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Making Magic! Cruise Review Oct 19 - 26 2014


Shaded Lady
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BEFORE THE CRUISE!

 

My cruise is October 19, 2014… we booked it as soon as my annual bonus came in, on February 21. Some of my experiences are a little different than the typical pre-cruise blog, so I’ll mention some stuff, gloss over some others…

 

One of my pet peeves is people who start reviews then leave their readers hanging. I know, I know- life happens and sometimes you just can’t get back to it. But it pisses me off! So I won’t do this to you. I’m writing my entire pre-cruise blog and review out in full in Word, then after the cruise, I’ll post it in part or in whole, fairly quickly. I’ll have to figure out how to post pictures to use in a review over again, since it’s been a few years.

 

So this first part is going to be all pre-cruise blog. If that part bores or frustrates you please feel free to move on to the review part, since I really don’t care to hear your complaints about all the stuff you had to read to get to the good parts. You’ve been warned-

 

Now before I begin, one thing I had a tough time with at first were all the acronyms people throw out there… so here’s a list of the acronyms I use and what they stand for!

 

• DH – Dear Hubby

• TA – Travel Agent

• CC – Cruise Critic; CC’er- fellow CC member

• FTTF – Faster To The Fun

• OBC – On Board Credit

• OCD – Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (not really cruise-specific unless you’re referencing my packing list!)

• M&G – Meet & Greet

• DoD – Drink Of the Day

• DD – Dear Daughter

• GS – Grandson

• GS – Guest Services (pretty sure you can figure out the difference)

Edited by Shaded Lady
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PRE-CRUISE PORTION

 

Intro! DH (Dave- 62) and me (Pat- 55) - together we’ve been on 4 & 6 cruises respectively, all on Carnival (except for an ill-fated trip on the Big Red Boat before the days of Disney!). We live in Cedar Park, a suburb of Austin TX, having moved here from Florida in 2013 to be closer to our daughter and her family. We have a 6 YO grandson who is the apple of our eye, and we’re already saving for that Disney cruise in a year or two!

 

Dave%2520Pat.jpg

 

As for booking, we actually have 2 Marriott timeshares that we have issues using, now that we live in Texas- east coast and west coast there are tons of places we can exchange to, but in Texas? Not so much! But we found out that we can trade in our weeks for Vacation Points, which can then be used to book cruises! YAY!

 

I started researching our options in January of this year… we knew that Galveston or New Orleans were our ports of choice since we could easily drive it and not have to fly. I wanted 7 days if possible and I was open to trying a different cruise line so I looked seriously at the Navigator of the Seas. In the end we went with Carnival, mostly because we got a better class of room on Magic for our Vacation Points and this cruise would make me Gold. So Magic it is!

 

Having picked the Magic, we next had to decide on the itinerary. DH has always wanted to visit Jamaica, so Montego Bay, Grand Cayman and Cozumel will be our ports. There’s a back story here- we lived in West Central Florida (Tampa Area) for many years. I always wanted to visit Key West. We moved to Texas before that ever happened. So I thought, here’s my chance! Key West, Nassau & Freeport! But DH REALLY wanted to see Jamaica so I caved…. Having done my research since then, if I had it to do over again, I’d have stuck to my guns. Score 1 for my DH.

 

Having picked the ship and the itinerary, next was the date. I wanted April but DH had just started a new job and was concerned that they might not let him take vacation 6 weeks after starting the new job. I wasn’t going to let anything put this vacation at risk so October 19th was the date. Score 2 for DH.

 

I then started looking into what room we wanted. There was a deal with Marriott where for exactly the same number of VCPs (Vacation Club Points) as a regular balcony we could get an aft extended balcony or a spa balcony. I’ve read so much about the aft extended balconies that I was stoked to experience one for ourselves. We’ve never even had a balcony before! I went to all the sites, researched what cabins, what floors etc… so I was totally bummed when I went to actually book, 8 months in advance and all the aft extended balconies were gone. So I went with my second choice, a Spa balcony. DH wasn’t crazy about the ‘spa’ part of it (you know, ‘cause being in a SPA balcony might reflect on his manhood or something!). I dug my heels in- Spa balcony it is. Score DH: 2, me: 1.

 

So we selected a spa balcony on the 12th floor, cabins below, spa treatment rooms above (NOTE: this is important info, as my TA told me that the very front cabins portside on 12th floor can have noise from the Thalassotherapy pool motors, the doors to the open deck at the front and the exercise equipment on the starboard side could be noisy too. So we opted for 12015, 7 down from the very front, starboard side. From everything I heard, it’s very quiet, not much foot traffic, no noise from above or below and comes with the spa perks. When I saw a video of the Thalassotherapy pool, I was sold! No smoking on the spa balconies was a plus, but not an absolute requirement. Of course the announcement from Carnival about changes in the smoking policy a few months into planning made this a moot point, but I was still excited about the Spa balcony.

 

So we booked it! YAY! Only 238 days to wait!!!

