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Carnival Magic Review, Inc. Fun Times

xitappers2bx

By xitappers2bx,
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pe4all

pe4all

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2 minutes ago, Earthworm Jim said:

I couldn't figure out what tune the Princess ship was playing on their horns. I suspect they normally win horn battles with that kind of capability though.

I think they play the theme to "the love boat!"

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xitappers2bx

xitappers2bx

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I'm having some technical difficulties with our new printer and figuring out how to get the scanned images to my laptop.  I'll end up taking them to work with me and scanning them there.  

 

So we've unpacked, talked about power strips, let's talk about Carnival Hub before moving onwards to dinner.

 

Carnival Hub.  $5.  Text messaging and digital version of the Fun Times.  You can select what you would like to do each day by tapping on the little heart, and then you'll even get an alert 15 minutes before hand that your event is coming up.  This was really the only way I would have ever made it to a single bingo game.  

 

For $5 you also get the luxury of harassing your offspring.  We've done a lot of cruises, and maybe it's foolish but I don't keep count I just count my lucky stars that we are able to vacation the way that we do.  This is the first cruise where my kiddo has really been old enough to go out on her own for more than an hour or two.  As she's aged through each of the age groups (Camp Carnival--now called Camp Ocean, Circle C, and now O2), there have been cruises she has LOVED to do the kids stuff, and cruises where she is my best friend, and she sticks with me, usually playing on her phone. 

 

Knowing that I wasn't going to be doing a whole lot on the Lido with all the people and the noise (not to mention the light, which my eyes still don't love), I really wanted her to find people her own age and make some friends.  I managed to get her to go to O2, I made her promise to stick it out for "one entire hour" and if she hated it, she didn't have to go back.  I don't think she was even there 15 minutes before she found a few girls and a boy to hang out with (yes, the first time my little girl has hung out with a boy and my heart did break a little bit).  

 

This is where it gets fun. Being the neurotic Jewish mother that I am,  with the added in concussion anxiety, I imagine every terrible thing that could possibly happen.  It's my superpower, or maybe, this is just my origin story.  So, you spend that $5 for the Hub App, and you make your kid spend that $5 for the Hub app, and then YOU GET TO STALK THEM THE ENTIRE CRUISE.  No joke.

 

There seemed to be some confusion with the app.  It's simple.  Here's a few ways to use it (and when not to): When you embark, if you want to still be able to talk to people land-side, don't use it yet and make sure you turn off Wi-Fi. Wait until you are sailed away, then put your phone in airplane mode, turn on Wi-Fi, open the app, and buy.  When you embark, if you immediately go into vacation mode, then put your phone in airplane mode, turn on Wi-Fi, open the app, and buy.  When you are in port, if you want to be able to use your phone and connect to the local cellular service, you have to actually turn off the Wi-Fi (ridiculous I know, but you can't have cellular and be on the Magic_WiFi), and then go through your settings and connect to whatever local service there is.  Then, when you leave, put airplane mode back on and turn on the Wi-Fi.   Two main steps: Turn on airplane mode, Turn on Wi-Fi to use the Hub App.  To use cellular/data: Turn off airplane mode, Turn off Wi-Fi to disconnect from the ship's Wi-Fi.  

 

Alright.  So, you've bought the app, and you've set your kid(s) loose on the Carnivallians.  It's no longer just good riddance.  And no longer do you have to use the annoying walkie-talkies.  Now, you just open the app, and text your child.  It even tells you when they have seen it--with a timestamp.  The rule with my kiddo was, when you leave one location (ie: O2) and go to another location (ie: lido/pizza/cafe) you text me; and then, when you leave that location and go elsewhere, you tell me where you're off to.  And when you ignore my texts, I make hilarious threats to show up at O2 dressed in my favorite ratty sweat pants and comfy "oy to the world" ugly sweater to make sure you're alive.  

