GAPearl's "MAGIC"al Birthday Cruise! Complete Magic picture review-6/14/15 sailing.

[chudster]

gapearl - thanks for this thread.

This is my first post on the site, I am going on my first cruise in August on the Magic with my wife and 2 sons.

Lots of useful information and pictures in this thread, thanks again!

[Mary49]

Your reviews are all GREAT. You actually make us all feel that we are coming along for a cruise. I think you should write a book on your cruising experience. I'm sure it would be a best seller. I know I would definitely buy one copy (lol). Hope to see you on a cruise someday. It would be fun to hang out with you.

 

By the way, were there any Philippine Cover Bands on the ship?

 

Happy Cruising...... Mary 49

[Foxycourt95]

Awesome review and love your dresses as well!

[gapearl]

This one was easy. I knew they had to be big numbers because the total was over 100 so I looked for 3 numbers in the one's place that resulted in a 4: so the 7 in 47 + the 6 in 36 + the 1 in 31. 7+6+1=14, put down the 4 and carry the 1 then the 4+3+3+the 1 that was carried over =11. Put it all together and you have 114.

 

That's what I started doing but none of the numbers I picked worked out. After a couple of minutes we both were like forget it. Don't I feel silly now! :o

 

I'm all caught up again Kim! Your reviews make me smile.....a lot!! :D

 

Awww thanks Jeff! :o

[gapearl]

46 / 37 / 31 -- knew it had to be 3 of the largest numbers and just started letting my mind work

 

O...M...G!!! I actually got this one. Math was NOT my subject, even the easier maths was a struggle for me. I was determined to get this one. Someone else already responded they also got it and how. I used a totally different strategy but it also worked. I knew that it had to be the higher numbers so from those, so my strategy was to find three of those higher numbers in which the 2nd digits in each number (ex: the 7 in 37) would add up to 14. It took me two tries with a combo of three numbers that added to 14. I also got 46+37+31=114. No calculator but I hope a pencil & paper isn't considered cheating. :D

 

I am really, really enjoying your review and can't believe the rough weather. The roughest we've had was our Liberty cruise last year (we missed Grand Cayman) and I was feeling it that day. I know others were too, but never saw any "barf bags" placed out. I had been using Ginger tablets but on that day, they were not working so I had to resort to "non-drowsy" Dramamine, which still makes you tires but if I have a choice of being tired or seasick, I'm choosing tired. LOL!!! I love your pictures of Magic!!! Again, thanks for sharing and looking forward to more.

 

Looking back this was a problem that seemed so much more difficult than it was and we clearly overanalyzed the whole thing. Ugh. :rolleyes:

[Selva]

I can't wait to see what you do in Jamaica. It's the only port I don't know what we are going to do yet. Hopefully you will give me some good ideas.

[gapearl]

Boca clip TWINS - I love my flamingo Boca clips!! :)

 

Also, the Aqua Vault intrigues me majorly - I'm looking forward to seeing how much you use it on the rest of the trip. Since my DH and I cruise with just the two of us, we have to tag team who is watching the stuff and that gets old real quick....

 

I love the Aqua Vault! I didn't use it any more this cruise but it's something convenient to have. It's perfect for someone like me that's a solo traveler. If you're with someone and the other can watch the bags then you might not need something like it on the ship, but would be handy if you're on the beach and both of you might want to get in the ocean or something. I'll be bringing it on my next trip for sure. I might use it more next time.

 

Hey Kim,

 

First and foremost, your review is awesome as all the others!! I'm finding myself giggling a lot.. Now onto your hair, how did you make it curly? Do they allow curling irons or do you use some other method?

 

Thanks a lot! This night I used a 1" wand as opposed to a curling iron. It probably took about 45 minutes to do but the curls lasted all night. You can bring your curling irons with no problem. I brought two but forgot my flat iron. First world problems. LOL

[gapearl]

Now that's a first for me......seeing Ques hopping on a cruise!! Sorry I missed that!!

