Carnival Magic review with pictures!!!

[FreezingInMichigan]

Excellent question. We're staying there a few days pre-cruise and would love to stay right on La Rambla just to soak in the atmosphere - preferably from a balcony with sangria in my hand. :D

 

Stacy, Did you ever feel unsafe in Barcelona on Las Ramblas ?? I have read so many bad

 

awful things about pick pockets that it has me paranoid a bit :p We r staying in Hotel Jazz,

 

just off of Las Ramblas and r so looking forward to our first Med cruise.

 

Happy Cruising........

DonnaF :D

[stacycakes1]

Stacy, Did you ever feel unsafe in Barcelona on Las Ramblas ?? I have read so many bad

 

awful things about pick pockets that it has me paranoid a bit :p We r staying in Hotel Jazz,

 

just off of Las Ramblas and r so looking forward to our first Med cruise.

 

Happy Cruising........

DonnaF :D

 

It isn't as bad as people make it out to be. Yes, you should be aware of your surroundings and keep your belongings close but you should be fine otherwise:) I never felt threatened or like everyone was out to get me there.

[luisrp]

You have to be aware of your surroundings like everywhere. It is not like you will be mugged or something like that but the pickpockets ARE out there and any distraction by someone could be the moment someone reaches into your bag or pockets.

 

I was on a family group pre and post-cruise last year and my brother had one expensive camera lens stolen from his backpack. He was not quite sure exactly where since he noticed after getting off the metro but prior to that we were watching the Montjuïc fountain that evening and the place was very crowded. It could have been there or in the train. While on the train somebody suddenly started calling his name and someone was holding his passport as if he had just found it on the floor. Then a short while later his wife's was also on the floor allegedly. He had BOTH passports inside a zippered pocket in his pants.... how did they found their way to the floor?

 

Anyhow, other than this we all had a great cruise but it did make all of us to be more aware of our surroundings and belongings. I personally never felt unsafe or threatened while in Barcelona. The only place I can say I did not felt as safe was in the parking area in Pisa because it was pouring when the tour bus arrived and there was this mob of Indian (from India) people selling umbrellas and they were pushing and yelling just one short step from actually entering the bus.

[Another ship trip]

Stacy, I love your review and photos. I have only gone through six pages and will read through but i have to know WHAT KIND OF CAMERA DID YOU USE?

 

Do you change your settings from inside to outside? If it is a small camera, what setting do you use? My pics have been coming out blurry and I was told to reduce the 12 megapix to about 5 as the higher the pixel, the more steady the shot has to be.

 

Anyway, any tips you can give on your camera and abilities would be so helpful. This is a great review and fabulous pix!!!

 

i have not been happy with my current camera and may need to reinvest in a new one.

[Lisa1]

Stacy, thank you so much for pointing to your wonderful review from the Ports of Call boards. It's taken me a few days, but I've read every post and have enjoyed it all, especially all your wonderful pictures.

 

Two of my best friends and I are starting to think about a Med cruise in 2014 for a "milestone" birthday we will all be celebrating that year. Turns out my cousin Sheryl (FreezinginMichigan) had the idea first, but I don't think she'll mind me copying! ;-)

 

Congratulations to you and your hubby, and I wish you much happiness and many more fabulous cruises!

[CyberTag]

I loved reading your review and it inspired me to write our own review of our recent Med Cruise on the Serenade of the Seas. I am trying to post photos, but every time I upload them they come up as thumbnails. How did you get the full photo up without it being a thumbnail? Help!!!!

[stacycakes1]

Stacy, I love your review and photos. I have only gone through six pages and will read through but i have to know WHAT KIND OF CAMERA DID YOU USE?

 

Do you change your settings from inside to outside? If it is a small camera, what setting do you use? My pics have been coming out blurry and I was told to reduce the 12 megapix to about 5 as the higher the pixel, the more steady the shot has to be.

 

Anyway, any tips you can give on your camera and abilities would be so helpful. This is a great review and fabulous pix!!!

 

i have not been happy with my current camera and may need to reinvest in a new one.

 

 

It's the Nikon Coolpix, we love it! If you decide to reinvest it is a good choice for an amiture photographer:)

[stacycakes1]

I loved reading your review and it inspired me to write our own review of our recent Med Cruise on the Serenade of the Seas. I am trying to post photos, but every time I upload them they come up as thumbnails. How did you get the full photo up without it being a thumbnail? Help!!!!

 

You have to dowload your photos to a site like photobucket. OOnce they are downloaded you hover over a picture on the photobucket site and it gives you a link that you copy and then paste into your posts on CC. You can do a few for free and then if you want to do more you have to pay a fee (around $2.00). Hope this helps!!! Let me know if you get stuck or have any other questions.