 

It's so much fun.  It's just like being at home, except they're never more than 1000 feet or so away from you.  #technologyisfun

 

So.  Now you've got the Hub App squared away.  The app will also tell you what's for dinner (although, it never actually told me the main dishes, just the appetizers, the desserts, and then the local dish specialties).  You can see what food spots are open, and what their menus are.  I'm not a huge seafood eater, as in, I don't eat seafood, and I don't eat wings with bones, and I'm not a huge beer drinker, so I didn't really hang out in Red Frog, but the menu was cheap (nothing more than $6) and people seemed to love that food.  I also didn't stop for BBQ.  Maybe I'm a failure.  Blame it on the brain.

 

We headed to dinner, and were relieved that everyone was dressed super casual, so we fit right in.  We were about to have an experience that would probably piss some people off.  But, like I said, I really was just grateful we were on vacation, I was ALSO super grateful that we were able to have our late seating moved to early seating, soooooo yeah.  I wasn't going to blow a gasket. 

 

Dining.  We have done Anytime Dining in the past (on the Magic) and it was great, we were with my parents, and one of my sisters, her husband, and their then like 18-month old (they now have triplets and are never going on vacation ever again hahahahaha--just kidding.  We all went to the OBX this summer).  We were able to eat at the same time, same table, with the same wait team every night. It was awesome.  Now, you have the added benefit of being able to select in the app that you'd like to dine, and then usually by the time you're at the Northern Lights Dining Room your table was ready.  

 

Well.  We didn't get anytime dining.  When I booked, super late in the middle of the night back in May, only late dining (8:15) was available.  Well, back then my brain wasn't broken, and I didn't really care because I knew the ship was close to full and it's vacation.  Once before on another line we had late dining, and we were just fine, just didn't stay up super late after dinner.  Well.  After I conked myself in the head and broke my poor brain it was weeks before I was even able to keep my eyes open until 9 (and really, only until this week that I've been able to make it up 11pm--even on the cruise I was in bed by 10:30, and dead to the world by 10:31, kiddo would bring pizza and ice cream and I'd wake up to eat it and pass right back out).  So, there was a huge amount of anxiety about dining so late.  Having a suite and FTTF should have ensured my dining choice, BUT I knew it was Christmas, and packed (and eventually sold out) so I also knew that I may be out of luck.  I contacted John Heald, and the maite'd onboard and when we boarded and got our S&S cards saw that we had been moved to early dining.  

 

So, we were in the Southern Lights Dining room, table 639, table for two.  I hate tables for two, but I know other people love them.  But, this is where our experience became quite un-Carnival like.  Never have we felt anything less than loved by our waitstaff.  We are thoughtful diners, we know they are busy so we don't bother them with the nonsensical chit chat that slows them down when they are trying to give service to many tables all at once.  We also are polite and kind, and have lots of experience doing the whole fine dining thing, so really, I think we're pretty close to the perfect patron to serve.  We totally don't care if you forget about us, just make sure we have water and bread and life is good.  

 

Being just myself and the kiddo, and being absurdly tired and fighting a ridiculous head cold (along with half the ship), the dinner conversation wasn't all that exciting, particularly because my ears were clogged and I could barely hear.  Kiddo has also made friends and was desperate to get back to them.  So we ate pretty quick and were done by 7:05.  The service also was very cold; one of our servers, whose name I don't remember, but was from Nigeria, almost seemed bothered by us.  I was understanding though, they had two tables of ten--that were a single family, and then several four tops, and growing up in the food industry I know that is a lot.  Like I said, you can forget about us so long as we have water (which we did) and bread (which we did), but he was quite cold.  I made a mental note to speak with the maite'd the next day after dinner if the service was so brusque.  Turns out, the next night he didn't even acknowledge us, and the other server, who was slightly more warm and personable, served us largely with a smile for the next seven nights, seeing the gentleman from Nigeria no more than once a night when he delivered our bread.  It was very not Carnival-like.  

 

So we finished around 7:05, and as we were leaving were asked by several wait staff if we were okay, and then the assistant maite'd accosted us to make sure that we were okay.  She was a very nice young lady who was so genuinely upset about our early departure I almost went back and sat down; she asked us about our food, about our service, and was just like, "no one ever leaves so early," so moral of the story?  Talk to your kid more.  Eat slower.  Savor your wine.