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First problem came up when I realized that the balconies on the 12th floor aren’t covered… apparently there’s a lattice-work type covering but not an actual roof, which means if you want to sunbathe on your balcony you’re in luck. If you want total privacy, not so much! Now at my age, it’s not likely that DH & I will be doing anything embarrassing on our balcony but the idea of people snogging the DoD peering down on us from the decks above was offputting, know what I mean?

 

But I remembered a review I saw by a CC member Jim Zim, who had a cabin 12007 on Magic. I emailed him and he assured me that other than when it’s raining, the balcony is just fine… no one from the spa can look down on you (too steep an angle) and the Serenity Deck above those cabins is surrounded by glass so people can’t lean over, which is the only way they’d be able to see. He assured me that unless I’m sitting on the railing of my balcony, I’d have total privacy. And the latticework does provide a little bit of shade. Phew!

 

So on to the planning…

 

Now, we have a ship! An itinerary! A date! A cabin! A confirmation number! Life is grand!

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The first thing I looked for was Faster to the Fun (FTTF)- none available. Okay, so good for me, gives me more time to research and determine if I really want it.

 

Next item- even though it’s a 4 hour drive from Austin to Galveston I knew I didn’t want to drive down the morning of the cruise so I started looking at hotels. I found a Marriott Springhill Suites on Galveston Island that I could use my Marriott points for. The only catch? No rooms available for Saturday night. So for fun, I checked Friday and Saturday, sure enough I could get Saturday night but only if I booked Friday too.

 

I asked the hotel if I could book Friday night to get the night I wanted and just not show up the first night- would they hold my reservation and they assured me they would, since it was noted in the file (side bar, I called to ask a question a month after booking and the gentleman at the front desk commented ‘oh I see you have a reservation for Friday and Saturday but won’t be in til Saturday- no problem, it happens frequently’ so I’m feeling pretty safe!).

 

DH & I disagreed about going to Galveston the day before and staying in a hotel because it is a resort town and therefore the points were at a premium level. He didn’t want to spend so many points for 2 nights. But I had a free night voucher that I was able to use so basically 2 nights only cost me the points for one night! I won that debate! Total score to date? DH:2, me:2. A dead heat!

 

The only thing about the hotel is they don’t provide a parking option. They said that if I left my car it wouldn’t be towed, and they do have night time security but officially you’re not supposed to park there while on the cruise. Even if we did that, we’d still need a taxi to and from the ship at a cost of about $20 w/tip each way. For $20 more we can park right near the cruise terminal. We decided to park at Galveston Park n Cruise ($54 total cost for 7 days) because of the great reviews I read, because it’s close to the port and the parking is covered. (Editor’s Note: a month after I wrote this the price went up $10 for 7 day cruises so be prepared!).

 

Getting a hotel room turned out to be a fortuitous decision, since as time got closer I kept reading horror stories about construction on I45 just outside Houston. They closed down one or both sides of the highway at Woodlands every weekend for several weeks before our cruise. Hundreds of us read anxiously as various people posted about being delayed for various reasons (delayed or cancelled flights, broken down buses) and then they got stuck in the traffic… wonderful people here and on that other social network site posted real-time traffic updates and helped a lot of people navigate around the blockages… I’m happy to report that in 2 of the 3 hair-raising dashes to the port, the cruisers made it in time and were able to board.

 

So I’m going to offer some free advice to all future cruisers… if at all possible, get to the port (or immediate area) the day before your cruise. The cost of a hotel room is minimal compared to the cost and anguish of missing your cruise. One lady who never did get onboard arrived at 3:45 due to flight delays in Dallas, and in spite of being told on the phone by Carnival that she’d be able to, they denied her boarding when she got to the port. We were all heartbroken reading along with her as she bypassed the Carnival transfer that she’d paid for and had her sister meet her at the airport in Houston and drive like a maniac to the port. We were sure she had made it in time when she suddenly posted that they wouldn’t let her board… it was like it was happening to all of us! So lesson learned, if there is any way, cost or time-wise that you can be at the port the day before, DO IT!

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Next topic? Excursions… last stop Cozumel is a no brainer… we’re members of a golf club that has reciprocal rights with the Cozumel Country Club… Carnival has the excursion for $169 pp, which doesn’t include club rentals. So we called the golf course and found out we can play for just a cart fee! And club rentals are included in our membership! Only thing not included is transportation but the head pro assures us a cab is no more than $15 each way so for $40 with tip we’ve got that covered. So instead of $380 for both of us (including club rental), we will pay $80 total! Steal! And there’s plenty of time to fit in our golf round and make it back to the ship before we sail.

 

So next easy question- what to do in Grand Cayman? We’ve been there once before, didn’t do an excursion and took advantage of a mostly empty ship all afternoon. So unless something compelling shows up while we’re on the ship, we decided to just take our time catching a tender and go ashore to wander… last time we mostly went to the right from the port. This time we’ll try going to the left- I’ve heard there’s a beach over there within walking distance so we’ll print and bring with us a detailed map of the area and walk around for a couple of hours. Then back to the ship to enjoy the quiet!