 

Oh it doesn't end here! There's more on them later! :D

 

Would NOT have wanted to be on that sports deck the day before during the hurricane! :eek: We had a "Santa" on our 2nd Pride cruise too. I had to do a double take to make sure it wasn't the same man. We sat with him and his DW one night at dinner (YTD) and they were both very very nice. Saw them tons of times during the week and had some nice visits. But cripes, he wore that hat and red shirt and shorts morning noon and night all week. Didn't hurt anyone but after a few days...:rolleyes:well, we each have "our thing" and we did enjoy their company. But the little kids on the cruise were enraptured and I only hope he explained he LOOKED like Santa, but WASN'T Santa. :confused: Loving your review. Did you try the Caribbean Colada? I "discovered" this on our last cruise on Pride. They only make it at the RF, the RFP and the atrium bar. But I am madly in love with this drink!!! :p

 

No, neither would I! The party was the only time I saw "Santa" fully dressed up. He was so cute. :) I never did try the Caribbean colada. I almost ordered one the first day but stuck with my usual Miami vice. Now You've got me wishing I had tried it.

[gapearl]

Hi Kim, that Fireball Whiskey can catch up on a person quick. Was introduced to it about 2 months ago and it will kick you after a few shots before you know it :eek:.

Enjoying your review very much :) .

 

Yessssss, it'll definitely hit you later! :eek: I think this was the first time I've tried straight Fireball. I've had it before mixed with something else on another cruise. I'm glad you're enjoying the review. :)

 

Omg loving the lockbox. Showed hubby and he being the smart@$$ he is, said so people just have to take you chair and carry it away now lmao. He's lucky he's cute. Going to buy one now! (You should get commission on this too)

 

I can never drink chocolate milky alcoholic drinks but that beverage looks great!

 

Loving the review, you really do get around the ship to show your readers every nook and cranny!

 

Silly hubby! lol Yes I'll be on the lookout for my commission check in the mail. Free advertising for them. :p The mocha chocolate getaway is the perfect drink for brunch or the pool. I love sweet drinks. I swear one cruise I would love to leave my camera at home and not worry about writing a review, but that would leave so many people disappointed if I did that. lol

[gapearl]

So loving this review. You may have convinced me that Magic is the ship for us.

 

Awesome! I'm glad you're finding this so helpful!

 

37, 46, 31

 

Got it pretty much right away. I looked for three numbers in the 1's column that would add up to 4/14, then looked for three numbers in the 10's column that would add up to the 100's.

 

At first I focused on the 37, 27, and 20 since those stood out but after adding them up realized I needed a higher number somewhere in the equation since those added up to only 84. Zoomed in on that 46 thinking that was probably needed, from there kept my high 36 in the mix, and realized I would need something ending in 1.

 

I feel so silly everyone else got it but us! LOL :o I tried the higher numbers and looked for numbers whose sum would end in 4, but had no luck after several tries. It's so funny that everyone else got it so easily. You will never see me on Are You Smarter Than A Fifth Grader. Clearly I'm not! haha :p

[gapearl]

Wow! I had no idea lol.

 

Everyone was loving it, especially the folks that have never seen stepping before. lol

 

Is that a paper towel in there? Or maybe a dirty sock? It looks horrible! I do like their French Onion Soup, but I don't have it on every cruise.

 

It was a paper towel of cheese. It was so thick and almost inedible. I'll try French onion soup again, but that wasn't a good first bowl at all.

[gapearl]

Following!!!

 

Thanks Jesse! Enjoy!

 

Kim, I saw that you found the sauna. Is that located in the gym? I am assuming the Breeze's sauna is in a similar location. But can anyone use the sauna or do you have to have a spa pass to use a sauna?

 

I LOVE the sauna. I spend a lot of time in there at my regular gym. The sauna is located inside the ladies locker room, which is right across the hall from the gym. On some ships you can access the locker room directly from the gym. You only need a spa pass to access the different aromatherapy steam rooms. I did a spa cabin on the Breeze 2 years ago. They were nice, but honestly I didn't sweat a lot in there and didn't care for them too much. I prefer the regular old dry saunas where you pour water over the coals and can break a serious sweat.

[gapearl]

Got caught up this morning on your review! My birthday cruise is in September on the Pride and I can't wait!!!

 

 

Kim

 

Hey Kim! Love your name. lol Do you need me to send you my birthday girl sash and tiara for your cruise? You gotta have one! I'll send you the shirt too, just change the age if you have to! :D

 

Loving this review- so glad you're back! And happy belated birthday- I just turned 35 as well on June 23rd!

