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

[cruisinskier]

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!

 

Hi Zumba. This was our first trip to Europe and all I can saw is that you cannot do too much research. I thnak all who posted previously on CC as that really helped with our trip so now I hope to give a little back. For this reason I am trying to provide as much info here as I can by taking pictures of prices, where to purchase things, etc.

 

I will have lots of info a little later in my review regarding tours but all I can say is book with "Rome in Limo". They are a private tour company which we used in Naples, Rome & Florence and all were fantastic. Given we had 12 of us in our group, it was close to half the price to do the same things in these ports....only the RIL vehicles are smaller so they can get closer to the sites, they provide flxibility to see what you want to see, and you go at your speed vs. the speed of a 42 person tour bus. More info to follow later but highly recommend RIL :D

 

Jerry

[cruisinskier]

Hi all and thanks for all your comments. We had another great day in Barcelona today with great weather. Full details later but signing off for now as we are heading out to dinner. Thanks for following along and yes there is a lot to come including our CC gatherings and getting on the Magic :D

Thanks

Jerry

[rlyans]

Have a safe trip home after you leave Barcelona. Can' t wait for more....rlyans

[lucyintheskywithdiamonds]

wow thanks for the pics,, the vaporetto is how i plan to get around in Venice as well.. :)

[DebNJoe]

Jerry

Thanks for your great review & pictures so far. Looking forward to more :D

 

Was the wine/liquor policy strickly enforced? When we sailed in the Europe on the CCL Liberty and CCL Freedom. there was no problem carrying more than 2 bottles of wine onboard at embarkation and also from the ports. Wondering if this was the case on the Magic? :confused:

 

Thanks! :)

[BobbyD]

Awesome review so far! Our cruise on the Magic is getting close. From the limited word so far, it seems like Carnival has worked out many of the kinks from the Dream to the Magic! Can't wait!

[NorthPalmBeachCruiser]

I've been searching for a couple of days to find out anything I could regarding Magic. A group of 20+ people ranging from 17-85 years old are taking the trip on June 24th out of Barcelona. I was concerned about the cabin size as I am sharing a cabin with 2 other women. Also, I read that some of the places to eat (sushi, burrito, Red Frog) were so crowded that you couldn't get near them. I'm not a big steak eater and don't feel like spending 3 hours in the Steakhouse but was wondering about the Italian Restaurant. Are these value added restaurants really any better than the main dining room? Is it hard to get a lounge chair by the adult pool? Can't wait to hear more and see the photos.

 

Thanks.

[LBumb]

great job

[KirkNC]

Thanks for the on the scene report, sorry you missed Monaco.

 

Kirk

[pnjkeith]

Great Pictures!!!

[stacycakes1]

Thank you for the fabulous review so far!!!! I am thoroughly enjoying it, can't wait to see more:)

[cruisinskier]

Jerry

Thanks for your great review & pictures so far. Looking forward to more :D

 

Was the wine/liquor policy strickly enforced? When we sailed in the Europe on the CCL Liberty and CCL Freedom. there was no problem carrying more than 2 bottles of wine onboard at embarkation and also from the ports. Wondering if this was the case on the Magic? :confused:

 

Thanks! :)

 

DebNJoe, we all brought a bottle per person onboard in Venice ot start yhe cruise and we brought a bottel here and there throughout the cruise. We had a group of 12 so at times we had 6 or 7 of us bringing bottles on in various ports and no one ever stopped us in any port. Carnival had the "please drop your bottles here" desk but somehow we forgot to stop :D

[cruisinskier]

I've been searching for a couple of days to find out anything I could regarding Magic. A group of 20+ people ranging from 17-85 years old are taking the trip on June 24th out of Barcelona. I was concerned about the cabin size as I am sharing a cabin with 2 other women. Also, I read that some of the places to eat (sushi, burrito, Red Frog) were so crowded that you couldn't get near them. I'm not a big steak eater and don't feel like spending 3 hours in the Steakhouse but was wondering about the Italian Restaurant. Are these value added restaurants really any better than the main dining room? Is it hard to get a lounge chair by the adult pool? Can't wait to hear more and see the photos.