 

Finally, what to do in Montego Bay, Jamaica? The one place my DH wanted to visit… the problem was- he thought we could just get off the ship and explore around, but as I did research I found that wasn’t such a good idea! We considered Sunset Beach All Inclusive… also looked at the Appleton Rum Tour… nothing appealed. So unless something changes, we’re looking at another ship day. Not that I mind ship days, but if I’d known, I’d have pushed for the Key West/Bahamas itinerary. 

 

Going to give DH another point there, so DH:3, me:2.

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The news is reporting a huge oil spill in Galveston Bay. Apparently a tugboat hit a barge carrying crude oil. Cruise ships are delayed all over the place- Princess cruising out of Bayport gave everyone onboard a free cruise while they partied… they finally left 3 days late I think.

 

Magic, Triumph and Navigator of the Seas were all stuck outside the harbor and couldn’t get in to dock. Onboard passengers got an extra day at sea. When the folks boarding finally got on, they had to hang out overnight in port since the Coast Guard and Port Authority wouldn’t let them leave until the ships had been thoroughly cleaned. I think they got a refund for 1-2 days of their cruise, plus some OBC, but I’m not sure.

 

On top of this problem, I think that Galveston port has been closed a record number of days since Christmas due to heavy fog… it meant a lot of delayed cruises and unhappy passengers (at least those delayed getting ON the ship- those who had extra time onboard were probably not miserable, unless they missed flights etc.).

 

With all these issues, it seems the Galveston port is jinxed! I’m glad fog is not usually an issue in October! I’ll just keep my fingers crossed that no environmental disasters take place before we leave!

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I saw a post on Cruise Critic that one of our fellow cruisers had just gotten FTTF (Faster to the Fun) and that a few more slots were available. I’d talked to DH and explained that it would allow us on the ship first (after the Platinum/Diamonds) and that our cabin would be ready right away to drop off our carry-on bags. He agreed it was a good idea so I booked it… thank heavens someone on CC explained that you only need one per cabin because it’s kind of confusing and would be easy to make a mistake and pay too much.

 

So now I have a painful 6+ months to wait until our cruise. What am I going to do besides haunting Cruise Critic and annoying DH with mindless bits of administrivia about cruising, the Magic, Carnival, John Heald, CC, Galveston?

 

I decided I’d write this blog, and as I sit here typing I’m not sure if I’ll ever post this pre-cruise part to CC or just stick to a review, but at least it gives me something to do that is cruise-related, ‘cause I’m starting to drive everyone else around me nuts with worthless little details about cruising! Well, worthless to anyone not going on a cruise that is.

 

Things like:

 

• Did you know that room service is free for just a $1-2 tip?

 

• If you see your picture hanging in the display case of the photo area, it’s free? Not where all the rest of them are, but in the display behind glass…

 

• If you’re not used to a lot of salt in your diet your hands & feet can swell a lot on a cruise ship.

 

 

• Take ginger pills to help with any kind of nausea, either rough seas or rough night in the Red Frog Pub!

 

• Texas now charges taxes for any booze or cigarettes purchased on your cruise. You have to report it when you get off the ship, but it sounds like it’s on the honor system. We’ll see if that changes.

Edited by Shaded Lady
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The second thing I started working on was my packing list. Yes, I’m a lister! For everything! I can’t have a dinner party without having a list of everything I have to buy and what I have to do… cruising is no exception! But since this is my 7th cruise, my packing list is pretty impressive!

 

Now understand, if I brought everything on my list, I’d need a couple of steamer trunks! But if I have it written down, at least I can consider it when I do my final pack and decide to leave it behind or not. For example, I have bungee cords on my list, to hold my balcony door open. But this cruise is the first time I’ve had a balcony, so that’s been on my ‘ignore it’ list up til now.

 

There are quite a few ‘maybe items’ on my list. Right now my list is 72 items long, and I’m sure it will be longer before the cruise gets here, because every time I spend time on CC I find more ideas. Doesn’t mean they’ll all make the trip, but I want to at least consider it. But I freely admit, I’m an over-packer! DH makes fun of me and how much stuff I bring, but at least once EVERY vacation, he’ll ask ‘hey, did you think to bring…’ and I’ve almost never been stumped!

 

The only problem is having an item on the list but failing to get it into the suitcase or carry-on! Last cruise I thought I’d packed my glasses in my tote bag since I wasn’t bringing my purse. I got onboard and wanted to read the Fun Times and guess what? No glasses! I had to buy a pair of $10 readers from the $10 store onboard! So the latest revision on the list is a column that says ‘Buy’ and another one that says ‘Packed’! Don’t laugh at me, my packing OCD keeps me from going insane!

 

If anyone is really interested, here’s a link to my packing list. Feel free to steal it and update it as your own!

