Our MAGICal B2B with a side of ELATION cruises (with pics) - 10/7/17.

[Jamman54]

We showered and changed, then made our way up to Deck 11 aft by the Water Works to watch us sail away from Nassau…….

 

As we leave we sail past many familiar sights. Here is Sharkeez…..

 

The Straw Market……

 

Senor Frog’s……

 

 

 

 

 

To be continued…..

[Jamman54]

We are now sailing past the British Colonial Hilton……

 

 

 

We are leaving the other ships behind…….

 

That’s the Warwick Paradise Island where we were today…..

 

 

 

To be continued…..

[Jamman54]

We are sailing away from Nassau and heading back to Jacksonville…..

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

To be continued…..

[Jamman54]

Back to the cabin where we found that some laundry had been returned……

 

This is tonight’s sunset, taken from our room…….

 

Around 7:30 we decided to head up to Tiffany’s for dinner. Tonight’s menu included baked ziti, chicken parm, lamb, and spring rolls. We both had ice cream from swirls for dessert.

We made our way down to the casino to play for a little while. We passed by the Virtual World Arcade…..

 

To be continued……..

[Jamman54]

Here are some more views of the Virtual World Arcade…..

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

To be continued……

[Jamman54]

After leaving the casino we stopped at Cherry on Top to pick up a snack. It is hard to find because it is tucked away by the casino down this little hallway…..

 

Cherry on Top………

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We are back at the cabin to watch the World Series game. Here is tonight’s turn down service and VIFP Party invitations…….

 

Coming up next: The final sea day of our 19 day journey!

[Princess Cruiser27]

Another great read Jeff on HMC and Nassua.

[Jamman54]

Another great read Jeff on HMC and Nassau.

 

Hey Barb! Glad you are all caught up. I'm finishing this up tonight. :D

[Jamman54]

Day # 19 - Our final Fun Day at Sea - 10/25/17.

 

We were up at 8am and looking out the window it didn’t appear to be a very nice day outside…..

 

 

 

Here are today’s Fun Times……..

 

To be continued…..

[Jamman54]

We just hung around the cabin for a while, Patti getting started with her packing, and me working on the pictures. Around 10am we decided to head to the Sea Day Brunch for one last time. I’ve got my drink!

 

Patti is starting with the flaming tomato soup…..

 

 

 

Me and the maitre’d are having a good time…….

 

I’m having a ham, mushroom, pepper, & cheese omelet with sides of sausage, bacon, & hash browns…..

 

Patti’s having her usual tomato and cheddar cheese omelet with a side of turkey bacon…..

 

To be continued……

[Jamman54]

Afterwards, I went to the casino to play some blackjack, and Patti went to take some more pictures, and then she wound up in the casino playing some slots.

Patti wanted to check out the spa and the gym……

 

The Beauty Salon……

 

The Ladies locker room……

 

 

 

The Ladies sauna and steam rooms……

 

The Gym rules…..

 

To be continued…….

[Jamman54]

Here are some pictures of my favorite place, the gym. Lol……..

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Patti’s back to the Spa Lobby, and the hours of operation…..

 

To be continued…..

[Jamman54]

Here’s a view of the Atrium skylight…….

 

Looking down to the Atrium Lobby and Bar…..

 

Here are some views of the Inspiration Restaurant which is located all the way aft on Atlantic Deck 8. This venue is used for traditional assigned dining……

 

 

 

 

 

This is the stairway from the dining room up to Gatsby’s Great Bar on Promenade Deck 9…..

 

To be continued…….

[Jamman54]

Patti did well on her final session playing slots winning almost two hundred dollars. Way to go Patti! I however, lost about the same amount playing blackjack, so as a team we broke even for the day. Boo Jeff!

We went back to the cabin to finish our packing and get ready for the VIFP Party. We found our last towel creation of the cruise…..

 

 

The VIFP Party is scheduled for 5pm. Here are our invites…..

 

The VIFP Party was held in the Cole Porter Lounge…..

 

Adam is playing the guitar for us…..

 

Patti and CD Kevin Donohue…..

 

To be continued…….

[Jamman54]

As usual they have the guessing games set up…..

 

 

 

 

 

I’m trying my luck again……

 

CD Kevin is the MC……..

 

He introduces all of the Senior Staff members……

 

To be continued…….

[Jamman54]

Last but not least, he introduces Captain Gaetano Gigliotti…..

 

Captain “G” says a few words……..

 

The Party lasted about an hour, and afterwards we made our way to dinner. We passed the Mark Twain Library where tonight they were hosting the Chef’s Table…..

 

 

 

To be continued…….

[Jamman54]

There was no wait when we got to the Imagination Dining Room, and we asked to be seated in Acer’s section again and were accommodated. Here are tonight’s menus…..