 

OH!  I forget. I bought the 3 wine package; which was 100% cheaper to have bought the 3 bottles I drank on their own and not as part of the package.  As you can see, I'm winning with these packages.  The rose is the kathy lee gifford version, and I'm probably too spoiled by my time in Paris to enjoy anything but decent rose. The Barefoot Sparkling was good and something that is much more palatable.  I don't enjoy reds, so I didn't get a bottle, and I know, that's a shame when it comes to the steakhouse. 

 

Alright.  So we ate, we offended the assistant maite'd leaving dinner too early, and then the kiddo went off to find her friends (that Hub app made that so easy), and I went to bed.  I was a little disappointed that our room steward hadn't done up our room yet, but I also was way too tired to really give a darn about it.  He came rushing to me though, and was so apologetic, he offered to do the room right then, but I told him it was fine.  He introduced himself for real this time, and I asked him to hold on one second so I could grab something for him.

 

To add another tangent to my tangent-filled story telling here, a story.  One of my closest friends on this earth I met while on a HAL cruise to Alaska.  He was our assistant room steward, and him and our steward were two of the most amazing humans.  I had an issue with the sofa bed--it was terrible and we were in their Neptune Suite, and paid a lot of money to be there and I was not handling it well (as in, I was being mean and I am not mean).  They moved heaven and earth to make the bed comfortable, getting some plywood to put under the mattress because I could feel the frame under it (it was like your old school pullout sofa), and then a bunch of egg crates above and below the mattress, and then extra linens.  This was admittedly not my finest hour, but it certainly was theirs.  About two months after the cruise the assistant steward would find me on social media, and we struck up a friendship.  And we have been super close ever since.  That was in 2013.  

 

Alright... so, something I have always done is give the room stewards a little extra cash to start, and then more at the end.  I know that their work is very hard, I know that their way, while adequate, is probably not enough, and I know that they are likely sending most of that money home to their families so they can send their kids to school or make sure their families have a roof over their head.  This also has likely been some of the reason why the service we get is so absurdly wonderful.  So yeah, I had two Christmas cards for our room steward team, and stuck some extra cash in there and a little note thanking them for their hard work and letting them know we appreciate them and the work they do to make sure our vacation is great.  

 

So I give Marut the envelopes, and ask him to please just forget our room for the evening, that I wasn't feeling so hot, and I was going to bed. I took an insanely hot and wonderful bath with a book (a huge deal considering reading was not that long ago impossible) and was dead to the world by 8:30pm.  

 

Kiddo has a midnight curfew.  She arrived at 12:15 with pizza and ice cream.  We ate, I went back to sleep, and in the morning, we had a conversation that while the pizza and ice cream was great, midnight means 12:00 and not quarter past.  

 

And with that.  Day 1 was survived.  And I didn't quite die in the twin bed.  Not yet at least.

Edited by xitappers2bx
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grandmarnnurse

grandmarnnurse

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10 hours ago, xitappers2bx said:

I'm having some technical difficulties with our new printer and figuring out how to get the scanned images to my laptop.  I'll end up taking them to work with me and scanning them there.  

 

So we've unpacked, talked about power strips, let's talk about Carnival Hub before moving onwards to dinner.

 

Carnival Hub.  $5.  Text messaging and digital version of the Fun Times.  You can select what you would like to do each day by tapping on the little heart, and then you'll even get an alert 15 minutes before hand that your event is coming up.  This was really the only way I would have ever made it to a single bingo game.  

 

For $5 you also get the luxury of harassing your offspring.  We've done a lot of cruises, and maybe it's foolish but I don't keep count I just count my lucky stars that we are able to vacation the way that we do.  This is the first cruise where my kiddo has really been old enough to go out on her own for more than an hour or two.  As she's aged through each of the age groups (Camp Carnival--now called Camp Ocean, Circle C, and now O2), there have been cruises she has LOVED to do the kids stuff, and cruises where she is my best friend, and she sticks with me, usually playing on her phone. 