 

Happy belated birthday to you as well! We're old enough to run for president now! :eek: I'm glad you're enjoying the review.

[gapearl]

Great review...Happy belated Birthday...just had one on the 22nd...June is a great month for birthdays!! The Magic is coming to Port Canaveral....thinking thinking:D We have not sailed her yet...

 

Happy belated birthday to you as well! June is the perfect month for a birthday. :D Lots of people are excited for the Magic to come to Port Canaveral.

 

gapearl - thanks for this thread.

This is my first post on the site, I am going on my first cruise in August on the Magic with my wife and 2 sons.

Lots of useful information and pictures in this thread, thanks again!

 

Hi there! Welcome to CC! :D I'm so honored that you are reading my review for your first cruise and that you're finding it so helpful. That's why I love doing these. Congratulations on taking your first cruise. Beware that they're very addictive and you'll be looking for your next one as soon as you get home. The Magic is Carnival's second newest ship so you picked a good one. I'm not sure how old your sons are, but whether they're teens or small kids, there will be plenty of activities to keep them occupied. You'll find plenty to do for you and your wife as well. I hope you and your family have a fantastic first cruise! Please come back and report on it when you get back. If you have any questions don't hesitate to ask, and stay tuned as there's so much more I have to cover. :)

[gapearl]

Your reviews are all GREAT. You actually make us all feel that we are coming along for a cruise. I think you should write a book on your cruising experience. I'm sure it would be a best seller. I know I would definitely buy one copy (lol). Hope to see you on a cruise someday. It would be fun to hang out with you.

 

By the way, were there any Philippine Cover Bands on the ship?

 

Happy Cruising...... Mary 49

 

Hi Mary! I don't remember seeing one. If there was, they could have been performing somewhere on the ship and I just never saw them. Looking at my Fun Times, the only band I see listed is Neptune's Society, and they were more jazz/Motown. I hope someone will correct me if I'm wrong and there is a Philippine cover band on the ship.

 

I'm glad you're enjoying the review. I plan to get back to work on my travel blog as soon as I finish this review. If you do ever see me on a cruise, be sure to stop me and say hi. Several people did this trip. lol :)

 

Awesome review and love your dresses as well!

 

Thank you so much Foxy!

 

I can't wait to see what you do in Jamaica. It's the only port I don't know what we are going to do yet. Hopefully you will give me some good ideas.

 

I just finished getting my pictures together for Jamaica. I've had issues with photobucket the last couple of nights. As long as I don't have any more issues tonight, it's coming very soon. :)

[gapearl]

Warning- long post lies ahead.

 

Do you guys remember how excited Glenn was to get to Terminus when he realized Maggie would be there? Well that's how excited I was to get to Jamaica. Now do you remember how disappointed the gang were when they realized what Terminus was really about? Yeah, that's how disappointed I was when I got to Jamaica and found out I wasn't going to get to do what I had planned for today. If you have no idea what I what I'm talking about, get Netflix and catch up with The Walking Dead. In a nutshell, my day did not go as planned.

 

After spending two days at sea, I was happy to finally be hitting land today. I realized that I could not do an extended cruise to nowhere (even though they don't exist any more) or a trans-Atlantic voyage. That's too many sea days for me. I was a good girl and went to the gym at 7:45 am. After a decent 45 minute workout I spent some time in the sauna. My family went to breakfast but I still wasn't hungry yet.

 

We were scheduled to arrive at 10 am into Montego Bay. Even though I hadn't heard the announcement yet that we could get off the ship, I went ahead and led the others down to deck 0 so we could get a head start. The 0 button wasn't lighting up in the elevator, so we went down to 1 and figured we'd just walk down from there. What I saw next I've never seen on any cruise ever.

 

There was a huge crowd gathered and didn't seem to be moving. We were at the deck 1 forward elevators and the line was literally all the way down the hall the entire length of the ship to the aft. There were two lines from the people in the hallway taking the stairs down to 0 and the people coming down the stairs and from the elevators from 2. We were told we could not merge the two lines and had to get in the hallway line. CJ sometimes has trouble walking for long distances and this was getting to her. I said she should stay put and we'd pick her up on the way back, so she ducked into someone's cabin doorway to stay out of the way. If I had thought about it, I would have told the guy directing traffic we had a special assistance passenger so that she wouldn't have had to endure that, but it didn't cross my mind with all the craziness happening.

