could land together in Houston. But we aren't sure yet if we are going to do a B2B yet, and since that will effect the dates, we can't book yet.

Let us know when you book and what the flight numbers are. Maybe we can share a shuttle from the airport to the Hotel together.

[1tuckersmom]

Hi everyone!! Thanks for the encouraging words on my journey to being a non smoker. I will start taking the pills tomorrow, and I can smoke for another week. I guess it takes that long to get the medicine into your system. So one week from tomorrow is my quit date. April 16th.:eek::D I am hoping none of the side effects take hold of me. They aren't pretty! lol But I have my family on high alert to watch for all the side effect symptoms so I will know if I'm losing it or not!

 

Rich, I didn't know the pub crawl was a trivia thing too. My bad. But Steve did do an awesome job and it was so fun!!

 

Marie, I totally agree with you!!

 

Chelle, I wondered if you booked the air today since it is open now. I found flights that would hook Judie and I up in Dallas so we could land together in Houston. But we aren't sure yet if we are going to do a B2B yet, and since that will effect the dates, we can't book yet.

Let us know when you book and what the flight numbers are. Maybe we can share a shuttle from the airport to the Hotel together.

 

Janet I thought of you first off this morning when I woke up.

 

I did not realize tho that you would be able to smoke for a week after starting the pills.

 

When I stopped many, many years ago it was cold turkey. You know that I am OLD and there was no meds then, at least none that I was aware of.

 

I think it is cool that now there are meds to help with it....Once again wishing you the very best and just know we love you...:)

 

Agree that Steve did a fantastic job with the bar crawl.;)

 

Betty and I even won the Elvis trivia game. Being a Mississippian and living only 60 miles from Elvis` birthplace, plus being a teenager in the Elvis era, did give me an advantage tho.:p

 

Waving to everyone and hoping you all enjoy the week-end...

 

Our weather is beautiful....makes me think I am back in the Caribbean.:)

[satex]

Good morning SMDers.

Chelle - glad to see ya back. You have mail.

Janet - from the movie "The Waterboy", "you can do it". Sherri is going to have trivia/some sort of game at each bar. We will have to wait and see what her and Dale come up with. I'm sure they also will do a great job. Now about the Slot Pull. You had asked for it to be on the first sea day and we can do that in the afternoon. Is that alright with y'all? I'm thinking about 2 in the afternoon or so. I'm not sure when the cocktail party will be, but I will ask Johna to ask Carnival for it to be on either of the last two sea days.

Bobbie - can you believe the weather we are having? Got up this morning and it was 70. Loving it! (sorry Vicki). Congrats to you and Betty on the trivia win.

Marie - no furlough for me:(. I'd love to be furloughed except for the pay, but then again, it would be a few days off.

Vicki - hope the sun shines for you today:).

Sherri - sun shine for you too:).

We still have openings for the following directhships:

Cabin Crawl

B-day Party

Putt Putt

Steakhouse

If anyone is interested, please let me know and I will put you down and let you know what it is that you need to do.

I've also been starting to put together a schedule of events for us that I will be posting later. Now keep in mind as I said to Janet, the cocktail party we won't know about until at least one month before the cruise, so that will have to be put in when we know something.

[leaderdogmom]

Good morning all! Whew, only a 2 day work week and it was exhausting!! TGIS!!! I still have a lot of unpacking to do from our vacation, but at least I got all of the laundry done. And playing catch up with the mail, bills, housework etc after being gone 3 weeks is hard! But at least the weather is turning a bit warmer here, but not like Florida :(, I miss the 3 weeks of 85 and sunny.

We had a great time on our B2B cruises. The Freedom was really great, enjoyed Key West and Ocho Rios. Grand Cayman, not so much. But we only walked around town there, everything is way too expensive. But I hear the beaches are fantastic, so I'll definitely have to look into a beach day for sure for the Magic. The only problem ( but not a bad problem) on the Freedom was the # of kids. Lots of babies in strollers, preteens, and a high school senior class. Not to mention the 20 somethings that took over the aft pool and hot tubs. They weren't bad, just made for a crowded ship. The Miracle was a whole different crowd, more of our age group, plus a smaller ship. Plus all the CC friends made it great too :)

The only good thing about our vacation being done is being able to look forward to the Magic! Knowing we get to see our friends again and meet new friends!!

Janet--I wish you the best on your journey to being a non smoker. It may be hard for a few weeks but keep your end goal in sight!! Maybe you can start a cruise fund with all the $$ you'll be saving :D

Hope all the Matey's are feeling better today.