 

Knowing that I wasn't going to be doing a whole lot on the Lido with all the people and the noise (not to mention the light, which my eyes still don't love), I really wanted her to find people her own age and make some friends.  I managed to get her to go to O2, I made her promise to stick it out for "one entire hour" and if she hated it, she didn't have to go back.  I don't think she was even there 15 minutes before she found a few girls and a boy to hang out with (yes, the first time my little girl has hung out with a boy and my heart did break a little bit).  

 

This is where it gets fun. Being the neurotic Jewish mother that I am,  with the added in concussion anxiety, I imagine every terrible thing that could possibly happen.  It's my superpower, or maybe, this is just my origin story.  So, you spend that $5 for the Hub App, and you make your kid spend that $5 for the Hub app, and then YOU GET TO STALK THEM THE ENTIRE CRUISE.  No joke.

 

There seemed to be some confusion with the app.  It's simple.  Here's a few ways to use it (and when not to): When you embark, if you want to still be able to talk to people land-side, don't use it yet and make sure you turn off Wi-Fi. Wait until you are sailed away, then put your phone in airplane mode, turn on Wi-Fi, open the app, and buy.  When you embark, if you immediately go into vacation mode, then put your phone in airplane mode, turn on Wi-Fi, open the app, and buy.  When you are in port, if you want to be able to use your phone and connect to the local cellular service, you have to actually turn off the Wi-Fi (ridiculous I know, but you can't have cellular and be on the Magic_WiFi), and then go through your settings and connect to whatever local service there is.  Then, when you leave, put airplane mode back on and turn on the Wi-Fi.   Two main steps: Turn on airplane mode, Turn on Wi-Fi to use the Hub App.  To use cellular/data: Turn off airplane mode, Turn off Wi-Fi to disconnect from the ship's Wi-Fi.  

 

Alright.  So, you've bought the app, and you've set your kid(s) loose on the Carnivallians.  It's no longer just good riddance.  And no longer do you have to use the annoying walkie-talkies.  Now, you just open the app, and text your child.  It even tells you when they have seen it--with a timestamp.  The rule with my kiddo was, when you leave one location (ie: O2) and go to another location (ie: lido/pizza/cafe) you text me; and then, when you leave that location and go elsewhere, you tell me where you're off to.  And when you ignore my texts, I make hilarious threats to show up at O2 dressed in my favorite ratty sweat pants and comfy "oy to the world" ugly sweater to make sure you're alive.  

 

It's so much fun.  It's just like being at home, except they're never more than 1000 feet or so away from you.  #technologyisfun

 

So.  Now you've got the Hub App squared away.  The app will also tell you what's for dinner (although, it never actually told me the main dishes, just the appetizers, the desserts, and then the local dish specialties).  You can see what food spots are open, and what their menus are.  I'm not a huge seafood eater, as in, I don't eat seafood, and I don't eat wings with bones, and I'm not a huge beer drinker, so I didn't really hang out in Red Frog, but the menu was cheap (nothing more than $6) and people seemed to love that food.  I also didn't stop for BBQ.  Maybe I'm a failure.  Blame it on the brain.

 

We headed to dinner, and were relieved that everyone was dressed super casual, so we fit right in.  We were about to have an experience that would probably piss some people off.  But, like I said, I really was just grateful we were on vacation, I was ALSO super grateful that we were able to have our late seating moved to early seating, soooooo yeah.  I wasn't going to blow a gasket. 

 

Dining.  We have done Anytime Dining in the past (on the Magic) and it was great, we were with my parents, and one of my sisters, her husband, and their then like 18-month old (they now have triplets and are never going on vacation ever again hahahahaha--just kidding.  We all went to the OBX this summer).  We were able to eat at the same time, same table, with the same wait team every night. It was awesome.  Now, you have the added benefit of being able to select in the app that you'd like to dine, and then usually by the time you're at the Northern Lights Dining Room your table was ready.  