Cruising Checklist for Everyone.xls

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I decided to check out our local roll call- shout out to Shavonne for creating it, Sarah, Mitchel and the rest for keeping it going! I then found out we also had a page on the other social media site whose name must never pass through these pages! It was kind of quiet in the beginning but the closer we got, it picked up quite a bit. We arranged a few activities- everyone who was going to be in Galveston the night before our cruise was invited to gather for dinner at The Spot. Never having been to Galveston before I had no idea so I counted on our experienced friends who either live nearby or have cruised out of Galveston many times. Heidi and Liz didn’t have a car, so since we’re driving, I offered to swing by her hotel and give them a lift to dinner… Neat-o! Making friends before we even get on the ship!

 

Someone also set up a M&G (meet & greet) for Monday (thanks Sara & Mitchel), for embarkation day in the afternoon. It will be a cash bar since apparently the open bar prices on Carnival have gone through the roof, like $22 pp for an hour! Never having participated in a roll call before, or any of the activities they organize, I’m just going with the flow! As for DH, he informed me today that he’s just the chauffeur, driving me to the port… with the benefit that he gets to come along for the cruise! So if I say ‘we’re doing such & such at a certain time, he just replies ‘okay’! Such a smart man, my lovely hubby!

 

Something else they’re planning (I’m not sure if it will take place or not, there’s not been much chatter about it recently) is a Slot Pull. What, you may ask, is a slot pull? Funny you should ask, because I had the same question! Apparently a group of you each put a certain amount into the slot machine (say $10 each) and everyone gets a certain number of pulls, like 3 each. At the end you split the winnings evenly among those who played. So we’ll see if that happens.

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I bought some Cruise Cash to offset the big gulp when I see that final Sail & Sign balance! I bought $100 worth plus I bought a gift package from the Bon Voyage department that included $25 Cruise Cash, $10 Cruise Photo, a beach bag, 2 towels, 2 t-shirts, a bottle of champagne and 2 wine glasses… we’ll keep the Cruise Cash, everything else will be my thank you present to my daughter for dog/cat/house-sitting while we’re on our cruise.

 

For those of you not familiar with it, Cruise Cash is just that- a credit applied to your Sail & Sign account. There are 3 different kinds- one for drinks, one for photos and a general one that can be used for anything. We got the general Cruise Cash certificates so we could use them for anything on our cruise. Unfortunately there are no OBCs (on board credits) in our future so this was sort of like that!

 

The one thing I did learn though, is this Cruise Cash is Use It or Lose It! But even if you don’t spend it all, I read here that you can just put the extra onto your card in the casino, spend a few bucks there then just cash it out. They’ll give you all of it back and you’ll lose nothing.

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I finally got around to booking our cruise parking… we used Galveston Park ‘n Cruise. Of course, as I mentioned earlier (if you’ve been reading along!) the price had just gone up 2 weeks before! It now cost us $65 after tax for the uncovered parking! Timing is everything, right? But at least we now had taken care of that task before the cruise.

 

If you look at this picture taken from our balcony, on the far right you’ll see a building with a pink front- we were parked right beside that in the gated lot… this whole building is Galveston Park n Cruise so you can see how close it is…

 

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Another thing I got was swim shoes for both DH and me… not sure how much we’ll need them, but DH is diabetic and suffers from Neuropathy- which means that while he has tingly pain in his feet almost all the time, he also has reduced feeling in them. So as I do a barefoot dance across the scalding hot Lido deck beside the pool, he just stands there, clueless that he’s burning the soles of his feet! I’m hoping the swim shoes will solve that issue. Not to mention make the buffet area floors a little less slippery! They were only $9 a pair at Sears so I grabbed them.

 

One other thing I bought last week for the cruise is a small (8” x 12” x 2” approx.) plastic organizer. It has adjustable little compartments in it (I actually have one for my beading crafts) and I started filling it with my first aid kit… so band aids, swabs, ointments, medications, everything has its little compartment so it will be really easy to just throw in the suitcase, and keep somewhere convenient in the cabin. It was suggestion from a fellow CC’er and I loved the idea! I can already see how it’s going to keep everything contained and easy to access.

 

Two more items are on my shopping list that I’m keeping an eye out for on sale… an over the door organizer (for storing shoes) that I want for the cabin bathroom. I have one but it has shoes in it so putting personal items like razors and hairbrushes in it just seems icky to me! And a compact electric adaptor- like a mini power strip it plugs into the outlet and has 3 additional outlets, plus USB ports so you can charge your phone and your laptop at the same time. If I don’t find it, or it’s too expensive (I saw one from Belkin for $30 but that’s too much for just cruise usage) then I’ll just bring a power strip.

 

Speaking of laptops, I guess this is as good a place as any to bring up the controversy between DH & me. I have an iPad that never leaves my side… I check the internet on it, my mail, read books, keep notes, take pictures… you name it, I use it for that. It’s going with me on the cruise. DH & I also each have a smart phone- I’ll be turning the phone and data portion off and just using mine as a clock and alarm.

