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Our unBELIZEable, MAGICal Cruise (and one "Dude, you are SO busted!" moment)

SRQbeachgirl

By SRQbeachgirl,
in Carnival Cruise Lines

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pghsteelerfan

pghsteelerfan

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Posted

I can definitely relate to the Blue Bell ice cream run. We are also in northern Virginia (not too far from Wash. Dulles, our "go to" airport) but are originally from the Pittsburgh area. They have a delicacy called Isley's Chipped Ham (great on sandwiches or making chipped ham BBQ) that is only available in the Pittsburgh area. Fortunately for us, we still have family up there, it's only 4 hours away, so we get up there several times a year and each time, we take the cooler and bring some back.

 

I'm really enjoying following along on your review and looking forward to the rest. Your title got me vested. ;)

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SRQbeachgirl "Live from...." Rare

SRQbeachgirl

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Belize (and the “Dude, you are so busted!” moment)

 

We arrived to a beautiful day in Belize. Our Sharks, Rays, Barrier Reef Snorkeling & Island Break excursion was booked through Carnival, so we met in the theater until we were called to the tender. The ride over to the mainland was quick and easy and our excursion boat was waiting for us when we got to the pier.

 

My one complaint about this excursion was that there were about twice the number of people that there should have been. The boat was designed to cram everyone shoulder to shoulder with no room to walk around or put on snorkel gear, so fins couldn’t be put on until you were in the water. While that was fine for most expert snorkelers, it made things difficult for beginners.

 

Anyway, back to the excursion itself. We had about a 40-minute ride out to the first snorkeling spot. We broke up into groups based on experience and went overboard. I have to say that this was some of the best snorkeling we have had, and we’ve snorkeled all over the Caribbean. The reef appeared healthy, with no noticeable bleaching. There was an abundance of fish of various species, conch, anemones, and the highlight of this stop – two green moray eels. My DH and DS actually touched one of them, but there was no way I was putting my hand that close to those teeth.

 

Our next stop was a shallow area off Caye Caulker where the nurse sharks and stingrays gather. As soon as we neared the location, the sharks began circling the boat looking for breakfast (the bait fish, not the tourists!). We jumped in and were immediately surrounded by 20 or more nurse sharks, which were circling themselves into a tight knot around a bait ball. I was, at most, about 5 feet from the swirling mass of sharks. They would rub against us as they swam by and a couple bumped into me looking for food, but they weren’t aggressive and had no interest in the humans. The rays joined in, hoovering up the scraps. We snorkeled with the sharks and rays for about 30 –40 minutes before getting back in the boat and heading to our next stop, which was a place to see some seahorses, then we took a short ride over to a spot where we could feed sardines to juvenile tarpon from the side of the boat.

 

Next it was over to the Lazy Lizard Restaurant on Caye Caulker, where we enjoyed a leisurely lunch. We had coconut shrimp and chicken nachos and they were both really good. Once everyone was done with lunch, we got back on the boat for the ride back to the pier. We got back with plenty of time for shopping, but we were ready to head to the ship.

 

Once back on the ship and after getting cleaned up, I hung out on the balcony watching the tender boats while DH and DS relaxed in the cabin. This is when an incident unfolded that escalated from stupid to “What the…?!?” very quickly.

 

First, I started smelling cigarette smoke. I figured someone was probably smoking on a nearby balcony, so I looked around and saw two guys on a balcony two cabins forward and one deck below ours. They were smoking and tossed their cigarette butts down to the Promenade deck, where they rolled around in the breeze. Okay, so we’re at Defcon Stupid.

 

The guys were drinking and I’m pretty sure they were both underage, so of course they weren’t satisfied stopping at “stupid.” Next, they started spitting (yes, spitting!) down onto the Promenade deck, but they also spit on a woman who was on the balcony directly below theirs. And we’re officially at Defcon Jerk.

 

That’s when I got on the phone to GS to report them. The GS member was appalled and said they were calling security.

 

Oh, but these guys weren’t done. Nope, they decided to go all the way to Defcon…well, I can’t post that word on CC, but you probably get the idea. When I got off the phone with GS I went back out to the balcony. One of the guys disappeared for a minute and then came back out with their ice bucket. I stood there, not really believing what I was seeing, while the guy took aim and dumped the bucket full of water onto a family who were walking on the Promenade deck, soaking the husband and wife. The couple stood there in shock, looking up trying to figure out who did it, because the guys had jumped back out of view (I could still hear them laughing at their little prank).