Hi to Rich, Marie, Chelle, Sherri, Vicki, Kathy and welcome to Sadie!!

[satex]

OK SMDers, this is just a rough draft, but let me know what y'all think:

 

Saturday Feb 25 - 8:00pm Meet and Greet and Hotel Galvez

 

Sunday Feb 26 - Board the Carnival Magic for a week of sun and fun

 

Monday Feb 27 - 10:00am Meet and Greet on board (location TBA) and gift exchange (Marie)

2:00pm Slot Pull, Hat Trick Casino

 

Tuesday Feb 28 - Cozumel, Mexico

Cozumel Bar Bus Hop – Lori Director

Paradise Beach – Marie Director

 

Wednesday Feb 29 - Grand Cayman Island

Diving Excursion – Andrea Director

Resort Excursion - TBA

 

Thursday Mar l - Montego Bay Jamaica

Jamaica Freestyle tour – Janet Director

 

Friday Mar 2 - 10:00am Putt Putt tournament, Mimi Golf course, Spa Deck

2:00pm Cabin Crawl

10:00pm Pub Crawl, TBA and B-day Party to follow Pub Crawl in disco bar

 

Saturday Mar 3 - 11:00am Farewell to the Carnival Magic Meet (TBA), get email addresses and numbers of your new best friends

 

3:00pm (hopefully) - Cocktail Party, TBA Rich Director

[leaderdogmom]

OK SMDers, this is just a rough draft, but let me know what y'all think:

 

Saturday Feb 25 - 8:00pm Meet and Greet and Hotel Galvez

 

Sunday Feb 26 - Board the Carnival Magic for a week of sun and fun

 

Monday Feb 27 - 10:00am Meet and Greet on board (location TBA) and gift exchange (Marie)

2:00pm Slot Pull, Hat Trick Casino

 

Tuesday Feb 28 - Cozumel, Mexico

Cozumel Bar Bus Hop – Lori Director

Paradise Beach – Marie Director

 

Wednesday Feb 29 - Grand Cayman Island

Diving Excursion – Andrea Director

Resort Excursion - TBA

 

Thursday Mar l - Montego Bay Jamaica

Jamaica Freestyle tour – Janet Director

 

Friday Mar 2 - 10:00am Putt Putt tournament, Mimi Golf course, Spa Deck

2:00pm Cabin Crawl

10:00pm Pub Crawl, TBA and B-day Party to follow Pub Crawl in disco bar

 

Saturday Mar 3 - 11:00am Farewell to the Carnival Magic Meet (TBA), get email addresses and numbers of your new best friends

 

3:00pm (hopefully) - Cocktail Party, TBA Rich Director

 

 

 

Looks good Rich, I like the idea of a resort excursion in Grand Caymen.

[DiN2cruzagain]

Good Afternoon Everyone!

Had a fantastic cruise but came home a little under the weather. Still feel like crap but hopefully this cough will find a new home and leave me! :(

I am going to be offically retired on April 19th and I can't wait. :D What to do? What to do? I bet I find plenty of things like hang out at the pool and work on my tan.

Off to do the mounds of laundry that are staring me in the face.:eek:

Have a great week-end everyone.:D

[satex]

Thanks Lori. As you know that we have had some feed back about the diving and others (like yourself) would rather just do some kind of beach/resort type thing. We will find something from those others to do while we are diving:D.

[satex]

Wow Betty, you only have one and 1/2 weeks to go. I still have another 6 months and I can't wait, but I will have to:(. I'm happy for ya:D.

[satex]

Good morning SMDers. Another full day of fiesta events here in San Antonio. The weather is suppose to get up to 90 (to warm for spring).

Hope y'all have a great day.

[She-ra]

Good morning SMDers. Another full day of fiesta events here in San Antonio. The weather is suppose to get up to 90 (to warm for spring).

Hope y'all have a great day.

 

Rich - enjoy the fiesta! We've got rain and may get up to 45 today.

Janet - good luck with quitting. I have no doubt you'll be successful.

Betty - in a few weeks you'll be doing so many things you'll wonder how you ever used to find time to go to work!

Hello to everyone - Have a wonderful day!!!

-Sherri

[flippr5657]

Hi all!

Well back to the real world for me :mad: The Miracle cruise was great, but I am sure the Magic cruise will be just as great if not better. I found really good air from SEA to HOU I will probably book that this week. Even better news is that Kyle, my son ( I lovingly refer to him as Hellchild) and his gf Tiffany have decided to join us on this cruise!!! YAY!!!!!!!!!!!! Money is an issue for them so they are doing their homework looking for the best deal.

