Live B2B2B2B From the Carnival Magic 11/26-12/22

[Tennessee Rose]

11 hours ago, jam19872016 said:

Just checked on prices, small Gelato is $2.95 large is $3.95.

Thank you for checking this for me/us! I WILL be having some in about 3 weeks!

 

[jam19872016]

I don't think I should be playing right now.

 

[jam19872016]

Pizza time

 

[jam19872016]

Next stop, Grand Turk.  M wants to go to Governor's Beach. Let's see how early we drag ourselves out of bed tomorrow though. All aboard is 330.

 

Good night everyone. 

 

[exlondoner]

12 hours ago, NCTribeFan said:

No $50 bets for me!  Yikes.

 

I don't "do" many activities on the ship.  I entertain myself by reading.  Sadly, there is a serious lack of books on ships these days.  HAL's Pinnacle class ships have real libraries again.  I think I read at least 5 novels while on Rotterdam's TA in April.  It's quiet in there, too.  I always bring a couple of books as well.  And I keep my Kindle loaded with fluff just in case.

 

I typically only spend time in the casino in the evening (I'm not really into shows and I'd jump overboard if a piano bar was the only entertainment), and I try to stay out on sea days, but I do understand the draw.  But I'm a Low Roller, for sure.  It's slots and low betting on the Roulette wheel for me.

 

When I have DOU, I joke that I have to go the casino to get my "$30 free drink" before dinner since that's about what I drop in the slots while waiting for my drink. 😁

Try Cunard for excellent libraries, and nice places to read.

[chryso]

6 hours ago, jam19872016 said:

Pizza time

 

Just wondering, how late does the pizza stay open?

[chryso]

3 hours ago, exlondoner said:

Try Cunard for excellent libraries, and nice places to read.

I was quite pleasantly surprised by how nice the library was on the Queen Elizabeth.  The fact that it was two floors and had a spiral staircase inside made it really appealing.

[Jeafl]

19 hours ago, chryso said:

I am always excited to see mongolian wok on the ship.  The idea seems great, the toppings look interesting, but when I get it back to the table it is never as good as I was imagining it to be.  

I agree.  I waited half an hour in line last month and when I finally sat down to eat it I wasn't that crazy about it,  The noodles seemed to have a weird texture or something.  Oh well, live and learn.

[jam19872016]

Good morning from Grand Turk.

 

M was still out last night when I finally tapped out so I'm not sure if she is going to be up yet. Gonna go check on her as she wanted to do a beach day today. 

 

If she isn't, I think I am going to crawl back into bed myself 😴. 

[chryso]

Ok, sleeping beauty.  It is time to get up.  I am sitting here at work with no updates to read. You really need to modify your vacation to fit my agenda.

[ninjacat123]

42 minutes ago, jam19872016 said:

Good morning from Grand Turk.

 

M was still out last night when I finally tapped out so I'm not sure if she is going to be up yet. Gonna go check on her as she wanted to do a beach day today. 

 

If she isn't, I think I am going to crawl back into bed myself 😴. 

Jack's Shack?

[WhiteOptima]

19 hours ago, NCTribeFan said:

 

 

When I have DOU, I joke that I have to go the casino to get my "$30 free drink" before dinner since that's about what I drop in the slots while waiting for my drink. 😁

My non drinking DH had DOU on our Venezia cruise. I stopped sending him for a drink for me when he was at $220 by early day 3.  Said it is cheaper for me to buy my drinks!

[NCTribeFan]

16 hours ago, jam19872016 said:

That's what I do. I don't play while I am waiting. If I am playing anyway is one thing. But if I just want a drink, I don't bother playing. Royal let's me order at the bar...for now. There have been rumors of that going away, but so far each time they trial it on a ship it gets so much uproar they change their mind.

I always at least sit at a machine and put my card in.  Maybe play a few spins.  But if they're busy, it can take quite a while. 

 

Was great on the Pride B2B2B last October (ending with the TA).  Had a couple of servers who knew as soon as they saw me to come right over.  There were times, though, when all of them were on the other side of the casino (the smoking side), then back at the bar waiting to get the drinks, then off to deliver them that took a long time.

 

Would be so much simpler if we could just order at the bar.

[NCTribeFan]

8 hours ago, exlondoner said:

Try Cunard for excellent libraries, and nice places to read.

 

Cunard is not in my budget.

 

I do love HAL's Pinnacle-class ships.  Just the right size (about 100k GTW).  HAL loyalists think they're too "modern" but I loved both Koninsgdam and Rotterdam.

 

Best thing is to book a guarantee and then upgrade to Club Orange.  Gets you to the highest cabin category within your category, priority embarkation, separate MDR for breakfast and dinner (love this!), great cloth totebag.  Maybe some other perks.

 

Library on Rotterdam.  Get there early for a big, comfy chair with a fleece throw, in front of the floor-to-ceiling windows.

[jam19872016]

M still sleeping. 

