Two Penguins in Bikinis -- Sister Cruise on the Carnival Magic! Aug 10-17, 2025

[momof3cruisers]

On 7/25/2024 at 6:21 AM, kdr69 said:

I have these luggage tag holders as well and have used them on 5 cruises so far.  They are extremely durable.

I have them as well and frequently give them to friends who are cruising. They are handy and I just keep them on my bags all the time. When not cruising, I have a slip of paper with my name and address so they serve as traditional luggage tags as well. I was caught in the Delta debacle last Sunday and was very glad to have a large noticeable tag securely attached to my suitcase. There were 5,000 bags at my airport at one point. Just from Delta.

[Retired20]

I am amazed at how organized you are ! I know you mentioned your ship and it must be eastern Caribbean ,did you say which month you will be cruising ? That is always an important consideration for me when I cruise. I never cruise on school holidays or the summer. I can’t wait to read more !

[Mike45LC]

On 7/27/2024 at 12:16 AM, momof3cruisers said:

. When not cruising, I have a slip of paper with my name and address so they serve as traditional luggage tags as well. 

Do you not put your address on the luggage tag, because a criminal could see the luggage tag and know that you are traveling and that your home is empty. I only use my business phone number, so no one gets my home address.

[AwkwardPenguin]

11 hours ago, Retired20 said:

I am amazed at how organized you are ! I know you mentioned your ship and it must be eastern Caribbean ,did you say which month you will be cruising ? That is always an important consideration for me when I cruise. I never cruise on school holidays or the summer. I can’t wait to read more !

Thank you! I promise, it does NOT come naturally! I have really, really bad Inattentive Type ADHD, and I need to plan ***** down to the minute or else I will forget something, or my brain will make me think I've forgotten something (which is so. much. fun. 😑).

 

We're sailing in August, which is why I have a lot of hot-weather gear in my shopping list. Neither of us have kids, but I have a "peak season" for work which generally follows the school year and it's really not a great idea for me to be fully out of contact for a week or longer during that period. If my org was bigger and had more full-time staff I wouldn't worry so much about it, but myself and my boss are the only full-time staff members. And our jobs are very specialized, so my boss can't really cover for me or vice versa. So summertime is really the only time I can travel and be semi-comfortable being out of contact.

[momof3cruisers]

16 hours ago, Mike45LC said:

Do you not put your address on the luggage tag, because a criminal could see the luggage tag and know that you are traveling and that your home is empty. I only use my business phone number, so no one gets my home address.

That’s a good tip. My home is never empty when I travel. Usually, there are two very big guys and a couple of loud dogs holding down the fort. But I will keep that in mind for the future. 

[AwkwardPenguin]

Prologue: Pre-Trip Report

Part III: UPGRADE BABY!!

 

Guys we got upgraded to a Spa Interior!! I was on a phone call yesterday with the Southern Penguin Clan outpost after Momma and Poppa Penguins' return from their cruise, and Leah mentioned that we had an upgrade offer on our booking page. When we got off the phone, I did some poking, and it was an offer to upgrade to a Spa Interior Room for only $124!

 

We waffled a tiny bit (Leah had picked a really, REALLY good spot for our initial cabin, and we were a tiny bit concerned about noise because we'd be moved basically directly underneath the lower level of the spa, and there's an elevator behind the back wall, and if we took this upgrade, would we miss out on potentially getting an upgrade to a balcony???), but put together some questions for our cruise planner, with an agreement that if Leah liked what she heard, we'd go for it. And we did!

 

I'M SO PSYCHED!! I love massages and spa stuff, and basically getting free reign in the Thermal Suites without having to worry about using up a pass is AWESOME.

 

Our original cabin choice was #10214, on the Lido Deck (where the star is):

 

We were pretty chuffed about this, Leah had been the one to make the booking (which is why she's the one dealing with the cruise planner lady), and she was very deliberate about the choice.

 

Here's our new cabin, #11211 on Deck 11, chosen for us by Carnival (again where the star is):

 

Honestly, we're only one deck up from where we were originally, and while we may get some ceiling feet from the fitness center lobby over our heads, I think this is still a pretty fantastic location, on top of all of the extra perks we get! Good job, Carnival!

 

(I'm going to be such a spoiled little bird after this, you guys have NO IDEA)

 

I'm planning on paying off the fare and fees in the next couple of paychecks, and then as soon as the ✨Trip Fund✨ is replenished enough, I'll be booking my Spa stuff!

 

I've also crossed off some of the clothing items on my shopping list, and we're starting to look at places to stay in Miami for the night before embarkation (Night Zero). Momma and Poppa Penguin are planning on taking us on a day trip to Miami when I make my winter pilgrimage to the Southern Penguin Clan outpost in November, so we'll probably decide around then.