 

DH just got a tablet which he’s crazy about… I told him that since all he does is search the internet on it (what a lightweight he is!) that he probably won’t get much use out of it. We keep going back and forth about it, when in reality, I don’t really care if he brings it! But if he drops it or loses it, boy am I going to tease him about it! Remember, I’m still keeping score (so far, he’s slightly ahead 3:2) but this will put me WAAAY over the top!

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FIRST SINGLE DIGIT DANCE!!!

 

I posted this on our roll call with the addendum ‘Only 9 more weekends til our cruise!’ Hey- I was desperately watching the countdown and needed something to break up the time! 238 days is a LONG time to wait for something you want this badly!

 

I think this is officially the doldrums of cruising… too early to start packing, plans for the ports pretty much decided. What else is there to do except haunt Cruise Critic and that other social network site reading about others’ cruise experiences, asking their questions, voicing their opinions… about cruising! Which I really want to be doing right now, but can’t! Not for 64 more days!

 

So the biggest cruise consideration right now is which car to drive to Galveston… see- last week I bought a brand new Ford C-Max Hybrid… lots of toys, really sweet drive! When DH learned that I’d paid for gated, uncovered parking in Galveston he decided we’re driving our ‘old’ car… (mind you the ‘old’ car is only 20 months old, so everything is relative, you see!). I said I didn’t care which car he drove (see earlier post about DH being the chauffeur) which then prompted a detailed (one-sided) conversation on his part about possible risk to the new car vs. potential improved gas mileage, smaller footprint of the new car reducing the likelihood of damages…

 

I have no idea which car we’ll be arriving in… all I can say Heidi & Liz is that we’ll be at your hotel Saturday night in time so we don’t miss that first pre-cruise, early celebration, DoD. In either a vintage 2014 Ford Escape or a bright shiny new Ford C-Max!

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I had read on a few roll calls about doing a gift exchange during your Meet & Greet. I thought this would be a neat thing for us to do so I proposed it to everyone in the roll call and immediately got about 30 responses that they thought it would be neat (not that I expect that many will actually participate, but I figured it’s a good start!). So I reached out to my resident cruising expert Brianna (Wrigley80) who gave me the following details (modified slightly by ME!):

 

Meet & Greet Gift Exchange

Everyone who is interested in participating in the event during our Meet & Greet on Sunday at 3 PM (see that event for more details) should do the following:

• Sign up for the gift exchange

 

• Purchase a small gift (limit is $15) which represents you, your home state or city

 

• Wrap it and bring it to the M&G (making sure others can’t tell what it is from just looking is important!)

 

• Make sure you label who the gift is from on it

 

• During the M&G everyone who participated will be given a number and select an item from the table til everyone has a gift.

 

Ideas:

• T-Shirt, logo ball cap, fridge magnet, flag, logo cup or mug, cozies, candy or food famous in your state…

 

• Make sure it’s not too big or too breakable- remember whoever gets your gift might need to get it home on a plane.

 

I created the event on our other site (the one that is more ‘social’ than this one!) and people started signing up. Funny- I was worried no one would participate but 10 people signed up in the first 5 minutes! So since this cruise was out of Galveston, I figured a lot of people would be from Texas. Instead of something with ‘Don’t Mess With Texas’ on it, I opted to get something from Austin… for those of you familiar with the state capital, it’s a democratic stronghold in the middle of a republican state… in addition to the state capitol it has the University of Texas (Hook’em Horns!) and greater than your average number of ‘free spirits’. Let’s just say that Whole Foods is not headquartered here for no reason! There are more people in Birkenstocks and hemp clothing than in cowboy boots and hats! All this is to tell you that in many ways, this city lives up to its slogan- ‘Keep Austin Weird!’

 

So I decided to get a tie dye coozy and a lanyard that have ‘Keep Austin Weird’ on it. My DH wanted to be a little more conventional so we went with a UT mug and luggage tag.

 

IMG_0171.JPG

 

We’ll see how the gift exchange goes, during our M&G our first day on board… I’ll let you know when we get to that part!

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Lots of little things have been going on…. Like picking up last minute items for the trip… we bought a card reader that will attach to DH’s tablet so we can download the photos from our cameras… bought a new battery for the cameras since both of ours barely last before they need to be recharged. I made a lanyard for my S&S card since I was bored one afternoon… basically just killing time til Oct 18 gets here and we start the drive down to Galveston.

 

IMG_0172.JPG

 

Our roll call has really swelled and there are lots of great people sharing info, excitement, suggestions… someone finally got the slot pull organized, and Jason, one of our gang, even planned a Rubber Ducky Hot Tub Party on the Serenity deck for the first sea day! I have my rubber ducky all packed and ready!

 

I spent a lot of today figuring out how to make pictures work in this review, so I sure hope it all works out!

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For days now we’ve been obsessing about the weather… there’s a tropical depression – TD9- that’s threatening to move across the Mexican coast from the Pacific and across the Yucatan Peninsula, straight into our path! So when it started looking like it might die out before it hits the Bay of Campeche we let out our breaths, thinking that we might be okay.