 

Santa is in the house……

 

Patti started off with the flatbread. And I had the steamed mussels…..

 

 

 

To be continued……

[Jamman54]

We both had the Caprese salad…..

 

For her main, Patti had the ricotta ravioli…….

 

I had the shrimp creole……

 

Here is tonight’s dessert menu……

 

Patti had the carrot cake and I had the cherry pie…..

 

 

 

To be continued……

[Jamman54]

It’s show time!

 

The wait staff sing “Leaving on a Fun Ship”……

 

 

 

I’m sad that it’s all over, really over…….

 

Santa’s dancing Gangham Style!

 

After dinner, we took one final walk around the ship then made our way back to the cabin to put out our luggage and call it a cruise…..

 

This is usually a sad sight, but after 19 straight nights at sea, we were ready to head home. We missed Ryan, we missed the cats, we missed our friends, so yes it was time.

 

To be continued…….

[Jamman54]

Day # 20 - Goodbye Elation, goodbye Florida, hello New Jersey!!!

 

We were up at 6:0am, just as we were sailing under the Dames Point Bridge. Here is our debarkation info…..

 

We didn’t go up for breakfast figuring that they will have pastries and coffee in the Diamond waiting area. We hung out in the cabin until 8:15 when it was time to go to the Mark Twain Library to wait for the Diamond relaxed debarkation to begin.

There was no coffee, juice, water, or Danish provided. Absolutely nothing! This was the first time since I became Diamond four years ago that nothing was provided. Bad job, and now I’m hungry. Thankfully, we had our water bottles with us.

At 9:15am they came for us, put us in elevators, and sent us down and off the ship. In the terminal the line of self-assist people waiting to go through customs wrapped around three of the four outside walls. It was insane. We were able to get to our luggage, which was in the middle of the building, grab a porter, bypass that insanely long line, go through customs, and then out the door. I’m sure we beat the last three decks of self-assist out the door. Our porter took our luggage right to our van for us. Good job!!!

Here are our last couple of looks at the Elation as we loaded the van and prepared to leave……

 

 

 

Goodbye for now. I’m sure we will be back some day……

 

Very shortly, we are heading back north on I-95…..

 

Fourteen hours later we are back home in New Jersey another cruise, make that three, completed. THE END.

[Jamman54]

Well folks, that wraps it up. I’m sure that this was beginning to read like “War and Peace”, but you have to remember that this was three cruise reviews wrapped up into one.

Thanks to you, the readers, for hanging in there with me on this long journey. I hope that the information and details about the Magic and Elation, along with their ports of call, were helpful in some way.

Thanks, and much love to my beautiful wife Patti. I could never do journeys like these without you! You are my rock, and a pretty darn good photographer! :hearteyes:

During our three cruises we met quite a few CC members. Thanks for stopping by to say hello, share a drink or three, or even an excursion. It was great to meet you,and for some it was great to see you again. I know I will be seeing some of you on our next journey! :D

Speaking of which, these are our next plans. On April 14th, 2018 we will be heading to Tampa to board the Carnival Paradise, sailing on a 5 day cruise to Grand Cayman and Cozumel. The Paradise will be just a few weeks out of dry dock, and I suspect that she will be getting the same treatment as the Elation.

After getting off the Paradise we will be heading to Fort Lauderdale where three days later we will board the Carnival Conquest for B2B cruises. The first is a 6 day cruise to Amber Cove, Grand Turk, Half Moon Cay, and Nassau. The second is a 8 day cruise to Princess Cay, Grand Turk, Curacao, and Aruba. We are looking forward to these cruises and our planning is well underway. Will I see you on board? :D

When we do these reviews you are only seeing about 60 to 70 % of the photos that Patti and I took, well mostly Patti took. There is a link in my signature that will take you to our cruise and vacation photo albums. I invite you to check out the photos of these cruises, and other cruises, that you have not seen in the reviews. There are also photos from cruises taken before we started doing these reviews. Enjoy, if you are so inclined.

If you have any questions please do not hesitate to ask. I’ll be happy to answer any and all questions, and if I don’t know the answers, someone here will.

Well, that’s it. So until next time, may you have clear skies and calm seas. Happy Sails!!!

[teacher34]

Thank you so much for taking the time to do these reviews ! They are fantastic ! Patti is a wonderful photographer and I love looking at her pictures. Between your writing and her pictures you two are an unbeatable team !

[TravelLots]

That was so wonderful! Thank you both for all you do. Just a fantastic review!!

[Sue1260]

Great review! Loved all the pictures. Can't wait to do a B2B but will have to wait till DH retires.

[Mr2Scents]

Thanks for writing this Jeff and Patti. This makes us looking right now at booking a trip on the Magic. This looked like an amazing trip.

 

 

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