August 2011 Carnival Magic Review, Better late than never!

[Cruisecrazy20000]

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Cruisecrazy20000]

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Cruisecrazy20000]

We also played some crazy golf which was fun. In the afternoon we used the spa facilities and the gym before meeting some of our tablemates for the martini tasting in the Piano bar.

 

 

 

 

 

Dinner was broccoli soup,chateaubriand and New York diet cheesecake while Gary had a salad, a chicken dish and ice cream. Afterwards we went the magic show and uncensored comedy show and called it a night.

6 people missed the ship in Livorno and would have to meet us in Rome tomorrow. Here is a picture of Gary and some others waiting to see if they make it before we headed off:

 

[Cruisecrazy20000]

Today was the port for Rome and as we had been there the previous year on our cruise and because we were planning a land vacation there in December we made the most of having the ship with few people on it.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Cruisecrazy20000]

I am including some pictures from our trip last year where we took a small group excursion organised through Cruise Critic and touring with Rome in Limo. It was a great day and I would certainly use their services again. They were very professional but at the same time it was a fun, relaxed day with a great group of people :)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Cruisecrazy20000]

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Poorplaya]

Great review so far, love all the great pics. I bet posting it now is making it so hard to not be on another cruise ship now lol.

[Cruisecrazy20000]

We had breakfast and went to the pool and enjoyed about an hour on the waterslides. We went to the gym and had a late lunch of pizza on lido deck. We also spent some time exploring the lower deck and had some drinks in the Red Frog pub.

[Cruisecrazy20000]

Great review so far, love all the great pics. I bet posting it now is making it so hard to not be on another cruise ship now lol.

 

 

I definitely wish I was on a cruise now! Writing this review is bringing back great memories though :rolleyes:

[Cruisecrazy20000]

 

 

 

We lost some money in the casino and went for dinner.

 

We both had the chicken quesadilla, I had the steak and Gary had the salmon followed by ice cream for Gary and I had the warm chocolate melting cake, I never got tired of this cake! Afterwards we went with the people from our table to the talent show and then into the nightclub for a while.

This is Gary concentrating hard on the game in there:

 

[Prairie_Gal]

I am really enjoying your review! We are sailing on the Breeze in three weeks!

[Cruisecrazy20000]

I am really enjoying your review! We are sailing on the Breeze in three weeks!

 

You are going to love it! Wish I was going too! Don't forget to write a review when you get home, hopefully it won't take as long as mine :D

[Cruisecrazy20000]

Today was Naples and we had a private tour here which Margaret from Cruise Critic roll call. I don’t remember the exact numbers but there was about 14 of us. We had previously been to Pompeii but had been so fascinated with it that we wanted to see it again, it really is somewhere that captures your imagination. Our guide for the day was a lady who really knew her stuff and was excellent at guiding us around Pompeii, we were one of the first groups to arrive and got to tour it before the heat and the crowds. This place is a must for anyone who likes history.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Cruisecrazy20000]

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Cruisecrazy20000]

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[vivavegas]

Thank you for your very detailed review and photo journal! I really enjoyed reading this review. Thanks for sharing your journey. :)

[Cruisecrazy20000]

Thank you for your very detailed review and photo journal! I really enjoyed reading this review. Thanks for sharing your journey. :)

 

 

Thanks vivavegas, I am enjoying doing this review ;)

[Cruisecrazy20000]

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Cruisecrazy20000]

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Cruisecrazy20000]

We headed next for Positano which is certainly one of the most beautiful places I have visited. We had about an hour to explore here before out last stop at Sorrento. We enjoyed a lovely lunch of pizza and wine and had a few minutes to look around before it was time to head back to the ship.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Tonight we both had Beef Caroaccio, I had Ribeye steak and Gary had Mahi Mahi followed by warm chocolate melting cake for both of us. Tomorrow we had another early start so we were in bed quite early.

[guy&paula]

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Great review, thanks

Quick question, what was the dress code like in Rome, for the Vatican etc., i notice some shorts in some of your pics, is that OK?

 

Guy

[gelo7]

Excellent review and pictures.

[Cruisecrazy20000]

Thanks Guy and gelo7 for the nice comments. Most people were wearing long trousers for the day in Rome, knees and shoulders have to be covered for the Vatican and other churches. For days like Naples when it's just outdoor site seeing shorts are fine.

[Cruisecrazy20000]

For Messina we had booked onto a tour with Sicily Life, again organised by Margaret. It was an early start and we had to be off the ship as soon as it docked at 7am. We grabbed an early breakfast in the Lido and headed down to get off the ship.

There was 9 people including ourselves on this tour, Margaret, her mom, a nice couple from Michigan from the day before and 3 ladies from Atlanta. Our guide was Mario and as we left Messina and he started talking to us about the history of Sicily, I knew we would have a good day. He was extremely knowledgeable and you could tell he was very proud of Sicily and its history.

We headed first for Mount Etna and got there before the crowds, we were one of the first to arrive. The souvenir and coffee shops were just starting to open and we had an hour to look around and see the craters.

Unfortunately it was a cloudy morning so the view of Etna was a little obstructed but it was still very impressive and the view down the mountain was fantastic.

On the drive up the mountain Mario told us that there are about 20 towns on the slope and even towards the bottom of the mountain you could see the ash on the streets from activity a few days before. He pointed out the place where the lava had stopped just short of one of the bigger towns on the island during one of the eruptions a decade before, it was amazing to see. No doubt the people of the town must have been seriously relieved!

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Cruisecrazy20000]