Acs2653 Magic trip 17 DEC - 24 DEC 2016!

[acs2653]

So we are finally packed! I promise I will get more pictures into this. We head out tomorrow at 2:30 pm (hopefully). Our first stop will be in Pensacola for the night.

 

 

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[osubuckeye5]

We're going to be there as well! Coming from near Fort Bragg! [emoji2]

Edited December 15, 2016 by osubuckeye5

[acs2653]

Got the car packed. Some how I ended up with more than my wife. I guess it's because she gets by with just sundresses and swim suits. I normally wear pants and close toed shoes to the MDR, I had to pack like 3 sets of shoes not including my flip flops and required swim shoes for one of our excursions.

 

So here's the plan for the next couple days.

We plan to depart from our house after the DW gets off work at 230. We are going to drive to Pensacola (roughly 6 hours) and stay the night. Then tomorrow we will finish the drive. The reason we are driving is because there is a big surprise awaiting my wife when we get to Cocoa Beach.

 

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Edited December 15, 2016 by acs2653

[cjnix29]

following along.....we board the day you get off the ship! Also....what ship are you on April 1? We have a cruise booked for that week too!

[acs2653]

We are on freedom of the seas.

 

 

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[littlekid58]

Following

[cjnix29]

We are on freedom of the seas.

 

 

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We are on that ship too! It will be our first Royal Caribbean ship, looking forward to it!!

[tandemcruzr]

We are on the Magic in January on a B2B. Thanks for taking the time to do a review and thanks for your service. Safe travels and have a great cruise. :)

[oregoncruiselover]

following

 

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[acs2653]

For those that are keeping up With our pre cruise activities, we have made it to Pensacola. We are staying at the La Quinta and I would not recommend it. I didn't pay much for it since I used reward points, but it is not like most La Quintas. It's more of a Motel and the rooms are old and run down. Ive slept in worse so it'll do.

 

 

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[rjl1977]

Following

[acs2653]

Hey guys,

 

It's been a long day of traveling and I will get some pictures up tomorrow.

 

So Today we finally made it into cocoa beach at 3:00 pm. The drive was fine with some minor incidents. We almost got ran off the road by a truck driver but all was well. We checked into the hotel and that's when the fun started and here's why.

So my wife is adapted and was kind of bummed she wasn't going to see her parents for Christmas. Well 3 months ago, I called up in the in laws and invited them on the cruise. They were thrilled to come along. We have kept this entire trip a secret from my wife for 3 months! So we showed up at the hotel and there they were! At first, my wife, Maria (since I haven't introduced her and pics will follow), could not process it. She kind of just stared at her dad. Then her mom came around the corner and she lit up. She still can't believe they are here. I think I won husband of the year! Well after we all got settled in, we exchanged gifts for Christmas and got ready for dinner.

 

 

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[acs2653]

Dinner tonight was Florida's seafood and grill. It was great. Prices were cheap and the food was plentiful. I have some pics and will post tomorrow. I highly recommend going when your in town. After dinner we relaxed, drank bourbon, and are now headed to bed.

 

Tomorrow our shuttle leaves the hotel at 10:30. We have FTTF and are hoping to get to walk into the ship at checkin. Let's see how this goes.

 

 

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[herdfans4]

Great review so far! Awesome surprise. Looking forward to the rest

 

 

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[acs2653]

So here is a picture of Maria and me from the beach this morning. Now you all know who you are talking with!

 

 

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[Rock_ON!!]

Good morning to you. What a thoughtful surprise for your wife to have invited her parents along. Your a good person.

 

 

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[acs2653]

Ran I tot he first sang of the cruise. I left my suit in the hotel! I called the hotel and they are sending it on the next shuttle. Looks like and avoided disaster!

 

 

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[acs2653]

Embarkation was a breeze! The only issue was the luggage that was left at the hotel. The hotel sent it with the next shuttle and got it. It delayed us for about 30 min. Now to some review stuff.

 

Port Canaveral:

 

There were 3 ships in port today. The Disney fan stays, NCL Epic, and the Magic. It was nuts! The shuttle picked us up at 1030 and the first drop off was at the Epic. We waited for 40 minutes just to drop them off. Once they were off, we headed to the Magic. We waited another 20 minutes to get off the shuttle. When all was said and done, we were in in the shuttle for a little over an hour. My in laws boarded quickly and were in their room in about 15 minutes. We waited for the luggage to arrive on the next shuttle. Once we got it we breezed through the embarkation process. We had FTTF and it was nice. We saw people from our shuttle just getting on when we did and we showed up 30 minutes late to the party. So just remember to be patient and give yourself some one when arriving to port!

 

Once in board we dropped our stuff at the room. Here are some pics of the deluxe ocean view room.

Second bathroom

And room.

 

 

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[acs2653]

We decided to eat on the lido deck and samples most of everything. Guy's burgers were good and so was everything else. Make sure to head to the aft where there is more open seating. As usual most people congregated in the seating areas nearest the main elevators.

 

Then we explored the ship. Here we are at the red frog pub.

Here's a pic of the atrium. It's nice but I've seen better ones.

 

 

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[acs2653]

They even had a ginger bread display up!

 

We did the muster drill and were going to go to a meet and greet with a group from a social media website but decided to take a nap. We will see them tomorrow for a slot pull.

 

 

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[acs2653]

Now I think we are caught up! The plan for tonight is the steakhouse at 6:30 with the family. Maria and I are going to go a martini tasting at 6:00 then we will see what happens for the rest of the night.

 

I will more than likely finish this review once we get back. I hope everyone has a wonderful Christmas! Stay tuned!

 

 

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[taylor1293]

Glad you were able to get your suit. Looking forward to your review! Have a great cruise.

 

 

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[easyboy]

Now I think we are caught up! The plan for tonight is the steakhouse at 6:30 with the family. Maria and I are going to go a martini tasting at 6:00 then we will see what happens for the rest of the night.

 

I will more than likely finish this review once we get back. I hope everyone has a wonderful Christmas! Stay tuned!

Will be following.

[hrforrest]

Going on this cruise in May!!! Excited to see what you will be doing in the ports as I am still trying to decide what to do.

[harpat0408]

Hello all! My name is Adam and this will be my first review. I have heard from everyone that they would like another Magic review and I am hear to answer the call. I have never done this before, so I hope I live up to some of the other reviews that we have all enjoyed reading. We are going to kick this trip review off early.

 

A little about me to get everyone acquainted. This is going to be and my Wife's 7th cruise. This is our 3rd on Carnival. We typically cruise 2-3x a year and switch between carnival and royal. Our next Royal cruise will be April 1st. Anyway, We are both in our mid-late 20s and live in Fort Polk, LA. I am an Army Officer and my wife is an assistant director at a child development center. We started cruising for our honeymoon in 2014 and have been hooked ever since. That's pretty much it. We don't have any kids yet which allows us the ability to take these trips! Lol.

 

Some may be asking why I'm posting so far in advance. Well, I'm starting from the moment I started packing. This leads into my first tip for new and seasoned cruisers. MAKE A CRUISE BINDER! Here's mine. Now I am not an organized person. Feel free to ask my wife! But very operation needs a good plan. I have found that having all your documents for the trip in a binder makes it quick and easy to get what you need each day. It keeps the documents together and in a central location. This becomes crucial in a small cabin. I'll post again once I start packing tonight. Feel free to ask questions.

 

 

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That's so funny that you posted her organizational skills. I am the same way with my binder my plastic sleeves and all of my papers and documents for everything for the whole trip individualized with little tabs on the ends telling me hotel booking luggage tags etc.

 

 

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