ruachsm

Trying to decide between a regular balcony and a Spa Balcony on the magic. Can someone help me with the different perks of the Spa Balcony? Anyone stayed in these and can give an honest review?

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Casino Opens at 9pm each night

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It depends on the offer type. If it's a premier offer then yes both will receive on us cards. If it was simply a bounce back offer then only the person receiving the offer will get on us(assuming the other guest isn't a casino player that qualifies as well)

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Did the Elation have the American Table menus? Also do you remember the name of the other show besides Divas? Thanks!

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Lambert

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I always use cash as well as I buy very little on the ship but spend way to much in the Casino. During Check in they ask how much I want to place on my account and I simply reply, "I will add cash on the ship." I never add a minimum amount. Actually I very rarely add any cash seeing that I prepay gratuities.

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They Generally give you a few "steakhouse" selection options. These are $20. You could choose from Lobster, surf and Turf(lobster and filet), 9 ounce filet, or 14 ounce New York Strip. I had the strip and it was great!

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I see that you check in for YTD on deck 5. Which dining room is YTD and where exactly do you check in on deck 5?

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We have decided on the Sunshine thanks to you guys. Never been on that ship before. What location would you book your stateroom? I love interior rooms. They are dark and I sleep better. What's the best deck? Forward? Midship? Aft?

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What time of the year are you free to cruise / is there a time period that you have to use the offer?

 

 

 

If you have to use the offer within the next 6 months I would select the Sunshine as the winter season is fast approaching.

 

 

 

However, if you love to golf or spend several days in a single port rather than island hopping, the Bermuda itinerary would better suit you.

 

 

 

Fortunately you really can't go wrong with a free cruise :)

We have to use it before March. However, we will most likely use this offer for the November/December time frame. March is too long to wait to cruise again [emoji6]

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Great points. We are leaning towards the 3 port itinerary for the Sunshine upgrades. So many bad reviews on that ship, but there were so many bad reviews on the Ecstasy and we had a blast!

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I always trust the opinion of some members on here. Just off of a cruise this past Saturday and received a casino offer for a free interior cabin(have to pay taxes of course). We have it narrowed down to a 7 day on the Ecstasy to Bermuda(we love Bermuda btw) and a 7 day on the Sunshine going to Amber Cove, HMC, and Grand Turk. We have never been to Amber Cove. Which would you choose and why? Thanks for your help!

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I am very interested. I will be there this Sunday morning and would like to use him.

Leon Smith

(441)334-9879

Leonsmith9879@gmail.com

Taxi 1688

Sorry is has taken so long to update.

Day 2 in Bermuda-

We started off this day by having lunch on the Lido before going out to explore. Today we wanted to get our souvenirs purchased and spend some time and the beach. Located where the ship docks is the clock tower mall.

This was a small shopping area. Like a tiny version of the charleston market. You could pretty much find a little of everything in here. T-shirts, pictures, Christmas ornaments, ice creme, and even local fudge. There were also a few shops that offered free wifi with a purchase which we took advantage of to FaceTime loved ones. Everything in Bermuda shopping wise shuts down at 6pm. Keep that in mind when planning. After spending about 3 hours shopping we headed back to the ship to change into our swim gear for the beach. A small side note. In the royal dockyard area there is a free train that circles the shops for free. It runs about every 15-20 minutes.

After changing we decided to take a taxi to the beach. Keep in mind that the cheapest option is the bus to the beach, which you can do for $4.50 each way. We decided on a taxi because we didn't want to wait for the bus to do the full circle before returning to the ship. A taxi round trip to the beach was $80! Told you things were more expensive in Bermuda [emoji6]. We had 4 people in our group so we paid the $20 per person and didn't mind because we wanted to return to the ship quicker. Let me just say that the beach was my favorite part of the trip. It was beautiful and so peaceful.

Horseshoe Bay is the more popular beach in Bermuda. There you can rent chairs and umbrellas. They also have a snack bar available. However, we decided that we would miss the crowds and many of the photos that you see above are from warrick long bay. We asked the taxi driver for a less crowded but enjoyable beach and he delivered! There were no more than 10 people at this location.

Next up. Sea day and conclusion

Hamilton is a very quite city on Sunday's!

