MAGIC - Our Photo Review of the Inaugural Sailing of the Magic

[disneygal94]

I'll be on the June 12th Magic sailing. I can't wait to hear as many details as you can provide! Thanks for sharing!

[Jolimont]

Thank you! I look forward to the rest of your report and photos!

[Prairie_Gal]

I am looking forward to reading your review as we are thinking of doing the Breeze inauguaral next year. Enjoy your cruise!

[chasinraynbowz]

have you seen these pics?

http://www.zydecocruiser.com/CarnivalMagic/May_01_2011/index.htm

 

 

 

I can't get his site to open. Not sure if the pictures are too large or what, but its SLOW!!

 

UPDATE: This morning it seems fine... LOL!

Edited May 10, 2011 by chasinraynbowz

[cruisinskier]

Leaving Toronto

 

The Alps....I hope to ski these one day!

 

Landing in Venice

 

Walking to the Alilaguna

 

You will see this sign...

 

The Alilaguna dock

[cruisinskier]

It was only about a 5 minute walk to Murano Palace from the dock (go right and follow the canal) however it was not well marked and we ended up having to ask in one of the shops as the entrance was down a little alley way. Upon arrival we called the owner, Cesare, on his cell phone and he was at the entrance in a minute to greet us. We checked in and were escorted to our room.....a modern room overlooking the canal for 140 euros per night. The room had a full bathroom with Italian marble, full size tub, towel warmer, Murano glass chandelier over the bed, a king bed, flat screen TV, a safe and a fridge stocked with water and sodas (and some snacks). The rate also included breakfast each morning.

 

Staying in Murano truly was a great experience. It truly felt like we were exposed to the non-tourist life of Venice as each night there were more locals in the restaurants than tourists. It also was a very beautiful island. It is not the best spot to stay if you have limited time in Venice due to the commute time to Venice however if you are there for a few days, I would strongly recommend Murano.

 

Once we were settled in the hotel, Cesare (the owner) took us over to show us the family restaurant and offered us a free Bellini which we happily enjoyed. The restaurant was only open for lunch this day but we will discuss it shortly as we did enjoy 2 great dinners here. We strolled around Murano to see and learn about this island. It was a very scenic, calm place with lots of friendly people. After a few hours of looking around, checking out a few churches, Murano glass sculptures, etc. we decided it was time for dinner. We ended up at Tratorria Ai Vetrai, mostly because it was the only open restaurant we could find. Dinner was very good and included salmon, gnocchi, caprese salad, wine with dinner and then free shortbread type cookies with free dessert wine. Total cost was 40 euros. After being up for well over 30 hours, we headed for bed at 9:30 local time.

[cruisinskier]

 

The Aliliaguna boats look like this:

 

Inside the Alilaguna

[cruisinskier]

This is the building that houses Murano Palace on the top 2 floors. Casare also owns the glass shop on the lower level. Entry is via the alley way on the right side of the building.

 

Our room (that is fabric on the walls)

 

And the Bathroom

 

View out our window:

 

View to the right:

 

And view to the left:

[cruisinskier]

Hi all. Thanks for your kind words of support. I will try to post a few more notes / photos over the next few days however we are still in Barcelona and looking to maximize our time here. There is lots of Magic info I want to share and I have to say that planning is the key to a European vacation. We had a great tour around Barcelona today but I will share those details with you in due course. Thanks again for your support and I hope to post some more tomorrow. For now though it is off to bed as tomorrow is another busy day :D

[star453]

Thanks for posting. :)

We have two cruises booked on the Magic for next year!

[JennLuvs2Cruise]

Tomorrow?!? :( I wanna see more pictures & review now. Beautiful pictures, OP. Your really making me consider a cruise to Europe on the Breeze for next year. Looks like your hotel was a beautiful hidden gem.

[cruisinskier]

We awoke at 5:30 am.....almost adjusted to the 6 hour time difference. Breakfast at the Murano Palace was included however it opens at 8:00am. We relaxed, read and wandered a little and then had breakfast which included croissants, cereal , fruit, yogurt, tea, coffee, cappuccino, etc.

 

Breakfast area at Murano Palace

 

 

 

 

Cesare provided a great map of Venice as well as directions to must see sites. He also confirmed which Vaporetto lines (water buses) serviced the island of Murano. Cesare also advised we could buy our Vaporetto passes at a small store just about 20 meters down from the shop as the ticket office at the dock had not yet opened. Once we had our tickets (we bought the 3 day pass), we were on our way to Venice.....

[cruisinskier]

Here are some pictures of working boats around Murano:

 

Limo anyone?

 

Ambulanza

 

Delivering the gelatto via a freezer boat

 

Fresh Produce anyone?

[spideyfam]

THANK YOU!! Can not wait for more. Love the pictures so far.

[rnvattes]

OMWord! You haven't even left Venice area or boarded the ship and I am swooning! Amazingly beautiful pictures. As a prev poster said -- what hidden gem you found for your stay pre-cruise!!

[JaniceB]

I agree that you found a hidden gem, can't wait to hear more. My DH will be so happy that I am wanting to travel overseas now that I am seeing your pictures.

[Fishfish]

Loving the review and all the pics!

[DEERINH2O]

Loving your review!!!

[Meyer2]

Great review & pictures so far!!

[cruizinpooh]

After seeing your Hawaii review, I can't wait to see more of your trip to Europe and the beautiful Carnival Magic.

 

For now, ENJOY what's left of your vacation.

 

We are anxiously awaiting our MAGIC vacation in Sept. :D

[zumbafest]

Looking for information on the excursions, the names of the tour groups used bu carnical. I understand you can save a ton if you book thru them for the same trip! any advice?

[cruisinskier]

We had decided to purchase a 3 day Vaporetto pass given out time in Venice pre-cruise. The 3 day pass is 33 euros pp.

 

Prices are as follows:

 

Booth to Purchase Vaporetto tickets:

 

The Vaporetto stations look like this:

 

And the Vaporetto's look like this:

 

 

We caught the 42 Vaporetto which took us from Murano and clockwise around Venice proper. We disembarked near St Mark’s Square.

 

 

Riding in the Vaporetto:

 

Our first sighting of St Mark's Square

[zumbafest]

Would love to hear about the ports and weather We should go through Carnival or book on our own with the samw tour provider. do you have any insite on this. We sail on oct! Soooo excited haven't been to italy or france!!!!. I hope I can find my way back here LOL. new at this. I kind of want to look at your pic but then again I want to be suprised!

[cruisinskier]

OMWord! You haven't even left Venice area or boarded the ship and I am swooning! Amazingly beautiful pictures. As a prev poster said -- what hidden gem you found for your stay pre-cruise!!

 

Yes I have to agree that Murano Palace was a gem. We eventually ended up with 8 of us staying there so we occupied 4 of the 6 rooms. Cesare, the owner, was a delight to deal with and he went out of his way to do anything for us. He is a true gentleman and we would be very comfortable to recommend Murano Palace to anyone looking for a nice place a little out of the tourist zone. This was another find I have to credit to Tripadvisor which is where I found it.

[texnewbie]

Loving the review and looking forward to seeing lots of more pictures!!!

Thank you for sharing with us!!!

Texnewbie