My thoughts on the Magic 5/27-6/3

I originally planned a full out review, but life got in the way. So I will share a smaller review of my time and thoughts about this ship.

Along for the ride on this trip: Me, Mom, and my new HS graduate, Kiki. My eldest was originally booked to come with us, but she couldnt get out of work and I ended up paying a sucky $125 penalty.

First, let me say that I put a lot of time into researching this ship and its itinerary with the help of you guys! By the time I got onboard, I felt so seasoned, and able to lead my crew to things they didnt know about. I tend to be an over-researcher, because I never know if I will ever repeat a particular vacation or ports, so I want to maximize my time while there. I probably vacation a different from most, as my family doesnt snorkel or scuba, so we look for other things to do. I digress.

We left on 5/25 around 1am for our pre-cruise stay in Orlando. Sidebar: am I the only one that has a hard time picking a hotel in a new city? For two weeks, I agonized over a park and cruise package. Life had intervened negatively on my finances in some unexpected ways prior to the trip, so I had a budget to keep in mind. I looked at photos, I read reviews.....for every good review, I would find suspect room photos. A lot of things I may do or be, but picking a hotel that looked nice but ended up being a craphole causes me serious vacation anxiety. After thinking about my plans: a possible stay in Cocoa Beach or Titusville, but "backtracking" (we drove down) back to ORlando to hit up my beloved Uno's Pizzeria and downtown Disney, I decided to just Stop n Stay in Orlando, where I had a little more confidence in my choices.

Up next: How a potential scam almost put me in the mental asylum....

I originally planned a full out review, but life got in the way. So I will share a smaller review of my time and thoughts about this ship.

 

First, let me say that I put a lot of time into researching this ship and its itinerary with the help of you guys! By the time I got onboard, I felt so seasoned, and able to lead my crew to things they didnt know about. I tend to be an over-researcher, because I never know if I will ever repeat a particular vacation or ports, so I want to maximize my time while there. I probably vacation a different from most, as my family doesnt snorkel or scuba, so we look for other things to do. I digress.

 

We left on 5/25 around 1am for our pre-cruise stay in Orlando. Sidebar: am I the only one that has a hard time picking a hotel in a new city? For two weeks, I agonized over a park and cruise package. Life had intervened negatively on my finances in some unexpected ways prior to the trip, so I had a budget to keep in mind. I looked at photos, I read reviews.....for every good review, I would find suspect room photos. A lot of things I may do or be, but picking a hotel that looked nice but ended up being a craphole causes me serious vacation anxiety. After thinking about my plans: a possible stay in Cocoa Beach or Titusville, but "backtracking" (we drove down) back to ORlando to hit up my beloved Uno's Pizzeria and downtown Disney, I decided to just Stop n Stay in Orlando, where I had a little more confidence in my choices.

 

Up next: How a potential scam almost put me in the mental asylum....

Looking forward to your review....for future reference there is a UNO pizza nearby the port in Viera, right off of 95.

V. Ggggt.

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Looking forward to this. Leaving on Saturday.

Leaving a week from Saturday. Patiently waiting for more.....:')

I should be asleep right now (( work overnight), but since I cant.....

Where did I leave off? Oh yes, the SCAM. Well, almost.

After doing a couple of searches for hotels in the orlando area, I came upon a hotel that looked very, very promising! We have a mall here where I live that's touted to be the largest mall in Alabama, and it has an attached hotel. Well, I found one just like it in Orlando! I believe its called The Florida Hotel and Conference Center. The first website had it listed at about $108/nt. Subsequent looks (I always compare with the hotel directly, etc) listed the same night as being $200-247+!! What the doo hickey!? Why is the first website so much less? Well.....I took it! And an hour later, I started having doubts. Why IS it so much less? So....why not research my purchase AFTER THE FACT? :') The booking required that I may the entire fee upfront and any cancellations would forfeit up to a 60%-full penalty. That made me nervous. So I put in the name of this website.......and my heart sank. The first 5 or so entries talked about this being a scam site....that people had booked hotels thru them, but the hotel never received the reservations OR payments. Further inspection showed me that this site was based in SWITZERLAND (which would explain why I 'd never heard of it), and that they recommended waiting 24-48 hrs for the reservation to show up at the hotel-----but you took my money immediately?! I was on pins and needles and absolutely flogging myself for such a bone-headed move.

On the appropriate day, I called the hotel directly to confirm my ressie----and they had it!!! THANK YOU BABY JESUS!!!!! *whew* I can't tell you how relieved I was!!