[hansolosmom]

Wow! What an awesome review. We're planning (ok I'm planing) a cruise for next summer to the Med. I absolutely loved your review especially all the details about the ports which will really help me decide which cruise to go with.

 

Also I have to say Paul reminds me of my dh. He would have been as goofy in all those pix too.

[fab4cruisers]

Hi Stacy.

 

Thank you for your review. I have learned alot and I know we will be using your tips for our trip. My husband thinks I'm crazy cause we won't be going until 2014 and I'm already planning. We will be taking our two teenage girls. Do you think the tours are doable with teens? I know you had kids in your group? My girls love history so they are looking forward for this trip. Can you pls email me your cheatsheet. Once again thank you for all your hard work. adriannagg@hotmail.com

[FreezingInMichigan]

We don't leave until April 2013 and I've already made notes from her review so I get her Florence RomeInLimo driver. It's never too early to start. :D

 

~ Sheryl

 

Hi Stacy.

 

Thank you for your review. I have learned alot and I know we will be using your tips for our trip. My husband thinks I'm crazy cause we won't be going until 2014 and I'm already planning. We will be taking our two teenage girls. Do you think the tours are doable with teens? I know you had kids in your group? My girls love history so they are looking forward for this trip. Can you pls email me your cheatsheet. Once again thank you for all your hard work. adriannagg@hotmail.com

[luisrp]

I have learned from my own experience that absolutely everything you can research and plan ahead of time is very valuable because you lose less time improvising and trying to find at the last minute what to do. I always try to know ahead of time what things I want to see and whatever little improvisation I do is only related to the sequence of things to see and do even though I tend to plan that also. On a cruise I look for the shore excursions well ahead of time to have a feeling on what to expect.

 

About the prior question by Another ship trip about pictures and cameras... it often relates more to the part that holds the camera than the camera itself. Using the camera outside definitely requires different settings than inside. Most modern cameras though, are smart enough to adjust themselves if you use their "Auto" or "Program" (usually just P) setting but there are many instances when the auto settings are just not good enough. A blurry picture is usually camera shake or not letting the camera focus properly. The megapixels don't have much to do with this. Camera shake or poor focus are not related to megapixels.

 

For night time pictures using a tripod, putting the camera in a steady place or resting yourself against something will produce better results. Another thing that reduces camera shake is not to press the shutter button fully in a single shot. First press halfway to let the camera adjust focus and exposure properly - it will tell you if it is right - and then press fully to take the shot. Since going from half-pressed to fully pressed is a very small movement the camera is not likely to shake as much as trying to press fully in a single movement.

[ShellDil]

Wow, I'm so glad I stumbled onto your review! It's fantastic! I'll be going on a similar cruise in June 2013 so this was a great find. And the fact that your Rome In Limo tours had two kids - even better! We'll be travelling with my two kids, who will be nearly 14 and 12 at the time of the cruise. So it's so nice to see that the tours that you did seemed to fit for the kids in your group. That's a big concern for me - how many churches, cathedrals, ruins and how much art can a 14 yr old boy and 12 year old girl see before hitting a wall! We'll also be travelling with my parents, who are in their late 60's so this whole trip is somewhat of a balancing act. You've given me a great place to start with your review.

 

We're actually doing back to back cruises - starting on Royal Caribbean for the Greece/Turkey/Sicily itinerary and then spending a couple days in Venice before heading back to Rome to leave on the Epic for their 7 day Mediterranean. It's for sure a trip of lifetime, and I feel like your review has helped me to get a great start in preparing! I've got about a year, and I love to plan! So this is great!

 

And - congrats on your marriage, and now it looks like a Happy Anniversary is actually coming up! Your pictures show your enthusiasm, joy for one another and travel! Love that!

 

Thanks for sharing!

[stacycakes1]

Wow, I'm so glad I stumbled onto your review! It's fantastic! I'll be going on a similar cruise in June 2013 so this was a great find. And the fact that your Rome In Limo tours had two kids - even better! We'll be travelling with my two kids, who will be nearly 14 and 12 at the time of the cruise. So it's so nice to see that the tours that you did seemed to fit for the kids in your group. That's a big concern for me - how many churches, cathedrals, ruins and how much art can a 14 yr old boy and 12 year old girl see before hitting a wall! We'll also be travelling with my parents, who are in their late 60's so this whole trip is somewhat of a balancing act. You've given me a great place to start with your review.

