GAPearl's "MAGIC"al Birthday Cruise! Complete Magic picture review-6/14/15 sailing.

[gapearl]

My mom and I shared the chicken nachos.

 

 

JJ had the beef tacos.

 

 

I was not expecting a birthday cake! I love the question mark age candle. It was a trick candle, by the way. We almost had an accident.

 

 

There's a nice ocean view from Coconuts.

 

 

 

This kid found a turtle roaming around. I started cracking up when the thing started peeing. lol

 

[gapearl]

This cute little guy was having a rough day.

 

 

This might be fun for my next visit to Cozumel.

 

 

Before leaving, they handed me two binders and asked if I wanted my picture put in there. I opened it and omg it was full of girls gone wild. I closed it like noooooooo thank you. My mom reached for it out of curiosity, thinking it was some sort of scrap book. No, do NOT open it. :eek:

 

 

This is me with the owner of Coconuts. What an incredibly nice and welcoming man he was.

 

 

We had a great day traveling around the island and made it back to the port around 3:30 pm. The family walked around for a little while to get the free stuff listed in the brochures they give you as you leave the ship. They had to learn the hard way that those offers are just to lure you in the store to buy something. I told you so! lol

 

[gapearl]

Normally I avoid touristy places like Señor Frogs because I prefer to eat and drink at local places. However I made an exception today because I figured I'd have some fun in my birthday girl sash and tiara.

 

 

I couldn't decide what I wanted so I told the bartender to surprise me. I don't know what she made me but it was something sweet and fruity. I had the cup size and it was $9.

 

 

 

This server brought me some kind of fruity shot for free.

 

 

I got called on stage for a birthday lap dance from Magic Mike here. It was as PG as possible, but I'll tell you this. He had abs harder than an Aston Martin payment. Papi you're about to get your green card cause I'm smuggling you back on the ship with me. :p

 

[gapearl]

I hung out by myself for the first little while I was there. At that moment, I was kind of wishing I had a friend or significant other or someone there with me. There were some other birthday celebrations happening and I soon got adopted by some other folks from the ship that insisted I shouldn't be by myself on my birthday.

 

 

 

At 5 pm, I left Señor Frogs to stop by a gift shop for a couple of lapel pins for my collection and some vanilla. All aboard was 5:30 pm for our 6 pm departure.

 

 

Selfie with some youngins.

 

 

Me with my awesome cabin steward Olen.

 

[gapearl]

There were still a few people trickling down the pier 5 minutes before departure, but lucky for them this boat pulled up at the last minute with probably 200 people being brought back.

 

 

 

One last shot of Cozumel before we leave.

 

 

There goes the Carnival Dream.

 

 

The Royal Caribbean ship is leaving before us as well.

 

[gapearl]

Here it is, my birthday dress! It's an Xscape dress from Macy's. I might do Vegas for New Year's Eve so I can wear it again.

 

 

Tonight's dinner menu. All four of us made it to dinner. Tonight was the only night CJ came to the MDR.

 

 

I had the chicken noodle soup appetizer.

 

 

My mom's fried shrimp, what she had been asking about all week.

 

 

CJ's filet.

 

 

My grilled chicken with vegetables and mashed potatoes.

 

[gapearl]

Tonight's dessert menu.

 

 

My mom's apple pie.

 

 

JJ's pumpkin pie.

 

 

Ok folks! What's wrong with this picture? :eek:

 

[gapearl]

I was mistaken about our entertainment from last night. It was Gangham Style last night and tonight was the Bollywood song Shake, Shake, Shake.

 

 

 

 

I REALLY love this dress. My birthday was originally going to be on elegant night until the itinerary switch.

