Saint Greg's New York City and Magic to Bermuda - Live - August 27-September 5 2022

[matt082600]

Thanks for another great review Greg!!!  

[Saint Greg]

Ryan Rose hosts Motown Showdown

 

 

[Saint Greg]

A new pope is elected

 

 

 

[Saint Greg]

Top of the Rock

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[ray98]

Great review as always.  I enjoyed following along.

[Saint Greg]

On 8/27/2022 at 2:34 PM, nwcruiselover said:

I haven’t been to NYC since the pandemic.  What’s the going price of hot dogs at the corner stands?

 

$4-5

[Saint Greg]

Katz’s

 

 

[Saint Greg]

Brooklyn/bridge from elevated acre

 

 

[Saint Greg]

Staten Island Ferry

 

 

[Saint Greg]

Staten Island Ferry

 

 

[LindyWebb]

Thanks for another great trip review.

 

We have never cruised to Bermuda.  Its on the list!

 

 

[ADreamIsAWish]

Great review. I'll be on the Magic for this first time in October.

[Saint Greg]

Elevator to Summit One Vanderbilt 

 

 

 

[Knights on the Beach]

Great review, thanks Greg. We were on Magic out of Port Canaveral last August and hope to book something on it soon after it comes back.

 

On 9/5/2022 at 4:33 PM, Saint Greg said:

Thanks for following. 
 

I do still have some videos to upload and post. I’ll do that here in the coming days. 

 

I am considering starting a thread on the New Orleans board to post hotel/food/drink info from my upcoming trips there.

 

I have at least six overnighters planned this fall/winter. The first one is less than two weeks away at the Intercontinental New Orleans.

 

The next cruise will be on the Celebration. I’ll post that link here as well so subscribe to this thread if you want alerts on all of those things.

 

Please do - we'll be in New Orleans in November for a long weekend for the UCF @ Tulane game. We almost always stay at Bourbon Orleans and I'm always looking for new places to eat.

 

On 9/5/2022 at 5:15 PM, Saint Greg said:

Actually if you put all of the rumors together, someone was stabbed, fell from one balcony to the one below it, and had a heart attack.

 

Sounds like the same type of rumors on Mardi Gras last month. We had friends camping at Jetty Park and they texted me on a Saturday while the Mardi Gras was docked in Port Canaveral asking me what the heck was going on. We weren't on the ship, but can see it from our front door when it's in port. Apparently there were a bunch of ambulances/rescue vehicles there along with some news vans. MG came in super early around 2:00 am so they could replace a bow thruster. Sounds like there was (or may have been?) a death on the ship (older woman had a heart attack) but the rumors were flying - everything from a suicide to someone was murdered and two people arrested. So who knows what the real story was. Turns out, the media was there because there were long delays for embarkation (due to the possible death) and people may have been passing out in the parking lot while waiting to board. No idea was was true and what wasn't. My source at the port was on a cruise on another ship and didn't have the scoop for me this time - but there are always some juicy rumors.  LOL

 

[Saint Greg]

Never Forget 

 

 

 

[ninjacat123]

Awesome review!!  Looking forward to your trips to NO and Celebration😃

[Saint Greg]

1 hour ago, ninjacat123 said:

Awesome review!!  Looking forward to your trips to NO and Celebration😃

Thanks. I did a little seat upgrade on my flights to/from Miami last night. $40 there, $25 back. Saved $15 with the savers club. Think I’m at about $135 in total savings on that $70 membership with one more trip to book before it expires.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited September 11, 2022 by Saint Greg

[emm126]

3 hours ago, Saint Greg said:

Thanks. I did a little seat upgrade on my flights to/from Miami last night. $40 there, $25 back. Saved $15 with the savers club. Think I’m at about $135 in total savings on that $70 membership with one more trip to book before it expires.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Where are you staying in Miami? I am having such a hard time deciding on a hotel for my cruise next month on the Horizon.  Hotel prices are ridiculous.. I am holding 2 reservations, 1 at Aloft Brickell and the other AC Hotel Brickell but not sold on either. TY

[Saint Greg]

4 hours ago, emm126 said:

Where are you staying in Miami? I am having such a hard time deciding on a hotel for my cruise next month on the Horizon.  Hotel prices are ridiculous.. I am holding 2 reservations, 1 at Aloft Brickell and the other AC Hotel Brickell but not sold on either. TY

Yeah they’re crazy for my night as well. I’m not going to be there long enough to pay $400 for a hotel. I’m staying closer to the airport. But I booked my hotel months ago and it’s fully refundable. If prices go down I can always switch it up.