 

So imagine my shock when I read that a cruise ship has a passenger quarantined because she might have come into contact with Ebola… and of course, yes, it’s the star-crossed Magic! At first they were reporting all sorts of falsehoods- she was a nurse who came in contact with the virus and was showing symptoms, Belize had refused to allow any passengers to debark because of it, they might have to quarantine the whole ship when it returns!

 

For 24 hours we all sweated it out waiting for updates… we heard from Carnival on Saturday that the passenger in fact was a lab supervisor (who was IN THE LAB at the same time as the samples from the Ebola patient- she never actually handled them personally!), she was voluntarily quarantined ‘in an abundance of caution’ and was showing no symptoms.

 

She was at day 19 of 21 since her exposure. Belize did allow all other passengers beside Ebola Mary as we called her to debark, but Mexico denied the ship debarkation in Cozumel. Because they missed Cozumel and due to the stress & worry they all experienced, Carnival gave all passengers $200 OBC and 25% off a future cruise.

 

Saturday afternoon a helicopter took away a blood sample from her and early Sunday morning before debarkation we all learned it was negative! Whew!

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So with the Ebola scare still lingering over us I was up at 7 AM on Saturday, too nervous and excited to sleep any later. I cleaned the house, finished packing and went through my checklist one more time yesterday. DH & I packed our dogs up and went to DD’s with the pups and all their luggage for a week’s stay. I am going to miss my 180 pounds of fur (I have 2 Old English Sheepdogs – yeah, like the Disney dogs at 100 & 80 lbs). I’ve left my 16 year old cat at home, but then again, NOT taking her to my DD’s house with my 2 dogs, her 2 dogs, her 2 cats and my 6 YO GS will probably be like a vacation for her too! DD will stop by twice a day to feed & check on her.

 

Once the pets were all settled, we packed up the car (SURPRISE! Yes, we drove the new C-MAX- I knew we would!) and hit the road around noon. We were able to drive all the way through until we reached Houston… if you’re travelling to Galveston soon make sure you check out the construction and traffic conditions in and around North Houston/Clear Lake on I 45. We lost about 30 minutes altogether, which if it had not been Saturday, I’d have been panicking.

 

Houston Traffic!

GS%25202.JPG

 

Clear Sailing Now!

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About to Cross the Bridge to Galveston Island!!!!

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We arrived at the Springhill Suites on Galveston Island about 4 PM. I texted our hitchhikers Heidi & Liz to let them know we’d arrived on the island. Their flight was cancelled and rescheduled to arrive around 9 so they were going to miss our group dinner at the Spot.

 

Our room was nice- very clean and quiet and on the first floor. The elevator (singular) is very slow from all reports so I was delighted not to have to deal with it! I took some pictures of the room and other parts of the hotel. If any of you have Marriott Rewards points, this hotel is a great deal. It’s only 3 miles from the cruise terminal (and our parking) and only takes about 10 mins to drive. If you’re just looking for a place to sleep the night before the cruise, this place is perfect… comfy beds, kitchenette, free wifi, free breakfast. It has an indoor pool and a hot tub, but we didn’t bother with either since we have a spa cabin and figure we’ll be doing plenty of that soon enough.

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Our roll call had planned a dinner at The Spot, which if you’re not familiar with Galveston Island is on the south side, right on the water, facing the gulf. It was perfect for our get together as we had over 40 people join us! We had a great time meeting in person all of the people who we’d already met, online! Food and refreshments abounded, just to set the tone and pace for the next 7 days!

 

Here's a pic of DH & me with Jeannie and Reggie- a couple of fellow cruisers

 

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More Cruisers!

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Ted, April & Missy!

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Mitchel, Tony, Jason, Buffy ...

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Sara & some BFFs!

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!

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Bill Engvall (AKA Craig Black!) and his peeps!

 

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The Ramseys!

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To anyone who’s never been there, The Spot is fun, but a bit different than I was expecting! You order your food and drink then go have a seat. When your food is ready you’ll be paged and you go back to the pickup area and get your vittles… think Fuddruckers! I don’t know what I was expecting, and I thought it was going to be a bit of a pain, but actually it wasn’t all that difficult. And the shrimp po-boy was one of the best I’ve ever had!

 

Of course a lot of the conversation was about Ebola and the impact it might have on our cruise… we were all comfortable that there was no risk but we were worried that over-reaction might cause delays to our embarkation. A lot of joking went on- Craig (AKA Bill Engvall) named it the Ebola Boat and his wife Sherry said our cruise was BYOL- Bring Your Own Lysol! We had a lot of fun with it…

 

But soon enough it was time to head back to our temporary digs. We turned in around 11 and hoped to get a better sleep than we did last night. Of course that wasn’t to be, and I stayed up most of the night reading the blogs and checking for updates from Carnival… when we finally got the word that the blood test proved the lab tech was Ebola-free and that we’d be boarding that afternoon, I finally got a bit of sleep! We got a letter from Carnival that boarding would be delayed til 1 PM as they were doing a thorough cleaning of the ship, ‘just to alleviate any concerns’.