 

 

Michelle and the gang sang happy birthday to me. When I blew out my candle, I wished for my second ice cream that was missing off my warm chocolate melting cake. lol

 

 

[gapearl]

After dinner I went to JR McCollom's comedy show again. I sat in the front row next to a girl my age who also ditched her family. When one of the bar waitresses came over, I saw that she was from Thailand. In preparation for my Asian invasion on my next cruise, I'm learning some conversational Thai (because I think you should never go to another country without knowing some basic words to be polite with the locals) and what I said to her, she said was perfect. Eric was not our host tonight but another guy from the entertainment team whose name I cannot remember. For the free drink tonight, he asked if anyone in the room was celebrating a birthday. Well it was kind of hard to miss me screaming in my tiara and blinged out dress. There was another guy celebrating a birthday, but he was encouraged to be a gentleman and let the lady have it. JR messed with me a bit at the beginning of his show and had me come up in my dress. He was just as hilarious as he was last night.

 

 

The Mexican buffet was tonight at midnight. I stopped by but didn't see anything I wanted. I did chat with a few people there before heading to the Vibe Nightclub. The birthday drinks were flowing freely from several new friends.

 

I honestly have no recollection of taking this. LOL

 

 

I knocked over my birthday girl glass. Bummer.

 

 

I had to call it a night at 2 am when the birthday drinks started kicking in big time and told me it was time to go to bed, old lady.

 

Awww, thank you Carnival!

 

 

A frog!

 

 

This was a fabulous birthday, definitely one of the best ever! Only 364 more days until I do it again. Tomorrow though, the recovery from tonight begins.

 

[lifeisgoodPat]

Enjoying your review so much! You are a very special story teller...

[RubyGold]

LOVE your reviews!

 

Out of curiosity, I looked up the aqua vault. Bought one at a discount price but then the mailing fee to the UK stung me, D'OH! Still. Very excited to have one as I always worry about my goodies going missing.

[lido deck larry]

Enjoying the review a lot! Now we just need to rewrite the entire review from your Mom's perspective.

 

GAPearlMom: "The cabin was so cold, I could not believe my daughter said the dial was broken! She called guest services, but no one came to fix it! I decided to take a nap under the covers but couldn't sleep. Fortunately I used this time to plan my excursions.. I'd bring no more than five dollars cash, because I don't need to buy any souvenirs....."

 

Sent from my SM-G386T using Tapatalk

[gapearl]

Kim,

 

The guy in the picture with you and James is Jonathan. He was great! We did a lot of trivia with him He kept calling my younger son "Jake from State Farm"

and my son got the biggest kick out of that.

 

Yes I saw him around all the time. This is probably the most energetic and out there entertainment staff I've ever seen on a cruise. Jake from State Farm lol.

 

If you zoom in on the picture, it looks like his nametag says Jonathan.

 

I totally love the towel animal invasion on the pool deck!

 

That's what I thought it said. When I zoomed in on my ipad, it was pretty blurry and I couldn't really tell what it said. I've only see the towel animals on lido in other people's pictures, but now I finally got to see it for myself!

[gapearl]

Just caught up on your review and really enjoying it. Thanks for taking the time! :D

 

Thank you for taking the time to read!

 

OMG I am so loving this review. I have been to Cozumel twice and we always go to the beach...I love Tequila this would be so much fun. Happy Birthday and you look stunning in Pink! Hope our paths cross on a cruise or in the air.

 

Kathy

 

PS...I keep refreshing my lap top to see if you have added any more posts. Wonderful review and so real (refreshing)

 

Hi Kathy! Next time you're in Cozumel, you could go to the tequila tasting before the beach. We were only there maybe 20-30 minutes so you could still have plenty of beach time after. Thanks so much for following along!

[gapearl]

Enjoying your review so much! You are a very special story teller...

 

Thank you so much Pat! I'm glad you're enjoying it.

 

LOVE your reviews!

 

Out of curiosity, I looked up the aqua vault. Bought one at a discount price but then the mailing fee to the UK stung me, D'OH! Still. Very excited to have one as I always worry about my goodies going missing.

 

Oh wow, a reader all the way from the UK! You'll have to report back on how you liked the AV. Looks like a lot of people are interested in it. I always feel so paranoid leaving my valuables when I'm at the beach and go to get in the water. This will give me a little sense of security.

 

Enjoying the review a lot! Now we just need to rewrite the entire review from your Mom's perspective.