 

But I knew exactly what they’d done, hence the “busted ”moment. I decided to go straight down to GS instead of calling this time. When I got down there, once again avoiding the STILL ridiculous regular line (seriously, what is the deal with that line???), I talked with the same person I had spoken to on the phone. While I was there, three other calls came in about the same incident, plus the woman who got spit on called. They asked if I would mind speaking to a security officer, which of course I didn’t mind, so I waited a few minutes for one to arrive. He then asked me to show him where the incident happened, so I took him out onto the Promenade deck, where the couple was still standing.

 

I showed the security guard the balcony where the guys had been and the woman who had been spit on came out to her balcony and verified the location I had given. The security officer took our statements and said he was heading straight to the cabin where the guys were staying and they would be dealt with.

 

Interestingly, I didn’t see those guys for the rest of the cruise. I spent a lot of time on our balcony and never once heard or saw them on their balcony or anywhere else on the ship. I like to think they got thrown off the next morning in Roatan.

 

After that excitement, we went to dinner in the MDR, then spent the rest of the evening walking around the Promenade and relaxing/reading on our balcony.

 

Next stop, Roatan.

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SRQbeachgirl "Live from...." Rare

SRQbeachgirl

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Well, I just have to know... What is this miracle gel you speak of!? ;)

 

It's called Decleor Paris Circulagel. It's actually for improving circulation in the legs and it's very expensive, but just a tiny bit of it will suck the heat right out of a sunburn. We've been using it for years and are very miserly with it (someone's gotta have a bonafide burn to get to use it, none of this "just a little pink" stuff :')).

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ibbarry

ibbarry

Posted
Posted (edited)
Belize (and the “Dude, you are so busted!” moment)

 

First, I started smelling cigarette smoke. I figured someone was probably smoking on a nearby balcony, so I looked around and saw two guys on a balcony two cabins forward and one deck below ours. They were smoking and tossed their cigarette butts down to the Promenade deck, where they rolled around in the breeze. Okay, so we’re at Defcon Stupid.

 

The guys were drinking and I’m pretty sure they were both underage, so of course they weren’t satisfied stopping at “stupid.” Next, they started spitting (yes, spitting!) down onto the Promenade deck, but they also spit on a woman who was on the balcony directly below theirs. And we’re officially at Defcon Jerk.

 

That’s when I got on the phone to GS to report them. The GS member was appalled and said they were calling security.

 

Oh, but these guys weren’t done. Nope, they decided to go all the way to Defcon…well, I can’t post that word on CC, but you probably get the idea. When I got off the phone with GS I went back out to the balcony. One of the guys disappeared for a minute and then came back out with their ice bucket. I stood there, not really believing what I was seeing, while the guy took aim and dumped the bucket full of water onto a family who were walking on the Promenade deck, soaking the husband and wife. The couple stood there in shock, looking up trying to figure out who did it, because the guys had jumped back out of view (I could still hear them laughing at their little prank).

 

But I knew exactly what they’d done, hence the “busted ”moment. I decided to go straight down to GS instead of calling this time. When I got down there, once again avoiding the STILL ridiculous regular line (seriously, what is the deal with that line???), I talked with the same person I had spoken to on the phone. While I was there, three other calls came in about the same incident, plus the woman who got spit on called. They asked if I would mind speaking to a security officer, which of course I didn’t mind, so I waited a few minutes for one to arrive. He then asked me to show him where the incident happened, so I took him out onto the Promenade deck, where the couple was still standing.

 

I showed the security guard the balcony where the guys had been and the woman who had been spit on came out to her balcony and verified the location I had given. The security officer took our statements and said he was heading straight to the cabin where the guys were staying and they would be dealt with.

 

Interestingly, I didn’t see those guys for the rest of the cruise. I spent a lot of time on our balcony and never once heard or saw them on their balcony or anywhere else on the ship. I like to think they got thrown off the next morning in Roatan.

 

 

 

It's difficult (yet not impossible) to believe that people can be so stupid! I'm enjoying the read so far and I'm looking forward to the next update! :cool:

Edited by ibbarry
grammar and spelling
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Alaskan Joe

Alaskan Joe

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Posted
Belize (and the “Dude, you are so busted!” moment)

Once back on the ship and after getting cleaned up, I hung out on the balcony watching the tender boats while DH and DS relaxed in the cabin. This is when an incident unfolded that escalated from stupid to “What the…?!?” very quickly.