 

Well.  We didn't get anytime dining.  When I booked, super late in the middle of the night back in May, only late dining (8:15) was available.  Well, back then my brain wasn't broken, and I didn't really care because I knew the ship was close to full and it's vacation.  Once before on another line we had late dining, and we were just fine, just didn't stay up super late after dinner.  Well.  After I conked myself in the head and broke my poor brain it was weeks before I was even able to keep my eyes open until 9 (and really, only until this week that I've been able to make it up 11pm--even on the cruise I was in bed by 10:30, and dead to the world by 10:31, kiddo would bring pizza and ice cream and I'd wake up to eat it and pass right back out).  So, there was a huge amount of anxiety about dining so late.  Having a suite and FTTF should have ensured my dining choice, BUT I knew it was Christmas, and packed (and eventually sold out) so I also knew that I may be out of luck.  I contacted John Heald, and the maite'd onboard and when we boarded and got our S&S cards saw that we had been moved to early dining.  

 

So, we were in the Southern Lights Dining room, table 639, table for two.  I hate tables for two, but I know other people love them.  But, this is where our experience became quite un-Carnival like.  Never have we felt anything less than loved by our waitstaff.  We are thoughtful diners, we know they are busy so we don't bother them with the nonsensical chit chat that slows them down when they are trying to give service to many tables all at once.  We also are polite and kind, and have lots of experience doing the whole fine dining thing, so really, I think we're pretty close to the perfect patron to serve.  We totally don't care if you forget about us, just make sure we have water and bread and life is good.  

 

Being just myself and the kiddo, and being absurdly tired and fighting a ridiculous head cold (along with half the ship), the dinner conversation wasn't all that exciting, particularly because my ears were clogged and I could barely hear.  Kiddo has also made friends and was desperate to get back to them.  So we ate pretty quick and were done by 7:05.  The service also was very cold; one of our servers, whose name I don't remember, but was from Nigeria, almost seemed bothered by us.  I was understanding though, they had two tables of ten--that were a single family, and then several four tops, and growing up in the food industry I know that is a lot.  Like I said, you can forget about us so long as we have water (which we did) and bread (which we did), but he was quite cold.  I made a mental note to speak with the maite'd the next day after dinner if the service was so brusque.  Turns out, the next night he didn't even acknowledge us, and the other server, who was slightly more warm and personable, served us largely with a smile for the next seven nights, seeing the gentleman from Nigeria no more than once a night when he delivered our bread.  It was very not Carnival-like.  

 

So we finished around 7:05, and as we were leaving were asked by several wait staff if we were okay, and then the assistant maite'd accosted us to make sure that we were okay.  She was a very nice young lady who was so genuinely upset about our early departure I almost went back and sat down; she asked us about our food, about our service, and was just like, "no one ever leaves so early," so moral of the story?  Talk to your kid more.  Eat slower.  Savor your wine.

 

OH!  I forget. I bought the 3 wine package; which was 100% cheaper to have bought the 3 bottles I drank on their own and not as part of the package.  As you can see, I'm winning with these packages.  The rose is the kathy lee gifford version, and I'm probably too spoiled by my time in Paris to enjoy anything but decent rose. The Barefoot Sparkling was good and something that is much more palatable.  I don't enjoy reds, so I didn't get a bottle, and I know, that's a shame when it comes to the steakhouse. 

 

Alright.  So we ate, we offended the assistant maite'd leaving dinner too early, and then the kiddo went off to find her friends (that Hub app made that so easy), and I went to bed.  I was a little disappointed that our room steward hadn't done up our room yet, but I also was way too tired to really give a darn about it.  He came rushing to me though, and was so apologetic, he offered to do the room right then, but I told him it was fine.  He introduced himself for real this time, and I asked him to hold on one second so I could grab something for him.