Now I need to put on my director hat and get us some diving for Cayman. I was thinking that it would be nice if we could tie the beach resort day and the diving all into one place. Lots of resorts offer intro diving. That way we could dive, at whatever level we are comfortable with, and join everybody else on the beach afterwards. What do you think? I would be willing to wear the directors hat for both excursions :)

Well with all that being said, hello to all my Magic buddies old and new ....

because in

46 MORE WEEKS WE WILL ALL BE TOGETHER ON THE MAGIC!!!

catch you all later , and remember to play nice

andrea xo

[leaderdogmom]

Hi all!

 

Now I need to put on my director hat and get us some diving for Cayman. I was thinking that it would be nice if we could tie the beach resort day and the diving all into one place. Lots of resorts offer intro diving. That way we could dive, at whatever level we are comfortable with, and join everybody else on the beach afterwards. What do you think? I would be willing to wear the directors hat for both excursions :)

 

 

 

 

 

 

Great idea to try to combine a dive with a resort/beach day. Don can dive, and I can "beach" myself!!!

Beautiful day here, sunny and 79!!!! too bad it won't last. I need to get out into the sun to maintain my tan!! ( hope it lasts a few more days anyways)

[flippr5657]

Lori, Dave says our tans are fading at about $100 per day... lol :o

[mickide]

Good morning SMDers. Another full day of fiesta events here in San Antonio. The weather is suppose to get up to 90 (to warm for spring).

 

Hope y'all have a great day.

 

Okay Rich, that's it! Make room, I'm on my way!

[leaderdogmom]

Lori, Dave says our tans are fading at about $100 per day... lol :o

 

hahahaha!!! Don's maintaining his as he's been outside all day in the sun un-winterizing the camper with the help of some Bud :cool: BTW, it's 80 out there now-wish it would last :(

[flippr5657]

cold and grey here, but we are getting the pool ready. I guess we will turn the heater on at the end of next month

[Koval]

Hi Gang

Well, Chelle got us our Airline Tix.

Mine and Dawns went well, but she had to wait a day to get hers cuz she doesn't end her trip till a day after us. Over night layovers if you live in Kalispell I guess.

Sounds like it was a nightmare trying to get her one ticket on the same flight as Dawn and I.

She had to add an extra two flights, one with us all they way back to Portland, and then a morning flight back to Seattle to catch her flight to Kalispell...

But she managed to get the main flight to Houston and Back she wanted (with us of course)

and really she was going to have to stay the night somewhere, and my son lives 1/2 hour from the Airport, so this works out better anyway.

For all you Alaska Airline People booking out of Seattle or Portland, we will be leaving Friday, Feb 24th and flying home the same day (late flight) as we get back into port. Mar. 4th

Here are our Details...We are in the planning stages,

Going...

Horizon Air QX 2154 Portland, OR (PDX) Fri, Feb 24 8:00 am to Seattle (SEA) Fri, Feb 24 8:50 am

Alaska Airlines AS 730 Seattle (SEA) Fri, Feb 24 11:25 am to Houston, TX (IAH) Fri, Feb 24 arriving 5:45 pm

Coming back

Alaska Airlines AS 731 Houston, TX (IAH) Sun, Mar 4 6:35 pm to Seattle (SEA) Sun, Mar 4 9:20 pm

Horizon Air QX 2175 Seattle (SEA) Sun, Mar 4 11:00 pm to Portland, OR (PDX) Sun, Mar 4 11:44 pm

Thinking of renting a car or van, depending if there are any others on our flight wanting to share expenses,

and planning on just heading to the Hotel Galvez for Friday night too, turn in the car, enjoy the hotel and the beach, and wait on the rest of the gang to arrive.

So there you go. that's our plan so far

[doddsm]

Marie is correct, I finally got our Airline tickets, and doing mult-city award tickets is very hard and interesting if you want a certain flight, but patients and a whole day go it done.

[Koval]

Boy Howdy, renting a car in Houston, and driving to Galveston is not looking so good :eek:

There are more $$ in taxes and fee than the actual cost of renting the stupid car.

Like say for the week it Cost $200, there are over $300 in taxes and fees :eek:

The Shuttle for us will work just fine I am guessing :p

Looks like it is $145 for the 1st pass. and all the rest go free up to 10 ;)

$14.50 each if we have 10.

So, now why don't you all come in on Friday with us, and we can shuttle down together :p

Either that or a limo, I think that is even cheaper than renting a car.