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Magic / Live / Solo / Sep 30-Oct 7 2018


sid_9169
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With my "post cruise depression" really starting to set in following my last adventure on the Vista, I was in full-on search mode for something to satiate my "cruise jones"... There was no way that I would survive 6 whole months until my Norwegian Bliss sailing in December. I looked high and low, on both NCL and Carnival, and this looked like just the ticket for my "problem"... We'll just go ahead and call this my "birthday cruise" even though my actual b-day was a couple of days ago...

 

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Sent from my Space Phone 9169.1

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(If you're unfamiliar with my "Live Reviews" here's a link to my Vista Live Review from a few months ago...

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2638445

This could help get you prepared for what you're about to endure... This will most certainly not be the "usual" review, with pictures of menus and Fun Times and such. More just the tale of my adventure from home in Atlanta to Miami, complete with Happy Hour F&B p0rn*** And, ultimately heading out on the high seas on the Carnival Magic, for 7 days of eating and drinking, as well as whatever else I can get into...)

I need to try to make this as much of a "budget cruise" as possible. I had considered flying down on embarkation day, but I found a great deal on the Kimpton Epic hotel in downtown Miami. Of course this will entail "pre-cruise-day" happy hour and dinner, which in Miami, can be a bit spendy... ***Note: It can be a lot spendy.

This will be the first sailing of the Magic from the Port of Miami, as it moves here from Port Canaveral. One of the things I'm most excited about is the Tandoor Indian dining option. Only four ships have this, and it's definitely my favorite "included" lunch venue. I also like the lanai hot tubs on Deck 5, and this is only one of three ships that has this feature. I've sailed the Breeze twice in 2014/2015, so I'm completely familiar with the layout of the ship. ***Note: Even on ships I have never sailed, I always study the deck plans for months prior to sailing... By the time I'm on board, I have a keen knowledge of the keys areas.

I have my usual driver arranged for my day in Cozumel. In Roatan, I have a beach day scheduled at Bananarama in West Bay. In Grand Cayman, I will most likely just take the public bus up to seven mile beach, and a couple of my favorite local dining establishments... And, in Belize City, a trip to Caye Caulker using coral breeze tours as my round trip transportation. [update: At 16 days prior to sailing, Coral Breeze cancelled my tour to Caye Caulker because I was the only person booked with them for that particular day. I was really looking forward to hanging out on CC, where the motto is "go slow"... I decide to kick up the "adventure factor" a couple of notches, and booked myself on a flight leaving Belize Municipal Airport at 7:25 am (9:25 ship time) This will require me being on the very first tender to the mainland. From there, I will need to catch a cab to the airfield a couple of miles away. If that were not enough pressure, my return flight leaves CC at 1:00 Belize time (3:00 ship time) and lands at 1:20 (3:20 ship time) Catch a cab back to the port, and hopefully catch the last tender back to the ship...]

That last paragraph indicates that my planned "budget cruise" has pretty much turned into my usual "breaking the bank" adventure... Hopefully today will be an easy day at work leading into my pre-cruise-night tradition of packing and adult beverages...

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Happy birthday and thanks for doing this. I just booked this same itinerary a few days ago, sailing from Miami on January 19. We got an interior spa room at an awesome price. I've been on the Dream twice but never the Magic. Can't wait to read more!

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Work has been absolutely horrendous lately. I need this more than ever now. I anticipate an excruciating day at work tomorrow, but when it's all said and done, we're going to have a serious adventure together!...

 

Feel free to chime in along the way, it'll be like you're all there with me...

 

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Sent from my Space Phone 9169.1

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I'm out way past my bedtime... I've been drinking tequila and beer all night on an empty stomach, and I really don't want to go to work tomorrow...

 

A few pics from the NIN concert... We were not really that close, so the pictures kinda suck, but it was a great show...

 

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Sent from my Space Phone 9169.1

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I'm going to be "test driving" a couple of new products this week, so last night's heavy drinking set the stage for my first experiment... Detoxx for hangovers by LESLabs (found on Amazon) was first up to bat...

 

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I can honestly say that there has to be something to this stuff, because I went at the beer and tequila pretty hard last night...

 

Sent from my Space Phone 9169...

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I'm about to head out on my first "emergency" of the day... The last day of work prior to my vacation is normally spent putting out one fire after another...

***Note: I'm not actually a fireman.

***Note 2:There will be more notes, so you may want to get a pencil and something to write on...

Thanks to all who are following and commenting. The "thank you" list so far includes: loohoo1, Saint Greg, mkcurran, Sea Viewer, Steph0224, MEUB1112, blarko, JohnSpo, riclop, CRUISERMOMX3, and kackles... Thanks so much for being here, and I promise to do my best to keep it entertaining...

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