 

Lido is a zoo right now. Even pasta bar is almost full but I grabbed the last two top. Handful of large tables left if I had needed to.

 

It's wet and yucky out so don't think we would have gone out even if M was awake.

 

 

[jam19872016]

16 hours ago, KmomChicago said:

We tried the table service Asian on Vista for lunch one day and it is not something we would repeat. No better than anything we would get on the buffet, and without the immediacy and all the choices of the buffet.  The oddest thing was that there seemed to be no rhyme or reason as to when the food was cooked and the two of us got our food at completely different times, as did tables around us; people who came in later got their food sooner. It was a weird vibe overall for us. 

 

Still, it was fine, I can see why people would enjoy that as a lunch option but counter service I think just fits us better.

I prefer the lineup version too. As I understand it, you can't even customize your bowl at the sit down version anymore. You have choices of Pre-made bowls and that's what you get. Kind of like how the omelet is now. 

 

16 hours ago, Denversail said:

Man… it looks like that chic is hitting hookah

Momo is a riot! I think she is going to be a CD very soon. 

[jam19872016]

13 hours ago, Tennessee Rose said:

Thank you for checking this for me/us! I WILL be having some in about 3 weeks!

 

Enjoy! 

 

5 hours ago, chryso said:

I was quite pleasantly surprised by how nice the library was on the Queen Elizabeth.  The fact that it was two floors and had a spiral staircase inside made it really appealing.

I'm not a library person but my mom was very happy with the library on QE. It certainly was impressive. 

[jam19872016]

6 hours ago, chryso said:

Just wondering, how late does the pizza stay open?

 

[jam19872016]

4 hours ago, Jeafl said:

I agree.  I waited half an hour in line last month and when I finally sat down to eat it I wasn't that crazy about it,  The noodles seemed to have a weird texture or something.  Oh well, live and learn.

I've always had good luck. Hope that trend continues it's one of my favorite lunches, would hate to see it change.

 

3 hours ago, chryso said:

Ok, sleeping beauty.  It is time to get up.  I am sitting here at work with no updates to read. You really need to modify your vacation to fit my agenda.

I definitely needed that extra sleep. Could go for some more but I gotta eat 😆. 

[jam19872016]

2 hours ago, ninjacat123 said:

Jack's Shack?

I doubt it. She found a place called Governor's Beach. It's possible that's the name of the beach down there but if so she didn't realize it as we did Jack's Shack years ago before the new owners took over and found it to be one of the worse food and service experiences we have ever had. Given how popular it was, we were quite disappointed. And of course it was my fault for being the one who talked it up based on what I'd read here 😆 

[jam19872016]

1 hour ago, NCTribeFan said:

I always at least sit at a machine and put my card in.  Maybe play a few spins.  But if they're busy, it can take quite a while. 

 

Was great on the Pride B2B2B last October (ending with the TA).  Had a couple of servers who knew as soon as they saw me to come right over.  There were times, though, when all of them were on the other side of the casino (the smoking side), then back at the bar waiting to get the drinks, then off to deliver them that took a long time.

 

Would be so much simpler if we could just order at the bar.

I think Carnival has addressed the problem with the Drinks on us Everywhere program but I don't gamble enough to get that. They want me feeding that machine to get my money 😆 

1 hour ago, NCTribeFan said:

 

Cunard is not in my budget.

 

I do love HAL's Pinnacle-class ships.  Just the right size (about 100k GTW).  HAL loyalists think they're too "modern" but I loved both Koninsgdam and Rotterdam.

 

Best thing is to book a guarantee and then upgrade to Club Orange.  Gets you to the highest cabin category within your category, priority embarkation, separate MDR for breakfast and dinner (love this!), great cloth totebag.  Maybe some other perks.

 

Library on Rotterdam.  Get there early for a big, comfy chair with a fleece throw, in front of the floor-to-ceiling windows.

It's out of my budget too. I was quite surprised how inexpensive it was. For the sailing I did, even MSC was more expensive. That's not typical but I'd never even given them a thought based on formality amd cost. There are deals to be had and the formality was less an issue than I'd thought. 

 

Have not tried HAL yet but it's a line I would like to try.

[jam19872016]

I should have eaten my dessert. The pasta is made to order and they are quite backed up today. I'm not usually this hungry when I first wake up.

[jam19872016]

Food!

 

 

Edited December 19, 2023 by jam19872016

[ninjacat123]

20 minutes ago, jam19872016 said:

I doubt it. She found a place called Governor's Beach. It's possible that's the name of the beach down there but if so she didn't realize it as we did Jack's Shack years ago before the new owners took over and found it to be one of the worse food and service experiences we have ever had. Given how popular it was, we were quite disappointed. And of course it was my fault for being the one who talked it up based on what I'd read here 😆 

Well that's too bad.  We haven't been there since Restart so this is good to know for our January 2024 cruise that goes to GT.  Sad

[jam19872016]

Coffee break in the drizzling rain. Long as the wind doesn't pick up I should be OK under my cover.