Carnival Magic review with pictures!!!

[stacycakes1]

Love your review so far ... but asian tourists :confused: are they different than other kinds of tourists or something?

 

 

Oh gosh! So not a racist remark!!!! There "literally" was a HUGE crowd of asian people at that exact moment taking pictures of the Mona Lisa! There must have been a tour going through. Sorry if I offended anyone, it was most definitely not my intent just an actual fact.

[LEXIpoo]

Congrats on your marriage!

Funny b/c my name is Stacey as well..but my friends/family call me Paris...so I think it's only right that I read your review ;)

[stacycakes1]

As soon has I read her post I knew someone was going to jump on it!:cool: Not politically correct but, speaking for myself, I don't think she meant anything about it. Just kick back and enjoy her wonderful writing and beautiful pictures.

 

 

Thanks for sticking up for me! I really didn't mean anything by that!

 

I am going to edit that post though just in case someone else takes it the wrong way.

[LEXIpoo]

Thanks for sticking up for me! I really didn't mean anything by that!

 

I am going to edit that post though just in case someone else takes it the wrong way.

 

I don't think it was racist either...I think you were just being detailed.

I thought the point of people posting these reviews were to give people an idea of exactly what they experienced on their trip! *shrugs*

[Lyncoya]

 

 

 

 

/quote]

 

This photo is PRICELESS!!!

[stacycakes1]

Thanks everyone for all of the positive comments! I am so glad you are enjoying the review so far. I will be starting with our first day on the Magic tomorrow so check for updates!!!!

[stacycakes1]

Congrats on your marriage!

Funny b/c my name is Stacey as well..but my friends/family call me Paris...so I think it's only right that I read your review ;)

 

That is SO funny!

[Babyblue]

Congratulations and thanks for a great review and such beautiful pictures!!!!

We cruised on the Magic on her first cruise put of Galveston

Hope you two get to cruise on your 50th wedding anniversary in the future!!

Congratulations again!!

[JLC@SD]

Great review so far.....and thanks for taking us along on your Honeymoon as well.

[gelo7]

Excellent review.

[jimbo5544]

Nice start, can't wait for the rest.

[SoonerOne]

I've been to Paris, but it's been YEARS ago, I just relived it through your amazing pictures. Thanks! Great review so far! Congrats on your marriage, you are an adorable couple.:) Now......ready for more!

[VIQT]

Loving your review so far. My husband and I want to do a European cruise next year and your pre-cruise activities sound great! Can't wait to read more.

[stacycakes1]

Hope you are all having a fantastic day today!!! I'm so happy you are all enjoying reading this so far! I am actually glad that I waited a bit to post it because I am getting to "relive" it all over again myself! We really had the time of our lives!!!

Sooooo, back to the review J

After a few Sangria pitchers on the beach we decided to check out the main street in Barcelona called Las Ramblas. I do have to say that after spending two days in pristine Paris it was a bit of an adjustment in Barcelona. Barcelona is definitely more of a party town and Las Ramblas was packed with people shopping and taking in the local cuisine.

So after walking Las Ramblas for a bit we headed over to the market. Unfortunately most of the market was closed but we were able to check out some of the candy and fruit stands that had yet to close. There were so many choices and everything was so beautifully laid out!

[stacycakes1]

So after walking Las Ramblas for a bit we headed over to the market. Unfortunately most of the market was closed but we were able to check out some of the candy and fruit stands that had yet to close. There were so many choices and everything was so beautifully laid out!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[stacycakes1]

After checking out the market we scouted out a place to eat. This actually proved to be a little more difficult than we thought it would be.

 

We were warned by the hotel staff not to eat directly on Las Ramblas. The restaurants there are more concerned about making money off of tourists rather than actually serving good authentic food. They said most of the stuff (like the payaya) is just reheated frozen foods that are cheaply made and sold for outrageous prices.

 

We made the mistake of not actually asking the hotel staff where we should go then so we wandered around a lot of the side streets trying to find something good.

 

We did get some awesome pictures of the more local side of Barcelona while looking for a place to eat which was nice.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We found the Salvatore Dali museum on our little dinner scavenger hunt and took some pictures with the statues outside the entrance.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Then Paul notice a menu display case and that's when we found a great place to eat right above the museum. It was a restaurant called Reial Cercle Artcistic - Restaurant, Terrassa and Bar.