 

GAPearlMom: "The cabin was so cold, I could not believe my daughter said the dial was broken! She called guest services, but no one came to fix it! I decided to take a nap under the covers but couldn't sleep. Fortunately I used this time to plan my excursions.. I'd bring no more than five dollars cash, because I don't need to buy any souvenirs....."

 

Sent from my SM-G386T using Tapatalk

 

I would LOVE to see this review from my mom's point of view. lol :p

[slord12]

A belated happy birthday! Loving this review! This review is making me even more excited for the Magic's move to Port Canaveral.

[tropicaledrink]

I was looking forward to getting in some Spanish practice today. I started learning Spanish about 3 years ago through a few apps I downloaded to my ipad. Then I went to Barnes & Noble and got some workbooks. I went lesson by lesson and page by page, conjugating billions of verbs in all the different tenses, learning vocabulary, writing sentences, and translating paragraphs. I listen to a TON of Spanish music. I went to a Spanish school in Guatemala last year and went to another in Nicaragua earlier this year. I've continued Spanish lessons with my teachers in Nicaragua through Skype and practice with my Spanish speaking friends when I can. But still, I don't consider myself totally fluent. I think people toss around that word too freely. Just because you took a semester of Spanish in high school, can easily say una cerveza más, por favor at your local La Fiesta Mexican Restaurant, have been to Cancun 5 times, and can sing the chorus to Vivir Mi Vida, does not make you fluent en español. It takes time to learn another language, especially as an adult. I usually say I have a high level of proficiency, although people say I sound fluent when they hear me speaking Spanish. Any chance I get to put my Spanish to work, I take it. I am very serious about becoming fluent, even considering a near future move to somewhere in Latin America for a year or two.

 

Viva Mexico!

 

 

 

Hey GAPearl!

 

Would you mind sharing the name of the apps you used? I'm looking to learn some conversational Spanish (I took French in high school, so no real Spanish background, and I remember only a little in French!). Thanks! :)

[babsee101]

What a great way to spend a birthday! And girl, you looked fabulous on your special day!

 

I am super disappointed in your new friend Jason. How in the heck could he choose the casino over making a beautiful woman smile on her birthday? Not cool! :(

[chrisqb10]

Omg! Best review hands down!

[wrigley80]

Hey there good people!

 

I guess I should prepare myself to not eat, sleep, or do anything productive this week because I have a cruise review to write! I'll be getting to it later today, but here's a "preview" of what's to come.

 

Watch the video. Watch the video. Watch the video. I repeat, WATCH THE VIDEO. :p

 

[YOUTUBE]hR8uxBytGo0[/YOUTUBE]

 

In case you can't get in to play in this window, here's the link.

 

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=hR8uxBytGo0

 

Stay tuned! :D

 

I have been away from cruise critic for awhile and I come back to find a 500+ post review from you plus a video. What is that??? now I am going to have to step up my game on my next review. I am only on the first post :D and I love it already

[tropicaledrink]

I have been away from cruise critic for awhile and I come back to find a 500+ post review from you plus a video. What is that??? now I am going to have to step up my game on my next review. I am only on the first post :D and I love it already

 

YES, because you totally got a shout out in this review!

 

GAPearl, awesome review as usual! :D

[wrigley80]

Oh really?? Well now I've gotta subscribe and continue reading. I'm only on post #54

[olcar]

Oh really?? Well now I've gotta subscribe and continue reading. I'm only on post #54

 

 

Keep reading, it's very interesting and fun!

[wrigley80]

Keep reading, it's very interesting and fun!

 

 

Ok I will. I'm at work and trying to get some work done but thanks to Kim's review not much is getting done today

[GrummanTiger]

 

 

 

There's a little sitting area here.

 

 

Time to head back out and get the heck away from these mosquitos.

 

We had the opposite feeling. We had a guide from a Carnival tour and we never got to really LOOK at things as they kept us moving and spent a LOT of time yapping! I had really wanted to opportunity to look around and absorb.

 

GT