 

Edited September 11, 2022 by Saint Greg

[Saint Greg]

Elevator ride to one World observatory 

 

 

 

Edited September 12, 2022 by Saint Greg

[Saint Greg]

Elevator Ride down from one world observatory 

 

 

[Shell557]

@Saint GregThank you for the information on the Wanderlog app. I started using it for a road trip I’m doing and it is really great!

[pcrum]

I enjoy your reviews and your blog for the destination information, even though I last sailed on Carnival in 2013 and have no immediate plans to sail Carnival again.  Loved all the NYC and New Orleans information you have previously provided in your reviews.  I just wonder why you don't venture out to other cruise lines.  Nothing about the Magic seems appealing from your trip report and the food looks pretty bad.  You are obviously well traveled, just wondered why you don't try other cruise lines?

[Saint Greg]

1 hour ago, pcrum said:

I enjoy your reviews and your blog for the destination information, even though I last sailed on Carnival in 2013 and have no immediate plans to sail Carnival again.  Loved all the NYC and New Orleans information you have previously provided in your reviews.  I just wonder why you don't venture out to other cruise lines.  Nothing about the Magic seems appealing from your trip report and the food looks pretty bad.  You are obviously well traveled, just wondered why you don't try other cruise lines?

 

NCL is really the only other line I would consider right now. In the past I haven't booked them because they tended to be more expensive, they don't have the Alchemy bar that I enjoy, and I'm not sure they have as much comedy which I also enjoy. The go cart track doesn't move the needle for me. I won't use it. The only thing I've seen on NCL that Carnival doesn't have which interests me is the Irish Pub. 

 

I have read from many people that the food is pretty much the same on CCL, NCL, and RCL...and some have said it's better on CCL than NCL or RCL. I could probably book a CCL cruise with the steakhouse every night and come out better than I would on Princess or HAL.

 

As for the Magic food. I didn't think it was that bad. The steakhouse and Cucina were fantastic. I enjoyed my MDR meals. I think Guy's burgers was the only meal I disliked. My big frustration was the long wait for Cucina, port day breakfast times getting moved back, and sea day brunch ending at noon. None of these were problems before the pandemic. How do I know the other lines don't have the same challenges?

 

I accumulated a lot of FCCs during the shutdown. I'm still using them. And I took advantage of some Carnival sales in the spring so I'm locked in for five more cruises. And I still have a $1,500 statement credit that can be used towards a cruise on my CCL Mastercard. 

 

Out of the cruises I have booked two are on new ships: Celebration and Jubilee. They are the same class as Mardi Gras which was fantastic. A third is an ABC cruise on Horizon which I know I'm going to love. Horizon is the same as Panorama which I love. It has JiJis' which I love. I think I'm booked for JiJi's three times on that cruise.

 

The other two cruises are 8-days. One on Magic which I booked a couple years ago. Mostly for St. Maarten and St. Kitts. The other is on Spirit when it comes to Mobile. I got a great deal on that one. It's drivable for me. I've never been on a Spirit class ship. I do know a lot of people love them. This is a chance to try it on a fairly cheap cruise without having to purchase a plane ticket. And I've never been to Bimini.

 

That's where I'm at now. I don't have plans to book anything else between now and when they release next year's football schedule because I do have a summer/fall gap next year. A good sale is the only thing that would cause me to book early. The second half of 2024 and beyond are wide open for me. If I choose to try a different line, that's probably when it would be. But I think I will probably take advantage of having an Excel class ship driving distance and book Jubilee another time or two.

 

Be sure to come back after Thanksgiving for my Celebration review. I think I'm going to have a different take on Miami than what most cruisers do. I have a lot going on that Celebration cruise. I have a FCC with $600 OBC. Another $150 OBC from the TA. And $100 OBC for being a stockholder.  I have all of the specialty restaurants booked...Except for Chef's table which I don't do. I have excursions booked for all of the ports. I booked those back when they had the 20% SPA discount that worked for everything. I got a huge cheers discount on this cruise. I booked that cheers during the pandemic cheers sale for another ship and was able to move it to this cruise when that one was canceled. I think it's going to be a great review of a great ship. You won't want to miss it. Coming after Thanksgiving.