 

We're actually doing back to back cruises - starting on Royal Caribbean for the Greece/Turkey/Sicily itinerary and then spending a couple days in Venice before heading back to Rome to leave on the Epic for their 7 day Mediterranean. It's for sure a trip of lifetime, and I feel like your review has helped me to get a great start in preparing! I've got about a year, and I love to plan! So this is great!

 

And - congrats on your marriage, and now it looks like a Happy Anniversary is actually coming up! Your pictures show your enthusiasm, joy for one another and travel! Love that!

 

Thanks for sharing!

 

Thank you so very much! I am glad you were able to see that your trip will be great and that your kids will enjoy it as well.

 

Happy planning!

[stacycakes1]

Wow! What an awesome review. We're planning (ok I'm planing) a cruise for next summer to the Med. I absolutely loved your review especially all the details about the ports which will really help me decide which cruise to go with.

 

Also I have to say Paul reminds me of my dh. He would have been as goofy in all those pix too.

 

 

Gotta love a funny boy:)

[nyyhoneybee]

What an awesome review!

 

DH and I are doing a honeymoon/1 year anniversary trip in August. 4 days in Barcelona, a 7 day Med cruise going to some of the same ports you went to and then 3 days (including our 1 year anniversary) in Paris and looking at your review gave me so many ideas and insights.

 

I have RomeInLimo booked for all 3 ports in Italy right now. Pretty sure I am going to buy the same pass you had for Paris as it looks totally worth it.

 

Thank you!

[stacycakes1]

What an awesome review!

 

DH and I are doing a honeymoon/1 year anniversary trip in August. 4 days in Barcelona, a 7 day Med cruise going to some of the same ports you went to and then 3 days (including our 1 year anniversary) in Paris and looking at your review gave me so many ideas and insights.

 

I have RomeInLimo booked for all 3 ports in Italy right now. Pretty sure I am going to buy the same pass you had for Paris as it looks totally worth it.

 

Thank you!

 

You are so welcome! You will have an amazing trip!

[bencruzN]

Stacy,

 

I can't tell you how much I've enjoyed your review!!!!

 

I read every single page, which I usually don't do with reviews. This has helped me A LOT. DH and I are going on the West. Med cruise in 2014. I know it's a whole 2 years away, but...

 

Anyway, the information from your review has been very valuable. You have made me even more excited to go. We have never been to Europe, and our plans are to enjoy it just as much as you & hubby did. We have some friends that say they are going with us. We'll see.:rolleyes:

 

Thanks again, loved the pics.

 

Congratulations, and have a wonderful life together.

[PathfinderEss]

Great review and congraulations on your marriage.

[Rich1576]

Hi Stacy

 

Fantastic review. Thoroughly enjoyed reading it.

 

One question. You probably don't know this, but is there something similar to Rome-In-Limo for France and Spain. Going on a Med cruise soon visiting ports at Genoa, Cannes, Barcelona, Palma, and Valencia

[stacycakes1]

Hi Stacy

 

Fantastic review. Thoroughly enjoyed reading it.

 

One question. You probably don't know this, but is there something similar to Rome-In-Limo for France and Spain. Going on a Med cruise soon visiting ports at Genoa, Cannes, Barcelona, Palma, and Valencia

 

Actually, I have been helping my parents plan there med cruise this September and they have a few more stops then we did. I can't tell you personally how the tour companies are but can give you the same suggestions I have gotten from others for Barcelona and Cannes:

 

Barcelona - http://www.BarcelonaDayTours.com

Cannes - http://www.rivierapremiumtour.com/

 

For the rest of the ports and to get some further ideas for Barcelona and Cannes you can check out the port threads here on Cruise Critic (http://boards.cruisecritic.com/forumdisplay.php?f=19) and see what others are saying about those ports and what companies are good.

 

Hope this helps some:)

[HeatherC430]

Probably the BEST review & photos I've seen! Thanks for taking the time to write! I'm hoping to book a similar cruise for fall of 2013 for my husband's 40th birthday!

[stacycakes1]

Probably the BEST review & photos I've seen! Thanks for taking the time to write! I'm hoping to book a similar cruise for fall of 2013 for my husband's 40th birthday!

 

Thanks! Have fun on your cruise:)

[Cruise_Q]

After the touring the spa and signing up for our massage we had the chance to snag a drink and explore a little bit more of the ship. We took a few pictures…

Yummy...

Enjoying you review sooo much...and the pic of Paris are priceless...Thanks for the Pics of the ship tho...I love it...can't wait to sail her soon I hope...

[cruisedirect2]

Stacey,

Do you remember where you had your first pitcher of Sangria on Las Ramblas?? Was it near where the cab dropped you off? Do you remember where the cab dropped you off? It looks like some nice scenery while drinking... Thank you.