Looking forward to the rest of your review

Our drive was largely uneventful, and we arrived in Orlando the next morning around 145p. We checked in and headed to our room, changed clothes, and did what three women on the loose do-----we headed to the mall!! ;p The kid and I needed new tennis for our walking on port days, and Mom wanted some sandals. I couldnt find any in the price ranged I wanted, so KiKi and I ended up going to Target and getting some of the inexpensive Ked knockoffs. Mom did find some nice sandals in the mall at Macys on sale for $30, and I got a nice bottle of Moscato for the ship cabin! Now let me tell you....this mall is deceptive. It does not look very large, but it is MASSIVE once you are inside!! We were there for several hours and only covered perhaps 2/3 of it. Our Waffle House breakfast at 6a had worn off, and I was ready like Spongebob to get to Uno's!!

Enjoying your review. It's good you got your reservation!

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What part of Alabama? I am from Muscle Shoals. Roll Tide. Thanks for taking the time to write and post a review. We will be on the Magic in nine weeks. It will be our 44th wedding anniversary.

I have been "gone" from Those lovely hills of Alabama, and that red dirt, which is the color dirt should be imho, for such a long time. Sweet Home Alabama. but I have to admit, Florida is pretty awesome too. Especially in January.

And the HOUSE of the MOUSE. check out Disney resorts. The VALUE Resorts. You can get them at reasonable rates if Not school is out time. Or Holidays. And remember.........You have Bus or monorail transportation in the Magic Kingdom those buses run every 15 minutes or so. They are also much safer.

Thanks again for the Review.

What part of Alabama? I am from Muscle Shoals. Roll Tide. Thanks for taking the time to write and post a review. We will be on the Magic in nine weeks. It will be our 44th wedding anniversary.

I have been "gone" from Those lovely hills of Alabama, and that red dirt, which is the color dirt should be imho, for such a long time. Sweet Home Alabama. but I have to admit, Florida is pretty awesome too. Especially in January.

And the HOUSE of the MOUSE. check out Disney resorts. The VALUE Resorts. You can get them at reasonable rates if Not school is out time. Or Holidays. And remember.........You have Bus or monorail transportation in the Magic Kingdom those buses run every 15 minutes or so. They are also much safer.

Thanks again for the Review.

I'm near Hoover. And I LOOOOOOVEEEEEEEEEE The mouse, but the Mouse isnt currently loving my pockets. The last time I went, I think I paid just a bit over 2k for a week for 4. It's probably triple that by now! :') Since my last is heading off to college, and I am no longer tied to a public school calendar, I just might be able to git er done! lol

Thanks to everyone that is reading along! :hearteyes:

Ahhh....Uno's. Anytime I go to a city that has one, I am in like Flynn!! :hearteyes: We always get the Numero Uno Deep dish, and for me....the raspberry colada's are the gift of life. OMG, I should learn how to make it, but it probably wouldnt be as good. Anyway, we rolled ourselves out of there, and went to Disney Springs to "window shop" and kill some time. So different from the last time we were here, which is when they were in the process of closing/renovating downtown Disney. We bought a few things here, and headed back to the room. Big Day is here!!

I wanted to get up and head out of the room by 8a, grab some breakfast, and head to our parking spot for the week to catch the 10a shuttle (we are 45 mins away from port). The best laid plans.......*sigh* I continually hit snooze....and finally threw myself out of the bed to the floor at 830a. By the time we made it the car, it was nearly 10. Ughhhhhhhh! We decided to skip breakfast....when we hit major traffic snags. Att his point, I figured that we would just try to make the 12p shuttle............but a rep from Beachline called me to ask when we would be arriving, as they were waiting for us! I told her that we were still about 25 mins away, and she said that they would hold a shuttle for us. Awesome!! We found the lot with no issue, handed off luggage, and headed to the ship. *happy dance* Now, for those looking for a cheaper alternative to the $128 port parking....I paid $0 for the actually parking, and $10pp/round trip to ride the shuttle. I was MORE than pleased with this arrangement, and would TOTALLY do it again.

Now, I had one carry on, and checked our other luggage. However, I was told that I would have to check it, since it would be too large to fit thru the scanner. Bummed, I just KNEW that when I got this bag back, the sodas would be a hot mess! Oh well..........I can say that the whole embarkation experience was sooooooooooo easy. The lines really moved well, and having arrived around12-12:30, we were walking onto the ship in under an hour! :hearteyes:

I love Guy's burger, and had been dreaming about them every night for a month...........but i had a better destination in mind. I took my fearless---and knowledge'less (ha)--crew directly to Cucina del Capitano!! And just like you guys said, it was almost empty. Let the peasants battle it out on Lido! Ha! Double Ha, even! For those that dont know, you are given a "menu" when you are seated, and you mark off your selections for pasta, sauce, meats, and other options. MY PERSONAL THOUGHT: I enjoyed the ability to try this for free. Unless the dinner options are better, this is one that I would personally skip. While I found it to be just ok, I felt that my pasta could have been cooked to a softer degree and the alfredo sauce was quite thin and runny. Maybe Olive Garden has spoiled me? *shrugs* My daughter and i made a game of "find the broccoli"...lol. All in all, I was glad to try it.