 

To add another tangent to my tangent-filled story telling here, a story.  One of my closest friends on this earth I met while on a HAL cruise to Alaska.  He was our assistant room steward, and him and our steward were two of the most amazing humans.  I had an issue with the sofa bed--it was terrible and we were in their Neptune Suite, and paid a lot of money to be there and I was not handling it well (as in, I was being mean and I am not mean).  They moved heaven and earth to make the bed comfortable, getting some plywood to put under the mattress because I could feel the frame under it (it was like your old school pullout sofa), and then a bunch of egg crates above and below the mattress, and then extra linens.  This was admittedly not my finest hour, but it certainly was theirs.  About two months after the cruise the assistant steward would find me on social media, and we struck up a friendship.  And we have been super close ever since.  That was in 2013.  

 

Alright... so, something I have always done is give the room stewards a little extra cash to start, and then more at the end.  I know that their work is very hard, I know that their way, while adequate, is probably not enough, and I know that they are likely sending most of that money home to their families so they can send their kids to school or make sure their families have a roof over their head.  This also has likely been some of the reason why the service we get is so absurdly wonderful.  So yeah, I had two Christmas cards for our room steward team, and stuck some extra cash in there and a little note thanking them for their hard work and letting them know we appreciate them and the work they do to make sure our vacation is great.  

 

So I give Marut the envelopes, and ask him to please just forget our room for the evening, that I wasn't feeling so hot, and I was going to bed. I took an insanely hot and wonderful bath with a book (a huge deal considering reading was not that long ago impossible) and was dead to the world by 8:30pm.  

 

Kiddo has a midnight curfew.  She arrived at 12:15 with pizza and ice cream.  We ate, I went back to sleep, and in the morning, we had a conversation that while the pizza and ice cream was great, midnight means 12:00 and not quarter past.  

 

And with that.  Day 1 was survived.  And I didn't quite die in the twin bed.  Not yet at least.

I’m going to try and write this again. I had nearly completed it early this am, when my iPad decided to update.😳

First of all, I may have missed in your review where you first talked about having a concussion, so I’d like to hear about it. I, too, suffered a concussion 4 years ago. It was totally my fault. As an RN, I should have known better. It was my last day at work, and I headed off to my retirement party around 3:30pm after not eating since 5am, and not hydrating enough. Well, you guessed it. After only about 3 glasses of wine, I went home (hubby drove) and I promptly passed out in my bathroom, hitting my head on vanity, and knocking myself out cold. I was lucky I didn’t kill myself. I suffered from post concussive syndrome for just over one year. Loud ringing in ears, foggy head, and headaches. Now, finally, 4 years later, all that is left is a faint ringing in the ears, hardly noticeable, or maybe I’m just used to it. What a way to start a retirement, right? Lol! Oh, well. All is good now.

On another note, we are planning to use the Hub on our February Glory cruise as we are sailing with our adult daughter and her family. We have 3 cabins booked near each other, and the Hub will work great keeping in touch with each other. I have never tried the texting feature before, as it’s usually just my hubby and myself, and he doesn’t carry a cell phone. 
And I’m loving your review, as we will be on the Magic in April for a B2B for our 50th Anniversary. (I may have told you that previously, so sorry for repeating).

Cant wait to read more! Happy Sunday! Only 28 more days until I’m on the Glory! 😎🛳

Edited by grandmarnnurse
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grandmarnnurse

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Ok. I went back and reread your earlier posts, and now I know about the concussion. I know exactly how you feel, as I flew to Florida one month after my concussion, and it felt like sensory overload. And my anxiety was also off the chart. At one point my Dr suggested antidepressants, but I refused, and as I said, all is well now. It sounds like you had a pretty damn serious injury. Praying for a full recovery for you. Also, concerning your hotel in Ft Lauderdale. We have stayed at the Renaissance Hotel twice (2014 & 2015) and very good experience there. No problems at all. We actually stayed at the Hilton Marina years ago (2002) when it was a Marriott. We enjoyed our stay there as well, and dining al fresco in the evening. 