 

It took us 20 minutes to get down the hall. It was ridiculous. We got down to the aft elevators and people who were coming down and didn't know what was going on were presumed to be cutting the line, which was getting some people angry. By the time we made it back to the midship elevators, they had opened the gangway there and we were able to do down to deck 0. Well we can't do that because I left CJ back closer to the forward elevators. We had to go back and get her and then make our way out. More waiting.

 

The reason behind this madness was a medical emergency that had two of the three gangways closed for debarking. It was beyond the ship's control, but I can't imagine there wasn't a better way to handle this. It would have been a lot easier and faster for all passengers if they had just let the two lines merge from the beginning instead of having 1,000 people walk the entire length deck 1, only to make a U-turn and come back. It was very disorganized. We started our journey off the ship at 10 am, and it was 10:45 when we were finally off.

 

We made it outside and CJ was tired and winded from that whole ordeal and needed to sit for a few minutes. I asked her if she would be ok to do the tour today or if she needed to get back on the ship. I had to talk her into continuing on because I think she was wanting to quit for the day. I really didn't want her to come all this way and not get to experience as much as possible.

 

The busy Montego Bay cruise port arrival area.

 

 

Hint: Skip the line now and take your picture at the Montego Bay sign when you return to the ship. No one will be there then.

 

 

Me singing Bob Marley's Three Little Birds with some reggae singers.

 

 

The crew are busy maintaining the ship.

 

 

We're finally outside.

 

Edited June 29, 2015 by gapearl

[gapearl]

I had booked a private tour with Peat Taylor to go to Nine Miles and have the full Bob Marley experience. I love reggae music and love all the Marleys- Bob, Stephen, Ziggy, and Damian. I have their music on my playlist and listen to Bob Marley radio sometimes on Pandora. The plan was to go to Nine Miles, do the Bob Marley tour, then come back to Montego Bay for a little sightseeing, shopping, and maybe some jerk chicken. I swear I thought I saw on Peat's website that Nine Miles was only 45 minutes away. "NO MON!" was the response I got from Clifton, our driver for the day. "It's over two hours, close to two and a half!" In theory, we could have made it there and been back to the ship on time, but I didn't want to have a 2 1/2 hour ride each way, only to have just an hour to spend at the destination. It's 45 minutes from Ocho Rios, which is where my confusion came from. I asked Clifton if we could instead do a tour around Montego Bay, which is what we did. I told him that CJ wouldn't be able to walk for long periods of time and he said he'd take care of her, and also that Nine Miles has a lot of stairs to climb that would have been hard for her. I guess everything works out for the best.

 

We loaded up into the van and started to make our way outside of the port area where we would be picking up our guide, Rasheen, outside of the gated area. I guess there are restrictions on who can enter and who cannot. Clifton was on the phone with another local guide trying to help another family out that couldn't find him. Apparently he didn't get the memo of Magic's itinerary change and these unhappy people were waiting to get picked up for their excursion.

 

This must be a ship excursion. I try to avoid overcrowded buses like these.

 

 

My outfit is screaming, "Jamaica I'M HERE!"

 

 

Leaving the port area.

 

 

 

Headed out into town.

 

 

[gapearl]

Clifton began driving us around as Rasheen told us all about her country. The first thing she said is don't get offended if a man calls you jerk today. Jerk has a different meaning than it does in the states. Here, a jerk is a hot and spicy woman. If a man calls you that, you're supposed to flip your hair and roll your eyes and say I know! lol Here in Jamaica, you don't have problems, just situations. Rasheen is a smart, college educated woman and told us her theory on why she thought Christopher Colombus lied about discovering Jamaica, and about how she used to get in trouble in school for voicing that theory. She tried to teach us a little Patois, which is a slang form of English widely spoken in the Caribbean.

 

A few pictures of Montego Bay as we were riding aound.

 

 

 

Some bed & breakfasts.