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So that's the end of the pre-cruise blog... I'll post the rest of the review, the cruise itself, later today and tomorrow... I promise, barring a tropical depression or an outbreak of Ebola I'll have it all done by then, for those of you who want to get this over with!

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OKAY- so if the Pre-Cruise Blog wasn’t your thing, this is where you want to start reading again!

 

We woke up around 7 AM again this morning… after a quick shower we went downstairs for breakfast. Springhill Suites offers a pretty wide variety for breakfast- continental pastries, yoghurt, fresh fruit, boxed cereals, oatmeal, scrambled eggs, bacon, home fries… and a waffle maker. But most importantly, HOT COFFEE! If there’s a trend you’ll see this week, it’s that I don’t really get moving in the morning until I have a minimum of 1 coffee under my belt, preferably 2!

 

So breakfast done, we packed up our overnight bag, jumped in the car at 9 AM and headed to Galveston Park ‘n Cruise. It only took about 10 minutes to get there and there was no wait to drop off our suitcases with the porters. That taken care of ----- OH WAIT ----- DON’T FORGET! If you have FTTF make sure you see the porters put the orange tags on your bags, otherwise they might not make it into the bins for earliest delivery! So back to our story, I drove with DH to the parking lot and then we both walked back across the street with our carry-ons to the cruise terminal.

 

We waited about 45 minutes in the FTTF line to go through security. They check EVERY bottle & can to make sure you aren’t smuggling booze, so here’s how I inadvertently speeded things up… I had a case of soda and some water in a rolling carry-on. I also had a small collapsible cooler that held maybe a dozen drinks. I gave the small cooler to the guy and he checked them over like they were counterfeit bills or something! When he was done he said okay you can go. I didn’t bother to mention the carry-on with the other drinks in them, and he never knew I had more. So if you are into that sort of thing it would be really easy to get booze past them, especially if you check in during the busy time- just have your drinks divided up and only give them half to check!

 

Carnival check in was quick and easy. We have our passports as proof of citizenship. As Canadians who became American too, passports are the easiest way for us to prove citizenship, since I really don’t want to carry around my 8x10 official Certificate of Naturalization. Our birth certificates won’t help, therefore avoiding that whole ‘Do I really need a passport?’ debate.

 

We made it upstairs and got our Sail & Sign cards (S&S) after completing a more robust health questionnaire (but really, does anyone tell the truth on those things?). We sat down to wait for boarding about 10:15 and they started boarding around 11- even though we’d been told it would be delayed! YAY!!!

 

So off went the wedding parties- 3 of them- one bride in her dress, one in her veil, hair done, carrying her flowers… but wearing shorts and a button up shirt! Once they were onboard came the VIPs- Diamond then Platinum. About 10 minutes after they started boarding, they called FTTF. And we were close to the area where they boarded us so off we went.

 

Take your picture, walk up the ramp (and up the ramp, and up the ramp- if you have health issues or trouble walking, get assistance because it’s a haul when you’re lugging your carry-ons!), Bong- read your S&S card for the first time and you’re officially ON A CRUISE!

 

That famous Whale Tail!

 

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We went straight to our cabin, 12015, 12th floor forward, starboard side (translates as front of the ship, right hand side!). Our first balcony, and first time in a spa cabin. I had a ton of questions about this room so I’ll take a few minutes here (and include a few pics) to let you know what a spa cabin with a balcony on the 12th floor is all about!

 

We were the 7th balcony from the front of the ship- very top row. You can see the open ceilings of the balconies.

 

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Size-wise it’s about the same as all the others we’ve had but is laid out more nicely than the Fantasy-class ships we’ve been on. It had a sofa, an ice bucket and a fridge, although we brought a cooler and used it plus the ice bucket all week, never touched the fridge. DH opened it and felt one of the drinks to confirm what everyone says- it was cool but not cold.

 

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The spa balconies on 12 are not covered. There is about a 12 inch overhang from above then metal rails (see pics above). What this means is that the balcony is useless in the rain. But when it’s not, the balcony is just great! We used it a lot, night and day! It rarely got so hot from full sun exposure that it was uncomfortable… so while it wasn’t a big deal, if I did it again I’d go for a cabin on the 11th floor, so I’d have the protection from the rain.

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Views from our balcony

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What comes with a spa cabin? Here’s the list…

 

• Upgraded robes to borrow (way too heavy for me, I never used mine)

 

• 2 pairs of slippers to keep (one size fits all which means they’re probably too big for most women and too small for most men)

 

• 4 oz bottle of linen spray that we used on the pillows every night- LOVED this stuff! I asked in the spa if I could buy some and they told me they don’t sell it! So I asked our steward Chris where I might get some… two hours later I had 3 more bottles! (more about Chris later!)

 

• Elemis spa shampoo & conditioner, body wash and lotion- 4 oz samples only… the stuff you get in the dispensers in the shower are the same as all the other cabins on the ship.