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xitappers2bx

xitappers2bx

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1 hour ago, grandmarnnurse said:

Ok. I went back and reread your earlier posts, and now I know about the concussion. I know exactly how you feel, as I flew to Florida one month after my concussion, and it felt like sensory overload. And my anxiety was also off the chart. At one point my Dr suggested antidepressants, but I refused, and as I said, all is well now. It sounds like you had a pretty damn serious injury. Praying for a full recovery for you. Also, concerning your hotel in Ft Lauderdale. We have stayed at the Renaissance Hotel twice (2014 & 2015) and very good experience there. No problems at all. We actually stayed at the Hilton Marina years ago (2002) when it was a Marriott. We enjoyed our stay there as well, and dining al fresco in the evening. 

It was totally my fault... it myself in the face doing a thruster and then rebounded off the wall behind me.  It really was a wild experience; the next day I went to work thinking I was fine, I just felt a little off.  But even this weekend I was with family and my eyes were going wild.  I hope it doesn't take a full year for this post concussive syndrome stuff to resolve.  We have big things happening this year (Japan this summer for 3 weeks!!), and I really would love to go back to feeling like "me" again.  You're probably one of the few people I have spoken with who even understands when I say that--so few adults seem to have gone through this.  I am really glad that you're doing better, and at least you have a story to tell about literally knocking yourself into retirement! 

 

I really wanted to stay at the Renaissance--they're our favorite hotel brand in Europe (the one in Paris at the Trocadero is my favorite hotel ❤️) but the reviews were so bad when it came to the service and people complaining about bugs it scared me.  We haven't stayed in a Renaissance in the US, and for the price (about 80$ more than the Hilton) I was worried that I would be unhappy.  

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SMSACE6

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I am loving your review!  I have been wanting to cruise on Magic for quite some time, but unfortunately at this time cannot leave home due to family situation, but always love to read about this ship, and feel like I know it well for some one who has not been on it yet LOL.   I love your writing style.  Very detailed and informative, yet also filled with humor.  Looking forward to more.

 

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42 minutes ago, xitappers2bx said:

It was totally my fault... it myself in the face doing a thruster and then rebounded off the wall behind me.  It really was a wild experience; the next day I went to work thinking I was fine, I just felt a little off.  But even this weekend I was with family and my eyes were going wild.  I hope it doesn't take a full year for this post concussive syndrome stuff to resolve.  We have big things happening this year (Japan this summer for 3 weeks!!), and I really would love to go back to feeling like "me" again.  You're probably one of the few people I have spoken with who even understands when I say that--so few adults seem to have gone through this.  I am really glad that you're doing better, and at least you have a story to tell about literally knocking yourself into retirement! 

 

I really wanted to stay at the Renaissance--they're our favorite hotel brand in Europe (the one in Paris at the Trocadero is my favorite hotel ❤️) but the reviews were so bad when it came to the service and people complaining about bugs it scared me.  We haven't stayed in a Renaissance in the US, and for the price (about 80$ more than the Hilton) I was worried that I would be unhappy.  

Never heard anything about bugs there, but we haven’t been there since 2015. It WAS pricey then—$306 per night, not to mention the price of breakfast sent us down the street to Panera. One problem at Renaissance the last time there was the elevator broke down the morning of cruise, and everyone had to go down stairs with luggage. Not good. 

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Willman

Willman

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On 1/4/2020 at 10:33 PM, xitappers2bx said:

OH!  I forget. I bought the 3 wine package; which was 100% cheaper to have bought the 3 bottles I drank on their own and not as part of the package.  As you can see, I'm winning with these packages. 

 

100% savings?  Looking at photos of the wine package deal and the wine list, I calculated about a 20% savings.  I am interest in this package.  Do you have more specific info/numbers?

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jmcancruise

jmcancruise

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Loving your review.  DH and I are travelling on Amtrak for our next cruise on the Magic.  We are just getting a roomette, which I know will be tight, but we get along pretty well, so I am not too concerned.  The cool thing is though that we will have the same room you had when we sail.  You have got me wanting 104 days to go more quickly.

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