 

In the meantime, I have a question for you Carnival Veterans. I've been trying for ages to set up my profile pic on the Hub App, and none of the pictures on my phone seem to stick. I have an iPhone, and I'm doing an update to the iOS right now. What gives? Can I only do a profile pic after a certain amount of time? Am I trying to do it too early? Are my pictures not the right type? I'm pretty sure most if not all of the ones I've tried are .jpegs, so there shouldn't be a problem, right? What am I doing wrong??

 

Thanks for letting me ramble! Stay cool everyone!

[jimbo5544]

15 hours ago, AwkwardPenguin said:

Prologue: Pre-Trip Report

Part III: UPGRADE BABY!!

 

Guys we got upgraded to a Spa Interior!! I was on a phone call yesterday with the Southern Penguin Clan outpost after Momma and Poppa Penguins' return from their cruise, and Leah mentioned that we had an upgrade offer on our booking page. When we got off the phone, I did some poking, and it was an offer to upgrade to a Spa Interior Room for only $124!

 

We waffled a tiny bit (Leah had picked a really, REALLY good spot for our initial cabin, and we were a tiny bit concerned about noise because we'd be moved basically directly underneath the lower level of the spa, and there's an elevator behind the back wall, and if we took this upgrade, would we miss out on potentially getting an upgrade to a balcony???), but put together some questions for our cruise planner, with an agreement that if Leah liked what she heard, we'd go for it. And we did!

 

I'M SO PSYCHED!! I love massages and spa stuff, and basically getting free reign in the Thermal Suites without having to worry about using up a pass is AWESOME.

 

Our original cabin choice was #10214, on the Lido Deck (where the star is):

 

We were pretty chuffed about this, Leah had been the one to make the booking (which is why she's the one dealing with the cruise planner lady), and she was very deliberate about the choice.

 

Here's our new cabin, #11211 on Deck 11, chosen for us by Carnival (again where the star is):

 

Honestly, we're only one deck up from where we were originally, and while we may get some ceiling feet from the fitness center lobby over our heads, I think this is still a pretty fantastic location, on top of all of the extra perks we get! Good job, Carnival!

 

(I'm going to be such a spoiled little bird after this, you guys have NO IDEA)

 

I'm planning on paying off the fare and fees in the next couple of paychecks, and then as soon as the ✨Trip Fund✨ is replenished enough, I'll be booking my Spa stuff!

 

I've also crossed off some of the clothing items on my shopping list, and we're starting to look at places to stay in Miami for the night before embarkation (Night Zero). Momma and Poppa Penguin are planning on taking us on a day trip to Miami when I make my winter pilgrimage to the Southern Penguin Clan outpost in November, so we'll probably decide around then.

 

In the meantime, I have a question for you Carnival Veterans. I've been trying for ages to set up my profile pic on the Hub App, and none of the pictures on my phone seem to stick. I have an iPhone, and I'm doing an update to the iOS right now. What gives? Can I only do a profile pic after a certain amount of time? Am I trying to do it too early? Are my pictures not the right type? I'm pretty sure most if not all of the ones I've tried are .jpegs, so there shouldn't be a problem, right? What am I doing wrong??

 

Thanks for letting me ramble! Stay cool everyone!

nice score

[straitlover1965]

Re the profile pic, I think you have to have 100 posts before you can post one.

 

I will be in a spa balcony on that same floor not too far from your cabin in April, so I will let you know how the noise is. I believe that elevator is only for the spa cabins, so it won't be used a lot. My only concern would be from the weights in the fitness center.  Hopefully their on the other side of the room from your cabin LOL.

 

[AwkwardPenguin]

55 minutes ago, straitlover1965 said:

Re the profile pic, I think you have to have 100 posts before you can post one.

How do you post in the Hub App?? Do you mean 100 days out?

 

56 minutes ago, straitlover1965 said:

I will be in a spa balcony on that same floor not too far from your cabin in April, so I will let you know how the noise is. I believe that elevator is only for the spa cabins, so it won't be used a lot. My only concern would be from the weights in the fitness center.  Hopefully their on the other side of the room from your cabin LOL.

That would be great, thanks! Looking at the deck plans, I think you're right-- Deck 11 is the first time that elevator shows up. It also helps that it doesn't look like it's directly against the back wall of our cabin, but standing alone in the middle of the corridor, so there's a bit of a buffer against the sound.

[straitlover1965]

5 hours ago, AwkwardPenguin said:

How do you post in the Hub App?? Do you mean 100 days out?

 

 

Sorry, I misread, I was thinking posting here, not in the app. I think I was confusing this site with another one I visit, too, since I see you do have a profile pic here. I remember another one (can't remember which now!) you had to wait til you had 100 posts to post a profile pic to help weed out spammers and trolls posting dirty pics and such.