 

First, I started smelling cigarette smoke. I figured someone was probably smoking on a nearby balcony, so I looked around and saw two guys on a balcony two cabins forward and one deck below ours. They were smoking and tossed their cigarette butts down to the Promenade deck, where they rolled around in the breeze. Okay, so we’re at Defcon Stupid.

 

The guys were drinking and I’m pretty sure they were both underage, so of course they weren’t satisfied stopping at “stupid.” Next, they started spitting (yes, spitting!) down onto the Promenade deck, but they also spit on a woman who was on the balcony directly below theirs. And we’re officially at Defcon Jerk.

 

That’s when I got on the phone to GS to report them. The GS member was appalled and said they were calling security.

 

Oh, but these guys weren’t done. Nope, they decided to go all the way to Defcon…well, I can’t post that word on CC, but you probably get the idea. When I got off the phone with GS I went back out to the balcony. One of the guys disappeared for a minute and then came back out with their ice bucket. I stood there, not really believing what I was seeing, while the guy took aim and dumped the bucket full of water onto a family who were walking on the Promenade deck, soaking the husband and wife. The couple stood there in shock, looking up trying to figure out who did it, because the guys had jumped back out of view (I could still hear them laughing at their little prank).

 

But I knew exactly what they’d done, hence the “busted ”moment. I decided to go straight down to GS instead of calling this time. When I got down there, once again avoiding the STILL ridiculous regular line (seriously, what is the deal with that line???), I talked with the same person I had spoken to on the phone. While I was there, three other calls came in about the same incident, plus the woman who got spit on called. They asked if I would mind speaking to a security officer, which of course I didn’t mind, so I waited a few minutes for one to arrive. He then asked me to show him where the incident happened, so I took him out onto the Promenade deck, where the couple was still standing.

 

I showed the security guard the balcony where the guys had been and the woman who had been spit on came out to her balcony and verified the location I had given. The security officer took our statements and said he was heading straight to the cabin where the guys were staying and they would be dealt with.

 

Interestingly, I didn’t see those guys for the rest of the cruise. I spent a lot of time on our balcony and never once heard or saw them on their balcony or anywhere else on the ship. I like to think they got thrown off the next morning in Roatan.

 

After that excitement, we went to dinner in the MDR, then spent the rest of the evening walking around the Promenade and relaxing/reading on our balcony.

 

Next stop, Roatan.

 

Don't be that guy:eek:.

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BoDidly

BoDidly

Posted
Posted
Belize (and the “Dude, you are so busted!” moment)

 

We arrived to a beautiful day in Belize. Our Sharks, Rays, Barrier Reef Snorkeling & Island Break excursion was booked through Carnival, so we met in the theater until we were called to the tender. The ride over to the mainland was quick and easy and our excursion boat was waiting for us when we got to the pier.

 

My one complaint about this excursion was that there were about twice the number of people that there should have been. The boat was designed to cram everyone shoulder to shoulder with no room to walk around or put on snorkel gear, so fins couldn’t be put on until you were in the water. While that was fine for most expert snorkelers, it made things difficult for beginners.

 

Anyway, back to the excursion itself. We had about a 40-minute ride out to the first snorkeling spot. We broke up into groups based on experience and went overboard. I have to say that this was some of the best snorkeling we have had, and we’ve snorkeled all over the Caribbean. The reef appeared healthy, with no noticeable bleaching. There was an abundance of fish of various species, conch, anemones, and the highlight of this stop – two green moray eels. My DH and DS actually touched one of them, but there was no way I was putting my hand that close to those teeth.

 

Our next stop was a shallow area off Caye Caulker where the nurse sharks and stingrays gather. As soon as we neared the location, the sharks began circling the boat looking for breakfast (the bait fish, not the tourists!). We jumped in and were immediately surrounded by 20 or more nurse sharks, which were circling themselves into a tight knot around a bait ball. I was, at most, about 5 feet from the swirling mass of sharks. They would rub against us as they swam by and a couple bumped into me looking for food, but they weren’t aggressive and had no interest in the humans. The rays joined in, hoovering up the scraps. We snorkeled with the sharks and rays for about 30 –40 minutes before getting back in the boat and heading to our next stop, which was a place to see some seahorses, then we took a short ride over to a spot where we could feed sardines to juvenile tarpon from the side of the boat.