The next stop on our tour was the historic part of the island In St Georges

The last picture is some of the graves that they stack 3 caskets in

The oldest church on the island

After a few minutes of shopping we headed back to the port. I found a picture of our tour guide Leon

When arriving back in the dockyard we got to experience the Bermuda Gombay dancers

That's all from day 1 in Bermuda. We thoroughly enjoyed the tour. One piece of advice. After the tour we went back to the ship for dinner. The island is very expensive. A cheeseburger at some shops were priced at $22-$30.

Next Up- Day 2 in Bermuda

Bermuda-

This place is beautiful! One of the greatest things about it is that there were no pushy sales people waiting outside the terminal to hassle you. We docked on a Sunday at 8am and it was pouring down rain. Seeing that we were there until Tuesday we decided to wait out the rain which stopped around 11. We actually had no plan on what to do so we were just going to go with the flow. After getting off the ship there was a man holding a sign that simply said "Tours with Leon". We approached him and asked what kind of tour. He said a full tour of the island that lasted 4 hours. We decided to take the tour that costed us $47 per person, and were so glad that we did! He showed us so many things that we would have never known was there! I have his contact information if anyone is interested.

This photo is of a government graveyard. All other graves were dug 7 feet deep and stacked caskets on top of each other seeing that land is hard to come by.

He took us to the first fort on the island that was built years ago when they were worried that another country was going to invade them.

Next stop was the tallest lighthouse on the island. You could climb 168 steps and get some incredible views

At this point we had traveled a ways from the dockyard

Leon showed us the city of Hamilton which was mainly shut down because of it being Sunday. Bermuda is a very religious island.

TO BE CONTINUED....

I really want to do a Bermuda cruise as our next. Too bad they don't do many.

They are doing another cruise to Bermuda out of Charleston in November! We are considering going back.

Sea Days- I love them! The relaxation on the water, Sleeping in, and the sea day brunch. The downside is that the Casino is open all day so they take my money lol. These days are very laid back. Comedian Derrick Eason did incredible and had several jokes that mad me laugh out loud. Meanwhile Kim Harrison was not funny at all to me. To each his own. The Playlist Productions were not as good as normal. They offered the Same shows that I have seen many times in Motor City and The Brits. This particular cruise the cast seemed to not have the vocal talent and missed several cues. Meanwhile at dinner I enjoyed several of these

Next Up- Bermuda

Wanted to give you guys a quick review of our most recent cruise. This was a 7 day trip to Bermuda. I'm not good at the art of reviewing lol so I'll hit the highlights and answer any questions that you may have.

Embarkation-

As many people have posted, the embarkation process in Charleston is a different beast. However, this particular cruise wasn't that much of a hassle. We arrived to the port around 11:15am. Went through security, dropped off our luggage and then waited for clearance from the ship which happened about 15 minutes later. At this point we paid for parking(Charleston provides free parking for anyone with a handicap tag providing that the disabled individual is in the vehicle) then drove over into a parking garage. This could be the most frustrating part of the process for most people. The lines waiting for the shuttle buses can get pretty long. We had a disabled person with us and therefore had private shuttles. After being shuttled over to the terminal we were on the boat in 10 minutes and enjoying lunch. At 1:30pm we were allowed in our rooms. This is where we encountered an issue with the bathroom. The shower head was broken and laying on the floor. Also the sink would not drain. A quick call the guest services and they had the problem fixed in less than an hour and followed up later that evening to make sure the problem was resolved.

Next up: 2 Sea days

Leaving Thursday on the Ecstasy headed to Bermuda. Who was the cruise director and what did you think of him? Also how was the temperature in the room? Thanks!

Curious because I have an upcoming cruise. How did you find out who's scheduled??

I posted on John Healds Facebook on a day that he was answering questions. He was quick to respond.

Leaving on the Ecstasy in 8 days. Headed to Bermuda. The comedians are Kim Harrison and Derek Eason. Anyone ever had them? Funny or no?

Ours did not in 2015

Good Evening Cruise Critic!

Have my 14th cruise planned for May 12. However this is my first to Bermuda. Any tips or suggestions would be very appreciated. Any beaches that are less crowded than others? Any must see places? CC is always knowledgeable so this is the first place I thought of asking! Thanks for your time.

Need some opinions. I have narrowed down my vacation options to 2 cruises. Option 1 is a 6 day on the Valor(port canaveral) going to Nassau, Amber Cove, and Grand Turk. Option 2 is a 7 day on the Ecstasy(Charleston) doing two overnights in Bermuda. I've never been to Amber Cove or Bermuda. Due to a Casino offer both are about the same price. Which would you choose and why? Thanks for the help!