 

Thanks.

 

Hi NorthPalm, we had a group of 12 with similar age ranges and all had a great time on the Magic. We had a balcony cabin for the 2 of us and I have to say we had lots of room and probably the most storage room of our 7 cruises. I will post more detailed info over the next few days but you should be fine with the cabin size. We never ate in the Italian restaurant as we could not justify it after having the real thing for so many days in Italy. We did thoroughly enjoy the Steakhouse food and service. Red Frog was enjoyable and always able to get a table...getting their new beer was another issue but more on that shortly.

 

There was no problem getting a chair by the main pool during the sea days but yes the aft pool as well as Serenity did fill up early. Having said that we spent 2 sea days at the aft pool area and were able to get chairs for 6-8 of us with a little bit of work. More info shortly....

[cruisinskier]

Hi all. I had hoped to post some more info and pictures before we left Barcelona but we had too much fun today touring and enjoying more great weather (26 C today). We just dragged ourselves away from the tapas and sangria on the patio down the street from our hotel and now are scrambling to pack up as we head for home in the morning. I hope to post more Friday night. For sure there will be lots of info coming over the weekend once we are settled at home and I have the time to devote to this. Once again I have to say we had a great trip and all went extemely well. I am looking forward to sharing what we have learned with all of you. Sorry for delays but I will actually get to some Magic info and pictures over the weekend. Cheers.

Jerry

[mississauga]

Jerry, thank you so much for all that you have provided already. It was very generous of you to even share what you have already posted while you are still on your vacation. Like others, I look forward to reading more about your fabulous cruise and vacation when you return home. :D

 

Safe travels as we wait patiently for more.:)

[LRene]

Jerry, thanks so much for sharing some of your vacation while you're on vacation! We're leaving in about two weeks for Barcelona and can't wait to read and see more of your great review.

 

Safe travels and welcome home. :)

[mystone99]

DW and I enjoying the review and the beautiful pictures. Thank you.

[DebNJoe]

DebNJoe, we all brought a bottle per person onboard in Venice ot start yhe cruise and we brought a bottel here and there throughout the cruise. We had a group of 12 so at times we had 6 or 7 of us bringing bottles on in various ports and no one ever stopped us in any port. Carnival had the "please drop your bottles here" desk but somehow we forgot to stop :D

 

That's so good to know!! Did you bring your wine to the dining room - and if so, did they charge the corkage fees?

 

Thanks so much for taking the time to share your experience with us. Sounds like you are having a wonderful time.

 

Have a safe trip home!!

[sbcruisers]

Thanks for doing this. Your photos are great and load quickly. Very interested to hear about the excursions you took. We want to book independent excursions but are traveling on or own so will need to find others on the roll call to join us. Will appreciate any info you can provide.

[Carlyzmom]

Thanks for posting. :)

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

 

Hey! We are booked on the Magic 5-6-12!!!! Can't wait!!

[mengcruise]

Thanks for the review and pictures. I have a request - if you can stop by the kids camp - our dear friend Abby is working there (Ive known her since she was an infant) - and what a way to brighten her day then to say hello via a fellow cruiser Thanks -Alyssa (Rob & Gillian)

[smitty89]

Another post of thanks for the excellent teasers! I am subscribing to the thread and can't wait to hear more about your trip!!

[lucyintheskywithdiamonds]

thanks Jerry.. looking forward to the review

[arucruzn]

Thanks for the wonderful start. I am also waiting anxiously for the trip (not just the cruise part) report!!!

[cruisinskier]

That's so good to know!! Did you bring your wine to the dining room - and if so, did they charge the corkage fees?

 

Thanks so much for taking the time to share your experience with us. Sounds like you are having a wonderful time.

 

Have a safe trip home!!

 

Debbie, we did not take the wine ot the dining room. The wine was consumed either in the cabins, on the aft decks at sailaway or one evening we found a vert secluded front of deck 6 and had our only little party for 12 :D We did order wine most evenings with dinner so Carnival did make some $$$ off of us.....