 

Next it was over to the Lazy Lizard Restaurant on Caye Caulker, where we enjoyed a leisurely lunch. We had coconut shrimp and chicken nachos and they were both really good. Once everyone was done with lunch, we got back on the boat for the ride back to the pier. We got back with plenty of time for shopping, but we were ready to head to the ship.

 

Once back on the ship and after getting cleaned up, I hung out on the balcony watching the tender boats while DH and DS relaxed in the cabin. This is when an incident unfolded that escalated from stupid to “What the…?!?” very quickly.

 

First, I started smelling cigarette smoke. I figured someone was probably smoking on a nearby balcony, so I looked around and saw two guys on a balcony two cabins forward and one deck below ours. They were smoking and tossed their cigarette butts down to the Promenade deck, where they rolled around in the breeze. Okay, so we’re at Defcon Stupid.

 

The guys were drinking and I’m pretty sure they were both underage, so of course they weren’t satisfied stopping at “stupid.” Next, they started spitting (yes, spitting!) down onto the Promenade deck, but they also spit on a woman who was on the balcony directly below theirs. And we’re officially at Defcon Jerk.

 

That’s when I got on the phone to GS to report them. The GS member was appalled and said they were calling security.

 

Oh, but these guys weren’t done. Nope, they decided to go all the way to Defcon…well, I can’t post that word on CC, but you probably get the idea. When I got off the phone with GS I went back out to the balcony. One of the guys disappeared for a minute and then came back out with their ice bucket. I stood there, not really believing what I was seeing, while the guy took aim and dumped the bucket full of water onto a family who were walking on the Promenade deck, soaking the husband and wife. The couple stood there in shock, looking up trying to figure out who did it, because the guys had jumped back out of view (I could still hear them laughing at their little prank).

 

But I knew exactly what they’d done, hence the “busted ”moment. I decided to go straight down to GS instead of calling this time. When I got down there, once again avoiding the STILL ridiculous regular line (seriously, what is the deal with that line???), I talked with the same person I had spoken to on the phone. While I was there, three other calls came in about the same incident, plus the woman who got spit on called. They asked if I would mind speaking to a security officer, which of course I didn’t mind, so I waited a few minutes for one to arrive. He then asked me to show him where the incident happened, so I took him out onto the Promenade deck, where the couple was still standing.

 

I showed the security guard the balcony where the guys had been and the woman who had been spit on came out to her balcony and verified the location I had given. The security officer took our statements and said he was heading straight to the cabin where the guys were staying and they would be dealt with.

 

Interestingly, I didn’t see those guys for the rest of the cruise. I spent a lot of time on our balcony and never once heard or saw them on their balcony or anywhere else on the ship. I like to think they got thrown off the next morning in Roatan.

 

After that excitement, we went to dinner in the MDR, then spent the rest of the evening walking around the Promenade and relaxing/reading on our balcony.

 

Next stop, Roatan.

This happens on the Dream class more often than mention here. I once sat down to find a cigarette butt in my BBQ plate ( Dream ). I threw the plate away disgusted .

 

There were quite a few threads about food and ice other objects being thrown down on people when the Dream class first came out. Looks like it carries over.

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LakeWobegon

LakeWobegon

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"Interestingly, I didn’t see those guys for the rest of the cruise. I spent a lot of time on our balcony and never once heard or saw them on their balcony or anywhere else on the ship. I like to think they got thrown off the next morning in Roatan."

Let's hope. The combination of youth and alcohol is no excuse. I just never got the totally disrespecting someone as a source of amusement. What they did was disgusting and very much warranted being kicked off.

Beside that, great review. Enjoying it!

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AXiDMonica

AXiDMonica

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Posted
It's called Decleor Paris Circulagel. It's actually for improving circulation in the legs and it's very expensive, but just a tiny bit of it will suck the heat right out of a sunburn. We've been using it for years and are very miserly with it (someone's gotta have a bonafide burn to get to use it, none of this "just a little pink" stuff :')).

 

Awesome! I see what you mean about a bonafide burn--it's not as cheap as aloe gel lol... Thank you!! :)

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Matlily

Matlily

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We just sailed on the Magic 7/21 – 7/28 Western sailing, with stops in Cozumel, Belize, Roatan, and Costa Maya. This review may not be as extensive as many others and I haven’t decided if I’ll post photos, but I’ll try to hit the highlights and I’m happy to answer any questions I can.