We wandered the ship, took a few photos with Mr and Mrs Potato Head, I got a DotD, and maaaaaannnnnnnnnnn it was potent!! At a $1 less than the usual price, it was worth it! Around 2, we headed back up to lido to find our room, 10245, our very first balcony. LoveAtFirstSight! The kid loved that the sofa was already in bed mode---as it would remain for the entire week. The back cushions remained at the foot of my bed, in front of the balcony doors. Eh. Not a deal breaker, just .....interesting. We also found that several lights were not functioning in the bedroom and bathroom. the bedroom lights were fixed quickly, but I had to call.......and call......and call again about the bathroom light. They even suggested I call maintenance myself to get it fixed. When That didnt work out and I had to call the room steward # again, someone very exasperatedly told me that they would just call themselves. *blank stare* :confused:

We wandered some more, hit the casino (Ki was MOST EXCITED to do this, as she is now 18....and wanted to do it evvvvvvvery single day. It was a bit of a workout to distract/tempt her with other activities). I ws really looking forward to the MDR in the Northern Lights (early seating), because this would be the only night that I would be able to savor the ever so delectable strawberry soup. They clearly left out the sugar portion, as it was quite bitter this time. *sad puppy face* Dinner service was--and would remain---quite slow, but this is vacation, and I tried my best to not be in a rush. Throughout the week, I would find that whether I was the first, fifth, or twentieth to my table, we would ALWAYS be served last. It was very frustrating to see that other tables would have lemonades, teas and such waiting for them, but we never received anything. :( For the 1st time in 5 cruises, I did NOT enjoy the MDR. For the 1st time, I probably ate on lido or elsewhere at least 3 times. We wont discuss the toddler sized lobster on elegant night. I try to find the positive...........Oh! I got one!! One one night (i think the last?), our food was actually warm when we got it!! let's move on, shall we? :')

Going on magic next month. Appreciate the review posts!

Dinner service was--and would remain---quite slow, but this is vacation, and I tried my best to not be in a rush. Throughout the week, I would find that whether I was the first, fifth, or twentieth to my table, we would ALWAYS be served last. It was very frustrating to see that other tables would have lemonades, teas and such waiting for them, but we never received anything. :( For the 1st time in 5 cruises, I did NOT enjoy the MDR.

We were on this same cruise as well and had YTD. The MDR was our only real complaint for the entire trip and after really really slow experiences in the MDR the first two nights (as in 3-1/2 hours long) we opted to not go back again until the last night. The first two nights we went around 7pm. The last night we went right at 5:45pm and service was a bit better and we were out in two hours. Aside from the service, we thoroughly enjoyed everything we ate at any and all of the venues we chose!

My experience with YTD on Carnival has always been inconsistent, so we are giving up on it. Our next cruise we chose assigned dining. If I have to pick to get there early anyways in order to get properly paced service, I figure might as well choose assigned dining

Thanks for sharing! We head that way in six months!

Nice start I will be on the Magic in September.

Thanks for the report.

I'm near Hoover. And I LOOOOOOVEEEEEEEEEE The mouse, but the Mouse isnt currently loving my pockets. The last time I went, I think I paid just a bit over 2k for a week for 4. It's probably triple that by now! :') Since my last is heading off to college, and I am no longer tied to a public school calendar, I just might be able to git er done! lol

 

 

Thanks to everyone that is reading along! :hearteyes:

Our grandchild, one and only, whom we were lucky enough to keep part of the week for the past five years, is in Kindergarten. we miss her terribly. Seeing her almost every day

BUT we are booking cruises in the Off Season. No longer tied to Florida Public School Schedule. Daughter is a teacher.

DISNEY. cheapest rates of year. The weeks between Thanksgiving and the date Florida Public School get out for Christmas Holidays. Sorry. "Winter Break".

Value resorts go low. Tickets , at least for Florida Residents are very low. No crowds. Might be a little chilly in the Morning, but perfect the rest of the time. God Willing, we are going this Christmas. First time in six years. All of the decorations are up. Each Pavillion in Epcot does a Christmas something. Father Christmas. The British Pavilion did do a Street Play of Scrooge. One year they picked my husband to play Scrooge. he is a retiring sort, but it was the thrill of a lifetime. He said "Bah. Humbug" ever so well.

Hope they get MDR in better order by our turn in Jan.

 

My experience with YTD on Carnival has always been inconsistent, so we are giving up on it. Our next cruise we chose assigned dining. If I have to pick to get there early anyways in order to get properly paced service, I figure might as well choose assigned dining

So agree.

Thanks for your review.