BethersD

We are going to Align Production Health in Vancouver; $50 for a rapid antigen test. 

14 hours ago, SightCRR said:

I can't help with recommendation, but I did find this. 

Onboard Experience - Royal Caribbean International

If it is available during the evening I would say your chance of seeing wildlife is greater than mid day. 

sightcrr. 

 

Thanks! I don't know why it hadn't occurred to me to look at RCI excursions in general. 

On 4/28/2022 at 1:11 PM, SightCRR said:

Leave from Haines or Skagway? If from Skagway then you boat to Haines and various things in Haines. We went on a river wildlife viewing float trip. No salmon so no wildlife. We booked from ship and were one hour late getting back and the ship left as soon as we stepped back on the ship. Even with no wildlife we enjoyed the each of the boat rides. One of our first trips so I would have higher expectations now. sightcrr. 

We are in Skagway until 3 and then move over to Haines from 5pm-10pm. The excursion is on the RCI list, there's no description as to what 'Off the Beaten Track' is, so I was curious if it's new or if it's something others have done.

Hi Everyone

RCI has this excursion listed but doesn't give any information about what it entails... thought I'd see if anyone here has done it, or has the inside track on what this tour entails.

Thanks

We generally toss some packing tape into our luggage so that we can attached our luggage tags.

Just now, Host Clarea said:

 

That would be too far to walk for us.   Taxi.

It would depend on which RCL ship for us and where it was docked. Some have berths closer to Princess than others... though we would probably taxi just to avoid all of the traffic and rolling our luggage...

20 minutes ago, blackshirt said:

That’s not all ships yet. I don’t believe Serenade is doing that yet.

1 hour ago, SuiteLady said:

Your room keys are in your room mailbox, also! 

Formal nights still happen, but has relaxed greatly!!  Some still dress to the 9's, and my last cruise I actually saw jeans on formal night!  Most were dressed nice, however very few tuxes, suits- rather collared polo shirts or dress shirts without ties. 

Hopefully in a year the Serenade will be doing it. We were skeptical of it when we read it about it for our last Carnival cruise, but it makes check in at the terminal so much easier!

Good to know if my DH doesn't want to take a suit for formal nights, he doesn't have too, and will be fine with pants and a dress shirt.

We've just booked the Serenade for 7 days next July on an Inside Passage Itinerary and are very excited. DH and I cruised on her sister ship the Jewel in 2011, but this will be the first time our kids (they'll be 11 & 8 ) and my Mom have cruised on RCL (our kids are seasoned Carnival cruisers) and our first time to Alaska. 

Though our cruise is 349 days away, I have a couple questions to start as I would imagine things have changed in 9 years.

1. Are our room keys delivered to the room or do we receive them at check in? Carnival has streamlined their embarkation process, as their sign and sail cards are left in your cabin mailbox once the staterooms are available. We were bigs fans of this new check in process as we were on the ship in 15 minutes from the time we arrived at the terminal in Miami when we cruised in March.

2. Has anyone had experience with Adventure Ocean? Our boys loved Camp Ocean on Carnival, and hated the kids club on MSC... MSC was more video games and an MSC branded tv production, whereas as Carnival had activities, experiments, games, etc.

3. Formal (elegant) Nights? Are they still a thing? Carnival has them and DH manages without a jacket and tie, but since we're going to Alaska, I'm wondering if it's less formal and kind of hoping since our warmer gear will probably take up more room than our Caribbean gear.

I think that's it for now, though since our cruise is so far away I'm sure I'll come up with more questions in the interim 🙂

Thanks.

Does anyone know if my husband and I can purchase the package and have our kids tag along? We don't need four clam shells, and the magic carpet isn't a make or break thing for us. Just wondering if anyone has done this?

TIA

48 minutes ago, PhillyFan33579 said:

From what I have heard it is only being done on Liberty right now.  I don’t think an area with a lot of kids is going to be very quiet. 

Thanks, yes quiet may not have been the correct term.... less busy would probably be more apt

Wondering if any recent Magic cruisers can help.

My DH was watching a review of new things on Carnival in 2018 and came across a 'Family Zone' for dining on Embarkation day. At the time of the video I think it was being tested on one Valor or Liberty, and I am wondering if it still exists and has moved fleet wide. We're sailing on the Magic in March and are always looking for a quieter option for lunch. As a side note, we love the Italian restaurant for lunch on Embarkation day, so if 'family zone dining' isn't a thing, we always have that option for a quieter lunch.

Thanks!

We started cruising with our kids when our youngest was 3, which meant a lot of beaches. Both kids really enjoyed the Turtle Farm in Grand Cayman and Isla de Passion in Cozumel. We are on the same itinerary in March, and now that our kids are both over 6 we can expand our excursions slightly, which means the submarine in Cozumel (our youngest is a huge shark fan so fingers crossed) and Sting Ray City in Grand Cayman. Mahogany Bay we're taking a beach day at Mahogany Beach and we're thinking we will take advantage of a quiet ship in Belize and stay on board and enjoy the public spaces, like the pool and water slides without the sea day crowd.