 

About Us

 

Me, DH, and DS (19). This was my 6th cruise (previously cruised with Carnival 4 times and RCI twice). It was DH’s 5thcruise (one of my previous RCI cruises was with a group of 40 women – no husbands allowed!) and DS’s 2nd cruise. DH and I turned Gold on this trip. We celebrated our 29th wedding anniversary and my birthday on the cruise.

 

Planning Phase

 

We only had one specific week that we were able to travel this summer due to my job, so we were limited as to ships and itineraries. I looked at multiple cruise lines for this trip, but Carnival had the best options for the week we could cruise. We have been to Cozumel many times, but have never been to the other three ports on this sailing.

 

There are some really great excursions available for this itinerary, which made it hard to decide what to do at each port. In the end, we decided that this trip was more about relaxation, so we avoided the high-octane adventure options. Our initial plans were (I say “initial”…more on that later):

 

Cozumel – Mr. Sancho’s Beach Club

 

Belize – Sharks, Rays, Barrier Reef Snorkel & Island Escape (through Carnival)

 

Roatan – Dolphin Swim & Snorkel (through Carnival)

 

Costa Maya – No excursion booked; plan to just wander around port and then get back on ship

 

We did not buy Cheers or Bottomless Bubbles. DH really doesn’t drink and I only drink two or three alcoholic beverages per day on a cruise, so Cheers just isn’t worth it. We rarely drink carbonated beverages at home, opting for iced tea or water, so BB wasn’t important to us, either.

 

This was our first time to book a balcony, having always booked outside cabins. I may never go back. More on that later.

 

Travel Day

 

We flew out of Washington-Dulles International on Friday, 7/20, to Orlando, with a short layover in Charlotte, NC. We got a great offer to upgrade to first class, which really came in handy on our return trip (more on that later). Our flights went smoothly and we landed in Orlando on time.

 

Prior to last October, we had lived in Florida for 10 years and were used to the heat and humidity. Well, last Fall we moved to northern Virginia (our fist winter with snow was…interesting). So when we stepped out of the Orlando airport we discovered that our tolerance level for Florida’s July weather had bottomed out after only 7 months away.

 

Anyway, we waded through the humidity to the Hertz rental area in the parking garage, found our rental car parked in our assigned slot, and away we went. We had booked the Residence Inn at Cape Canaveral, but that was not our first stop. Nope, we drove right passed the hotel straight to the nearest Publix, with one goal in mind: Blue Bell Ice Cream.

 

Now, for those of you who have not had the pleasure of knowing the creamy goodness of Blue Bell, you may think this to be odd. But we’re originally from Texas, where Blue Bell is virtually at the top of the food pyramid, along with Dr. Pepper and Texas Barbeque (which is beef – always, always beef). We were very fortunate that we were able to get Blue Bell while living in Florida, but we discovered a cruel truth when we moved to northern Virginia. No Blue Bell. None. We’ve tried every brand we can find up here, but nothing compares to Blue Bell. So it was only natural that our first priority upon obtaining transportation was to get ourselves to a Publix, pronto.

 

After procuring the delectable treasure, we proceeded back up the street to the hotel. We used Marriott points for this stay, so I’m not sure what the normal room rate is. Our room had a kitchen, living room with a pull-out sofa bed, and a separate bedroom with a king-sized bed. It was more than we needed for just one night, but it had the all-important full refrigerator/freezer in which to store our Blue Bell. DH walked across the parking lot to get Burger King for us, as it was already late, we were beyond hungry, and we were too tired to go out to a restaurant. We gratefully ate our Whoppers and ice cream and called it a night.

 

Next up, Embarkation Day.

 

 

We just had cookies and cream blue bell last night, I would hate not to be able to get to it! move back to Texas LOL

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CruiseMomTX

CruiseMomTX

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Posted
It's called Decleor Paris Circulagel. It's actually for improving circulation in the legs and it's very expensive, but just a tiny bit of it will suck the heat right out of a sunburn. We've been using it for years and are very miserly with it (someone's gotta have a bonafide burn to get to use it, none of this "just a little pink" stuff :')).

 

So I looked for your sunburn remedy and am having a hard time finding it in the US. Where do you usually but it from? Online, duty free, department store? Thanks for the help!

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