Carnival Magic - 12 Days in Med review....

[TheCaveman]

So, after we got to the Bellower, we headed down to the square. On the way there, we were walking down some steps, and suddenly the girlfriend screams, - you know, that scream that only a woman can do, well, and some guys, if they encounter a mouse?

Let me present you with exhibit A, the suspect. He ran over her foot….

 

 

I thought it was hilarious, she did not....

[TheCaveman]

We reached out destination...

 

 

 

 

 

My little pony...

 

[TheCaveman]

This is what my friend Mr. Google tells me about the place:

 

The Clock Tower at Messina

Messina's Cathedral was originally built in Norman times, but only in 1197, in a ceremony presided over by Henry VI of Swabia ( the father of Frederick II, who lived and was buried in Messina), was it dedicated to the Virgin Mary.

At the beginning of the 16th century, Martino Montanini planned what was to be, at 90 metres, the highest bell-tower in Sicily.

Struck by lightning in 1588, it was rebuilt by Andrea Calamech in around 1575.

The base of the belltower originally housed the city archives, which were taken by the Spanish in 1678 and transported to Seville, where they remain to this day.

The old bell-tower, damaged in the earthquake of 1783, was demolished soon afterwards. The present tower, designed by Valenti, imitates the forms of its predecessor.

It was built after 1908, and in 1933 became home to the largest animated clock in the world, work of the Ungerer brothers from Strasbourg.

Clock mechanic-figurative

The majestic steeple houses a clock which is unique in the world for its complexity, built by the Ungerer firm of Strasbourg to the orderer of Archbishop Paino (1933).

The machinery is made up of partial devices with gears and levers, self-contained in their individual operation corresponding to the various scenes; it is run and gets its kinetic energy from a powerful counterweight mechanism of clockwork, set in the central storey of the building.

This in its turn is fed by an electric motor powerful enough to lift the counterweights themselves. If is this central mechanism that sets in motion the pointers of the dials, starts the sound of quarters and hours, the movements of the various pictures passing within the span of the 24 hours, while the movements and the sound effects occurring from 12 to 12,15 are initially started by the same central mechanism and then each figure passes the starting signal on to the following one, after completing its own movement.

From the figurative and symbolical viewpoint, on the front overlooking the square there are the scenes referring to the civil (Dina and Clarenza) and religious history of Messina (Church of Montalto and Madonna of the Letter); to the liturgical periods (Christmas, Epiphany, Resurrection and Whitsun); to human symbology (the four ages of life marked by the Scythe of Death); to animal symbology (cock = intellicence; lion = strength); to the passing of days (roundabout of the week).

On the front looking on to the facade of the Cathedral are indicated the astronomical phenomena corresponding to the current day, whose date also is shown by an Angel with an arrow (calendar, phases of the moon, planetarium).

In the belfry there is a peal of eight bells weighing 160 quintals on the whole, which every day ring the alarm, at the end of the midday movements.

 

And, please, take a moment to see it at noon, here:

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YlJTwBsm21U&feature=related

[TheCaveman]

All these parts move during the "show"

 

 

[TheCaveman]

After that, we went for some liquid refreshments, and some food.

As it was so hot, we were not really hungry, but we did order a Cannoli dessert, as, after all, Sicily is the home of the Cannoli. It’s a kind of pastry with sweet ricotta cheese.

Around the restaurant there were a few young cats just sleeping lazy in the sun.

Very cute….

 

I wanted to bring then onto the ship....

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Moma cat sleeping nearby....

 

 

 

[TheCaveman]

As it was nearing 12, the crouds gathered for the "show"

 

 

 

[TheCaveman]

After the show, we headed back to the ship, as departure were at 4pm today

 

 

 

 

 

We went to the pool, at Lido deck

 

 

and, we had to get some of these....

 

[TheCaveman]

To my surprise, as I thought they were sold out, I saw a waiter carrying Fosters.

Now, I still had a lot in my room, but, as we were by the pool, I called him over and ask if there is any left. He said there were, but only in the Casino Bar. As we were good customers of his, he said, no problem, he will to down and get me a bucket.

 

 

Now I was a happy man....

 

 

Girlfriend had to get one of these....

 

 

 

And, we were off, next stop Dubrovnick.

 

 

The couple in front of us, had like 10 empty glasses of something, and you could see they were having fun. so, the girlfriend ordered me , to go ask what are they drinking. As she want one as well

 

So, off I went, and came back with one of these.

 

 

Raspberry Daiquiri - It was verry good

[TheCaveman]

As it was getting late, we were getting ready to go to dinner. We have not been to the Main dining room for a few nights, we thought we would go.

 

 

But, as any of you know, all this “Vacationing” is hard business.

 

FOSTERS

 

Here is some useless information for you….