 

This place fit the bill to a tee! It was outside on a huge terrace overlooking the street and the menu items not only looked fantastic but the prices were amazing! We both had steak (we both love beef and you will totally see that as this review goes on ) with a delicious mustard sauce and a huge pitcher of the best Sangria I have ever had. It was also really nice sitting outside and enjoying the beautiful weather. Unfortunately I didn't get any pictures here, sorry.

 

After dinner we grabbed a cab back to the hotel where we sat outside and drank some of the wine we had purchased in town that day out on the deck by the pool to wind down from our day.

 

After that we went to bed to get some shut eye so we would be ready for the next day.

 

Next up THE CARNIVAL MAGIC!!!!!

[marlat]

Wonderful review. My husband and I will actually be on the Magic next week. We are getting way excited and I look forward to seeing your pictures and reviews of the ship.

[Texarribean Chick]

Best wishes to you and Congratulations to you new DH.

You two make a very handsome couple and I'll look forward to more of your review. :)

[floresskylar]

Oh gosh! So not a racist remark!!!! There "literally" was a HUGE crowd of asian people at that exact moment taking pictures of the Mona Lisa! There must have been a tour going through. Sorry if I offended anyone, it was most definitely not my intent just an actual fact.

 

Its ok hun. It just caught me off guard. Wasn't my intention to make you feel uncomfortable/pick on you.

[stacycakes1]

So we woke up around 9:00am. It was Sunday and the day we would finally get to board the Magic! I was SO excited I could hardly contain myself.

We actually skipped breakfast this morning. We knew once on board we would be eating a decent lunch so we thought it would be better to get going and catch the hotel shuttle to the cruise port.

Well was that assumption incorrect! There were hundreds of people waiting in the lobby when we got down there for the same exact thing! It was around 10:00am and we didn't get on a shuttle till around 11:30am. I am totally not complaining here, I really never mind waiting in lines, but for those of you who are thinking about staying at the Marriott in Barcelona for their cruise shuttle service just be aware that so is everyone else and it may take some time to get there.

The shuttle dropped us off right at the cruise port. Check-in was a breeze just like it is when you check in for most carnival cruises! After our 20 minute check-in we received our Sail and Sign cards and were on our way to boarding the ship!

 

 

Not the best ship pic but all I got that day...

 

 

 

Pictures of the port...

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We got on the ship around 12:30pm, just in time for lunch! We actually kept it pretty light with salads and a few tastes of some of the other options.

Now don't get me wrong, we both LOVE to eat on cruises, but for some reason the buffet items on carnival ships don't get me as excited as I see it does for others. It definitely is good stuff but not good enough to fill up three plates of food. I didn't really take any pictures of our food items for that lunch.

After lunch we had a little more time until our room would be ready so we headed out to explore the ship and to do the spa tour.

The spa on the Magic is absolutely gorgeous and loaded with so many cool therapies! We had signed up for a carnival honeymoon registry for our wedding and had quite a bit of gifts given for the spa and its many luxuries so we decided to get the thalasso pool and sauna package and a couples massage. We have never indulged in the spa on past cruises because of the crazy prices so this really was a fantastic treat from our friends and family.

[stacycakes1]

Its ok hun. It just caught me off guard. Wasn't my intention to make you feel uncomfortable/pick on you.

 

Oh definitely no problem at all!!! I just felt horrible when I looked back at how I wrote it! The situation was in my head that way and I didn't even think about how it sounded. I just wanted to be sure to apoligize to anyone it may have startled or offended right off that bat. Thanks for making me aware of it. I actually tried to change it but it won't let me edit anymore:(

[Tedro1]

Its ok hun. It just caught me off guard. Wasn't my intention to make you feel uncomfortable/pick on you.

 

Seriously? You took the time to type, preview, and send the comment, but didn't mean anything by it? I hate to think what "hun" means, coming from someone that is offended so easily...

 

The best review (so far!) that I've had the pleasure of reading! Go, Stacy, Go!

[stacycakes1]

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...

Edited March 20, 2012 by stacycakes1

[TrqoisWtrs]

Congrats on your wedding and what a fab honeymoon. Love all your pictures! Especially this one:

 

 

I saw Rachel Ray do that on one of her shows - buy stuff at the market and then sit on the lawn. Since then, I've always wanted to do that and told DH that someday we are going to Paris. :)

[stacycakes1]

It was finally time to head to our room. We had really wanted to make this vacation special so we booked one of the aft wrap rooms, number 7458. I knew it would be laid out differently than most staterooms so I was very excited to see it. Here are some pictures from our time on the ship that give a good view of the entire room...