 

 

Edited September 13, 2022 by Saint Greg

[pcrum]

8 minutes ago, Saint Greg said:

 

NCL is really the only other line I would consider right now. In the past I haven't booked them because they tended to be more expensive, they don't have the Alchemy bar that I enjoy, and I'm not sure they have as much comedy which I also enjoy. The go cart track doesn't move the needle for me. I won't use it. The only thing I've seen on NCL that Carnival doesn't have which interests me is the Irish Pub. 

 

I have read from many people that the food is pretty much the same on CCL, NCL, and RCL...and some have said it's better on CCL than NCL or RCL. I could probably book a CCL cruise with the steakhouse every night and come out better than I would on Princess or HAL.

 

As for the Magic food. I didn't think it was that bad. The steakhouse and Cucina were fantastic. I enjoyed my MDR meals. I think Guy's burgers was the only meal I disliked. My big frustration was the long wait for Cucina, port day breakfast times getting moved back, and sea day brunch ending at noon. None of these were problems before the pandemic. How do I know the other lines don't have the same challenges?

 

I accumulated a lot of FCCs during the shutdown. I'm still using them. And I took advantage of some Carnival sales in the spring so I'm locked in for five more cruises. And I still have a $1,500 statement credit that can be used towards a cruise on my CCL Mastercard. 

 

Out of the cruises I have booked two are on new ships: Celebration and Jubilee. They are the same class as Mardi Gras which was fantastic. A third is an ABC cruise on Horizon which I know I'm going to love. Horizon is the same as Panorama which I love. It has JiJis' which I love. I think I'm booked for JiJi's three times on that cruise.

 

The other two cruises are 8-days. One on Magic which I booked a couple years ago. Mostly for St. Maarten and St. Kitts. The other is on Spirit when it comes to Mobile. I got a great deal on that one. It's drivable for me. I've never been on a Spirit class ship. I do know a lot of people love them. This is a chance to try it on a fairly cheap cruise without having to purchase a plane ticket. And I've never been to Bimini.

 

That's where I'm at now. I don't have plans to book anything else between now and when they release next year's football schedule because I do have a summer/fall gap next year. A good sale is the only thing that would cause me to book early. The second half of 2024 and beyond are wide open for me. If I choose to try a different line, that's probably when it would be. But I think I will probably take advantage of having an Excel class ship driving distance and book Jubilee another time or two.

 

Be sure to come back after Thanksgiving for my Celebration review. I think I'm going to have a different take on Miami than what most cruisers do. I have a lot going on that Celebration cruise. I got an FCC with $600 OBC. Another $150 OBC from the TA. And $100 OBC for being a stockholder.  I have all of the specialty restaurants booked...Except for Chef's table which I don't do. I have excursions booked for all of the ports. I booked those back when they had the 20% SPA discount that worked for everything. I got a huge cheers discount on this cruise. I booked that cheers during the pandemic cheers sale for another ship and was able to move it to this cruise when that one was canceled. I think it's going to be a great review of a great ship. You won't want to miss it.

 

 

On our last NCL cruise (Epic) there were comedy shows; don't know if they are as frequent as on Carnival, but they were there.  The Howl at the Moon Dueling Piano Bar sold us on NCL.  It's not on all of the ships, but it is lots of fun!  We also like the Broadway shows on NCL, so since you have now had a taste of NYC Broadway, that might appeal to you!  We also thought the buffet food on NCL was much better than on Carnival.  

 

Despite everything we read about MSC, both the service and the food blew us away!  It's now our favorite cruise line.

 

I will be sure to follow your other reviews.  I liked your take on Alaska and Seattle, as we also did a cruise (NCL) out of Seattle a number of years ago.  Looking forward to seeing what you do in Miami.  I live 3.5 hours away in Orlando and rarely make it there; the traffic is enough to keep us away!  I will be there in December for a Celebrity cruise, but will most likely just drive in and out of the port.

 

The spirit class is my favorite on Carnival.  I have never sailed the newer ships; as I said, I have not been on Carnival since 2013, but we did spend a lovely week on the Miracle in 2009.  

 

I'm envious of your OBC from your TA.  I've never so much as received a bottle of cheap wine from any TA I've used. Would love to know your secret!

 

Thank you for the informative reviews!