 

For those of you that don’t know,

 

Fosters is 25 ounce and cost $6.75

 

Bud/Bud light is 16 ounce and cost $5.75

 

So, if you drink Fosters (and, come on, after a few, they all taste the same) for $1 more, you get an extra 9 ounce’s of beer. If you get a bucket, it is an extra 36 ounces of beer, for a meagre $4 more.

 

With that in mind, I called over the waiter, and got another bucket, to take with us to the show tonight, as mine in the room were not cold.

 

 

 

 

We got readdy for dinner, and I had a look on the TV to see where we were.

 

 

 

 

We were at the tip of the shoe of Italy

[TheCaveman]

So, we made it to teh Dining Room, Remember, we were on the early seating.

 

 

saw they had Oysters for starters, so i had them.

 

 

 

 

Girlfriend had the Ceser Salad. Only problem was, as you look in this picture, it should have been called Lettuce & Crouton Salad. There were no sauce, cheese, are anything extra with it.

 

 

 

Main course, top one was the Girlfriend's, bottom one was mine.

 

I cant remember what it was, so lets leave it at, meat....

[TheCaveman]

Deserts,

 

 

 

 

Now, after dinner, we went up to our room, to get some refreshments. for the show.

 

[TheCaveman]

Tonight was a night with Lionel Richie, featuring Marcus Jefferson

 

 

He was great; I will give him 9/10.

 

Now we ran into our first real problem on this cruise… :(:(:(

 

Few nights ago, at one of the shows, we sat next to a woman. Now, as, we were nice and early, to get good seats, she arrived as the show was starting, and she squeezes into the spot next to us. Her parents sat in the row in front of us. Now, she was about 40, her parents were well, senior citizens.

 

Anyway, she kept on taking to them, to the people next to her, but worst of all, she had this annoying laugh.

 

Kind of like that woman in friends, Janice

 

Now, in order to understand where I am coming from; watch the first 5 seconds of this clip.

 

 

[url]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kuYUOJp2fPI[/url]
[url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kuYUOJp2fPI"]
[/url]

 

So, she kept on “laughing” and, speaking to her parents in Spanish / Mexican . she could not sit still, she was like a squirrel who drank a can of red-bull.

 

And, she started spoiling the show for us.

So, I leaned over, and asked her nicely, could she please not speak so much !

 

I was not rude or anything.

 

So, she started explaining, that her parents ask her something, so she was just answering them. The parents looked like they did not want know her.

 

This made us a little upset, but, we will not spoil our evening \ cruise over such a simple thing.

But, she got the message, and after a few min, she was sitting still, and quiet.

 

 

Now, this night, well, that was totally different….

 

 

Tonight’s problem was this teenager / family from Israel. Again, we were early for the show, and they came and sat next to us.

 

Now, I do hope they read this, as before the show were starting, one of them, explained how she is Canadian French, or is thet French Canaddian, but, is working in Israel, teaching. ( Obviously not teaching manners)

They spoke English and Hebrew.

We were not listening to them as such, but they were sitting right next to us.

 

 

 

Couple of full moons ago, I worked at a camp during summer in the states, I was a Camp Councillor, and, there were about 100 Israeli kids there. I am still in contact with a lot of them, I can easily identify when people speak Hebrew, and, I know the basic hallo, goodbye, etc….

 

But, this girl….she was something else....

 

So, the show starts, and, they keep on talking, like they are alone in the place. Funnily Enough, her parents also sat in front of us. So, even after we look at her, she sees us looking, she just keeps on talking.

 

 

This time, the girlfriend was sitting next to her.

 

So, after like 20 min, I thought I would just ask her politely to keep it down. As I lean over to ask her, the girlfriend tells her:

 

Would you please just shut up, or leave the Theatre, as we are trying to watch the show.

The look on this girls face was of shock and horror. Nobody ever told her to Shut Up. She than, started telling anybody who would listen, what my GF just told her. Well, I am sure everybody within earshot would have done the same.

 

Than, she started telling us, but speaking to her parents, that she have more rights to be there, than us, and asking her parents to do something. Well, they told her to just be quiet. We received evil looks from her during the rest of the show.

[TheCaveman]

We tried not to think anything further of if.

Now, I know, some of you will think what we did was rude.

I say, well, Parents, teach your kids some manners.

If this show was in Vegas, or, you had to pay entry into the show, and the same thing happened, they would have been kicked out. But, we are on the Fun Ship. Nobody will tell them to keep quite.

And, the ACD set basically right behind us. He did not do anything either….

After that, we, of course made our nightly donation in the casino, on the way to the comedy club.

Tonight we saw JeRome, he was brilliant, so good,He was the only comedian tonight, and he had 2 diffrent shows, one at 10, than 11pm.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

JeRome and the GF after his show

 

 

 

GF with Aaron Nelson - He was the guy who went from table to table preforming Magic tricks during dinner

 

[TheCaveman]

After the comedy shows, we wanted to get some chicken wings again, from the Red Frog Pub. We had it a few times before, late at night, so decided we will go again.