Generally we like watching on our balcony, but on the Magic, the decks that are open to the bow are lovely too 🙂 

Merry Christmas from Burlington, ON, which though we had flurries, was an accumulation free Christmas. Spent yesterday with family and looking forward to a quiet Boxing Day. We'll be on the Magic in March and are looking forward the warm sun and sand :)

Our boys are 10 and 6 and love the Kids Club. It's been a couple of years since we cruised on the Magic (we're heading back to it in March) but from what I can recall they took the kids to the main theatre for the Suess parade & story and if they are there for dinner they go to the buffet. The staff does a really good job at keeping them all together as they are walking and they sit together. The newest thing for us this time around, is that our 10 year old is allowed to sign himself in and out of the kids club. I understand there's a scavenger hunt that the older kids can participate in only if you've given them in and out privileges. We still have to sign our 6 year old in and out, so I don't know how that's going to influence our 10 year old to stay until his brother is picked up. In regards to whether or not you have the ability to keep your 19 year old in the Kids Club, there was a check box when I registered them for Kids Club while checking them in that I had to check stating he has permission to sign himself in and out. 

We tried MSC last year, and didn't like the Kids program in comparison to Carnival. The Carnival staff really tried to learn all of the kids' names and by the end of the cruise knew which kids belonged to which parents. Carnival also had more activities and less video games than what we encountered on MSC.  I don't think there was a day when our kids were on the Magic and had visited the Kids' Club that they didn't come back to our cabin with a craft or something... 

6 minutes ago, Jim_Iain said:

Looks like a diver is going down.

 

 

He wasn't down very long, he's back up on the pier now.

1 minute ago, phoenix_dream said:

Curious, did anyone actually see the lines caught or are we just making an assumption? I am currently on the ship as well so wondering what will transpire

I didn't see it happened but saw the tweet from PZTV stating there was a bow line caught and looking at the stream you can definitely see a bow line that is taut and looks to be stuck in the general area of the bow thruster. 

We loved the Magic in 2017, so much so we're heading back to her in March. There are 'secret' decks that open out on to the front of the ship with access on 6, 7 and 10 as previously posted. If I remember correctly some are connected by stairs, and they are only open in it's not too windy. It's a great place to watch the ship arrive into a port. We had a balcony on deck 8 forward last time, and we're on deck 11 midship this time around. If you're looking for a quiet place for lunch on embarkation day, go to the Italian restaurant instead of the buffet. The food is good, made to order and there was no surcharge for lunch, only dinner and it's out of the crowds down below in the buffet. I'm hoping that secret hasn't gotten out because it was so nice to walk through the buffet and find the stairs up to the Italian restaurant in into our own little piece of quiet to wait for our stateroom.

It's been a couple of years since we cruised on the Magic, but my after dinner go to was a Hot Jamaican: Coffee (decaf or reg), Kahlua, dark rum in a sugar rimmed mug with whipped cream. 

Also, love a dry gin martini with a twist or g&t  

8 hours ago, nhraformula00 said:

Sorry to hear you did not like guys burgers. We have been on 20 cruises and love guys burgers. Best burger IMO on any ship.

I think he liked Guys' - after all why would you have it three times if it wasn't delicious 😉  

OP - glad to hear the food is great. We're on Magic for the second time in March. When we were on her two years ago, the food was some of the best we'd ever had; happy to hear it appears to still be delicious!

On 11/11/2018 at 4:32 PM, Fourkids4us said:

French toast. It was a loaf. The peaches were candied on top. 

The french toast offering reminds me of pain perdu, which basically translates to 'lost bread'. It's typically made from hard bread that is soaked (forgotten) overnight and then baked; basically French french toast, if you like, but is usually a dessert.

Thanks for posting all week! We're looking forward to our Magic sailing in March, though there will be considerably less tequila than yours as we'll have our two kids with us, I'm hoping we're able to enjoy ourselves as much as you seem to have :) I've enjoyed seeing your off the beaten path tours too, especially Belize. Take care!

Our kids have been going since they were 3 & 7 (which is when we started sailing with them) and adore Camp Ocean/Carnival; they can't wait to get there once on board. We tried a different cruise line last winter, and found that their children's program didn't compare with Carnival's; too much reliance on video games and very little in the way of organized activities. On Carnival, the staff all knew our kids' names, and our kids came back to our cabin with a craft/activity every day. Both are still wearing the tee shirts they coloured in Camp Ocean a couple years ago.

When we were on Magic a couple years ago, someone gave us this tip and I will be forever thankful for it!!!

When you board head straight through the buffet and find the staircase that leads up to the Italian restaurant, unless more people have found this gem, it's quiet and the food is good and made to order. It's nice refuge from the crowds at the buffet below.

I loved the Tandoor on the Magic!! I took it as a good sign when I saw crew members lining up to get it last time we were on the Magic. I will be looking for it when we sail her again in March... mmm naan...