 

• 6 round soaps in the container that the Breathe Right and toothpaste samples used to be in- we got nothing this cruise besides the soaps, I’m not sure if it’s because we were in a spa cabin or if everyone on the cruise was the same.

 

• There’s a note in your room that tells you to also pick up your free Elemis body scrub in the spa… don’t forget to ask for it at the spa because they won’t ask you! You have a choice of 4 scents… I remember one was lavender but I could hardly smell it. I don’t remember the other two, but the one I picked was the Chocolate Peppermint body scrub- it comes in a little gift package with a mini-loofah. It made a great tchotchke for my daughter.

 

The spa amenities were good and we used them quite a bit. The Thalasso pool is like a big hot tub (although mostly just warm) that is supposed to be full of minerals that will relax and rejuvenate those aches and pains. We liked it and it did help a bit, but I’m not sure it’s a magic pill for what ails you! I found that I couldn’t lay on the submerged loungers at all- the bubbles forced me to float and it wasn’t comfortable at all. But I was able to hang out at the end where you enter the pool and I really liked it.

 

The other advantage to the spa cabin is the Cloud 9 Thermal Suites… there are 2 steam rooms- one has a strong mint scent and is very hot (called the Aroma Steam bath), the second is called the Oriental Steam bath and is just a steam room. The other 2 rooms were my favorite. The Tepidarium can be warm and it had tiled loungers that faced the windows, giving you a terrific view. The Laconium also had the loungers, and you reclined more in them and I found them more comfortable. All the loungers in both rooms were heated and were absolutely lovely! Grab a towel from the Thalasso pool area and roll it up under your head as a pillow… but make sure you have someone who can come wake you up after a while!

 

Only note I want to make here is that if you use any of these facilities first thing in the morning (say, around 8 AM) you might find that they’ve just turned things on and they’re not really warm/hot/ready as they will be later in the day.

 

So all in all, would I consider a spa cabin worth the extra money? Probably not, but since we used our vacation points, it made sense to grab the cabin since it was the same cost as any other balcony.

 

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So we were on board in our cabins by 11:15. Our meet & greet is at 2 so we have some time to kill. Met Chris, our awesome, stupendous room steward, who promised to keep our cooler and ice bucket full all week, and brought a sharps container for DH’s insulin needles. He was always on hand when we needed him, he was so pleasant and helpful! Needless to say, DH gave him a little sump’n extra at the end of the cruise!

 

While waiting for our suitcases we decided to have lunch at Cucina del Capitano on the 11th floor. They give you a card to fill out your selection of pasta, sauce and food choice (shrimp, chicken, sausage). You can also order lasagna, bread and Caesar salad. Salad was meh, not great. Bread neither. DH had the lasagna and said it was tasty but room temperature. That would be a recurring theme for the food the entire cruise… good or bad, most of the food arrived lukewarm instead of hot. I ordered pink sauce (marinara and alfredo mixed) with bowtie pasta but got just alfredo. I also noticed it wasn’t hot, but pointed out the mix-up to our waiter and when he returned the corrected dish, it was not only hot but absolutely yummy!

 

That also started our love affair with the iced tea on the ship! I planned to get Bottomless Bubbles (unlimited soda package, $6 pp per day plus 15% gratuities) but never got around to it… we liked the iced tea so much that I never bothered to. One of my favorite non-alcoholic drinks onboard was about two thirds iced tea, one third lemonade, one package of sweetener. Oh YUM! It’s only available at the Lido buffet so I’d fill up my big Tervis tumbler and bring it with me!

 

After lunch we explored the ship a bit, found the Red Frog Pub where out M&G would be, checked out a few other things on the ship and went back to our cabin. We looked at our account on the TV in our room (great feature!) and had a few questions about our account so we made time before the M&G to go to Guest Services. Anyone who tells you that FTTF isn’t worth it has never had to go to GS when it’s busy! I went there 4-5 times throughout the cruise and didn’t feel guilty one bit about bypassing those dozen people in the regular line to get served next!

 

The only concern we had was as we were leaving our cabin around 1:45 everyone’s luggage was arriving, but ours wasn’t there. I spoke to the girl delivering the luggage and she said all the FTTF luggage had already been delivered. YIKES! She called her supervisor and they started looking into it right away. Thankfully, when we got back after our M&G our luggage was inside our cabin.

 

The time had arrived (after months of planning and anticipation) for our Meet & Greet in the Red Frog Pub (RFP). We also had the gift exchange and I think everyone who participated really enjoyed getting something from a different place! DH got a bunch of stuff from Stillwater OK and I got a cool t-shirt from Arizona!

 

It was really crowded and pretty hectic in the RFP but somehow we all managed to find each other and I think everyone had a great time! *BTW I don't promise to remember all the names and faces, but I'll call them out as I recall!)

 

Regina & Jeanne

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Heidi & Liz

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The Infamous Duck Boats and Christine With Heidi & Liz

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Mitchel & Tony

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