 

 

College dorm.

 

 

I love candid shots like this.

 

 

[gapearl]

Rasheen said Bob Marley was born 2,000 feet above sea level, so he was born high. haha Jamaica has 2.6 million people. The current exchange rate is about 110 Jamaican dollars to $1. Kids here go to school in shifts, some in the morning and some in the afternoon, and uniforms are mandatory. A house can easily take 10-20 years (or more!) to complete as the government doesn't have any restrictions on construction deadlines. People typically pay for work to be done as they get the cash for it. I did indeed notice a lot of unfinished houses around town. I brought up the Miss Universe Pageant and how I thought Miss Jamaica should have won. Boy did she get all riled up when I said that! Miss Jamaica was 4th runner up in this year's pageant, but she was clearly the winner to a lot of people. If you watched the contest, I'm sure you'd agree. If you didn't, Google her. You could hear booing all across the audience when they called her as a runner up and she was in the headlines for days with reporters saying she was robbed of the title.

 

Y'all know what KFC stands for, right? Nope, not Kentucky Fried Chicken. Here it's Keep From Cooking. lol

 

 

 

Margaritaville.

 

 

 

In Jamaica, they drive on the left side of the road. Clifton pulled over and STOPPED in the right lane so I could get a shot of the ship. OMG. :eek:

 

[gapearl]

More Jamaica randomness! Drivers talk to each other with their hands as a courtesy to other drivers. There's a 25% unemployment rate and they rely heavily on tourism to keep the economy going. A gallon of gas will set you back $7 and they need to fill up every 2-3 days. She said they'd have a party if gas was as cheap there as it is in the US. For the most part Jamaicans drive more Japanese cars than American cars. They're cheaper to import and less expensive on gas.

 

The island has a lot of limestone like this.

 

 

Another candid shot I just love.

 

 

 

He was NOT SHY about asking for a tip for this picture. LOL

 

[gapearl]

Some lucky people will get to stay a lot longer than I do.

 

 

That blue water!

 

 

 

 

Some local folks out taking advantage of their beautiful beaches.

 

 

Selfie with our guide Rasheen.

 

Edited June 29, 2015 by gapearl

[re-re]

Enjoying your review, I booked the nine mile tour with Peat Taylor for my up coming cruise from Montego Bay, i guess i can ice that idea huh, Oh well. Looking forward to the rest of your review it's the bomb.

[gapearl]

After riding around for about 30 minutes, we made our first stop to a small plaza for some shopping at a large gift shop. They had everything here- shirts, Jamaican flag and Bob Marley swimsuits, CDs of reggae music, all your typical touristy souvenirs like magnets, shot glasses and keychains, and then there was a second room with all your food and beverage items. This store had prices that were seriously inflated and workers would roam the store to offer you "deal". I went to the food room where I sampled some Jamaican coffee. I didn't even know Jamaica had coffee plantations. They put some rum cream in my sample and I was whisked away into heaven. Jamaica has some darn good coffee. If you're a coffee lover, pick up a bag when you're there. I bought a bag of coffee, a few Jamaica trinkets, some jerk seasoning and a few jerk cooking sauces, and a bottle of Sangster's Jamaican rum cream. It's very similar to Bailey's but a little stronger and you can't buy it anywhere in the US. It was priced at $40 but was "marked down" special "just for me" to $25. I don't remember it being that expensive the last time I bought it, but whatever. I walked out of that store almost $100 poorer.

 

We were able to stop and go to a rooftop of another store to get these pictures.

 

 

 

 

I love this one in black and white.

 

 

Can you tell I'm a tourist? The Jamaica dress and Rasta Bob Marley earrings came from a local mom and pop store. If you're an Atlanta resident, it's from Jah World Trading in East Point, right next to Thumbs Up Diner.

 

 

There's the airport.

 

[gapearl]

Our next stop was Doctor's Cave Beach where we could have pretty much as much or as little free time as we wanted. Everyone wanted to put their feet in the water for a few minutes. I went the other way because I wanted to find some free wifi and a Bob Marley drink at the bar.

 

 

 

 

Me with my Bob Marley drink.

 

 

 

Delicious and refreshing.

 

[gapearl]

This place was packed today.