O, we first poped into the night club for a bit, to work up a apatite, but, the place was so empty, we headed over to the RedFrog

And, who do we meet ? ? ?

 

[TheCaveman]

So, now, we finally meet the man, the legend, in person.

And, to be honest, he is a nice guy. Granted, we had a “few” drinks that night, we were “merry” but, still a little pissed of at that talking girl during the show.

So, we ended telling Jonn about it. And, he acknowledged, that, due to the huge numbers of different nationalities, Talkins during shows in general is a problem. And, he said, wait for tomorrow night’s show, and, he will make an announcement, asking people not to talk during the show.

Now, I don’t know why they don’t do that anyway, as, in the comedy club, they ask you not to speak, but they don’t do that in the Showtime theatre, for there main production shows….

[TheCaveman]

So, we want to the Red Frog, had 2 more of there Red Beers, and had some of chicken wings

 

 

 

 

I think they cost $3.33 per portion. And, I love the fact that they are "normal" size portions.

[TheCaveman]

On the Magic, as you leave the Red Frog, and enter where the Ocean Plaza is, you walk by the place where they sell cakes and stuff.

 

So, we decided to have some desert.

 

 

 

 

We cant remember what it tasted like, but, it looked good.... :o:o

[TheCaveman]

As, we knew we were only arriving in Drobrovnick late the next morning, we had a late night as well.

 

We found this guy in our bed

 

 

And, so, we were sad....

 

Tonight, marked the half way mark of our cruise...

[TheCaveman]

One thing I did not mention was, that, tonight, we decided to change from early time dining, 6pm, to your time dining.

As, early time dining just did not suit us.

We went to the area where you report to when you arrive, and they just changes us over, no problems

[Brittasbay]

As it was getting late, we were getting ready to go to dinner. We have not been to the Main dining room for a few nights, we thought we would go.

 

 

But, as any of you know, all this “Vacationing” is hard business.

 

FOSTERS

 

Here is some useless information for you….

 

For those of you that don’t know,

 

Fosters is 25 ounce and cost $6.75

 

Bud/Bud light is 16 ounce and cost $5.75

 

So, if you drink Fosters (and, come on, after a few, they all taste the same) for $1 more, you get an extra 9 ounce’s of beer. If you get a bucket, it is an extra 36 ounces of beer, for a meagre $4 more.

 

With that in mind, I called over the waiter, and got another bucket, to take with us to the show tonight, as mine in the room were not cold.

 

 

 

 

We got readdy for dinner, and I had a look on the TV to see where we were.

 

 

 

 

We were at the tip of the shoe of Italy

 

My DH always get Fosters when we cruise for the same reasons you mention! More beer for a better $$$ value! Great cruise tip!

[BeautifulPlumage]

Thanks so much for such a great review and all the wonderful pictures. I'm thoroughly enjoying your trip vicariously. We are sailing on the Magic in November, out of Galveston, TX, and I can't wait!

[dudaze11]

The Fosters you had in your room that I saw at the beginning of this review looked like they had been delivered. Did you order these through Bon Voyage? I had not heard of Bon Voyage selling beer in bulk before a cruise like they do with bottles of liquor. Please enlighten me...

[TheCaveman]

The Fosters you had in your room that I saw at the beginning of this review looked like they had been delivered. Did you order these through Bon Voyage? I had not heard of Bon Voyage selling beer in bulk before a cruise like they do with bottles of liquor. Please enlighten me...

 

Yes, you pay the same price getting them with Bon Voyage per unit, $6.75 x how ever many you wanted.

 

I ordered 20 x 6.75 = $135 plus 2 x 2L of Bacardi @ $40 each

 

You just call Bon Voyage. And, you dont pay tax ot tips if ordered through Bon Voyage. Wel, we did not, as we were sailing frim Barcelona.

 

 

Lastly, I can 100% confirm, you can order Bon Voyage via room service on onboard. They get delivered same as below, except no plastic wrapping around it, just a"bowtie" that white stuff with carnival written on it. I will see if I can locate a picture when we got the bottle to our room.

 

 

[TheCaveman]

Day 7 – Dubrovnik, Croatia

So, we were scheduled to arrive at 12:00, and depart at 20:00

We had 2 things planned for today:

The Cable Car up the mountain

The walk around on the Old Town’s castle walls.

But, what we did not plan, was for another 35 ºC or 95 ºF day, boy, was it hot….

We got off the ship around 10 o’clock, since we arrived early, and there were a HUGE line to get on the carnival shuttle to get to the old town. So we just jumped into a taxi, and were there in a few min.

[TheCaveman]

 

So we wke up, and, we have arrived.

 

So, I decide to go up to Serenity to snap some pictures.