Think of all the joy you’ll find …….. Update - January 06

[jedijill]

I wish I was on the Magic right now! I miss food and the service!

Jill in CO

 

[MAGICFOR2]

Nice job on securing your SPRING PLANS!!!!

I am surprised to see you eat corn flakes instead of your tugboat Looks like a good idea waiting until the crowd thins to head to port. I hope you had enough time to do the things you wanted to do in port.

 

[KatMark]

I am finding it very hard to be in two places at one time.

The breakfast food looks yummy. One of these days I will get to Key West (perhaps after we move there next September).

Too bad about the wait to get a shuttle and get off the ship to explore. I hope it didn't end up being too long for you.

 

[Leshaface]

Uh, Karin are you okay?!?

Ahhh that's better!

If the mood is right we are most likely to buy quite a few things.

Yep that's about right. In my mom's case, any mood is just perfect for shopping

Now, I need to let you know that Oksana and us go way back to our first cruise on the Dream, 12 cruises ago. Whenever we have cruised on the Dream, she was there and we have become really good friends. In February last year she had told us that she wanted to try to get onto the Magic for the summer but she never was assigned to the Magic in the summer. Instead she had just started her new contract on the Magic now. We were chatting away for a long time, with some of her crew members looking on and we were all so happy that there were only few guests in the shop so we could catch up on each other’s lives.

That is very, very cool that you guys had run into her! And thank goodness that shopping mood had come over you, otherwise you may not have seen her till later in the trip!

We walked up to her and mentioned that we needed to return the items in the little shopping bag we had and she was all business until she opened the bag. Then, again, the hugging started again, before she had to quickly go offstage to sample some of the chocolates.

So so sweet of you guys.

with one of them being a very nicely smelling package of detergent and drier sheets.

That is a great FE gift idea! That's a new one to me, but totally useful.

We instantly decided to stay on board a bit longer and order some lunch. So I picked up the phone and ordered some room service. To our huge surprise it didn’t even take 15 minutes and our food had arrived. The tray was placed on the small table

I wish I had known about room service on our first cruise. We did it on our second cruise like towards the middle/end and it came in 15-20 minutes as well and it was so nice to just tidy up a bit, relax and then eat. And they don't charge you! Hello, how nice is that?

 

[dizneeat]

Now you had to post pix of eggs benedict to tempt me !!! They are sooo yummy looking . Nice FE gifts too !! I am having a hard time fiding much Dis time with work tiring me out I come home and crash . If I start to Dis I am pretty soon nodding off !!

I feel for you, Rosie. I find it pretty hard myself to find DIStime sometimes. Once our summer holidays start, I hope that it will become easier.

Tom has made Eggs Benedict for breakfast twice since we have returned from his birthday cruise. They are just sooooooo yummy and remind us both so much of vacation.

All caught up. Love the detailed trip reports that you write. Can't wait to read about the rest of your vacation.

for being caught up. Another update is about to be posted. I hope to have more time to post once my summer holidays start in two weeks time.

All caught up - a Quick but lovely start to you trip once you got on property. Beautiful sunrise and a lovely breakfast at BOG. Seems like the first day on the Magic was Magical as well. Lots of good things happening, familiar faces and good food. I am glad the safe got taken care of quickly and easily.

Ah Key West. Looking forward to hearing about it. Hopefully you can get off soon but at least a quick and yummy lunch.

Everything worked out pretty well once we got on our way. And the update at BLT was just the icing on the cake.
This time we had a much better impression of the Magic and everything worked just fine.
Key West - we love it there, but were in no hurry to get off, as there was no particular place we wanted to go to really. We had planned on just a little window shopping and walking around, so lunch was quite nice before we actually left the ship.

I wish I was on the Magic right now! I miss food and the service!

Jill in CO

Me too! Even though we are so looking forward to getting back on the Wonder - my first love.

 

[dizneeat]

Nice job on securing your SPRING PLANS!!!!

Thank you, Tammie.
We are so pleased Lufthansa changed our flights and we will be able to have an added vacation.

I am surprised to see you eat corn flakes instead of your tugboat Looks like a good idea waiting until the crowd thins to head to port. I hope you had enough time to do the things you wanted to do in port.

Believe me, I was surprised too.
We were not really in a hurry, as we have been to Key West a few times and there was nothing in particular we wanted to do. And sail away was later in the evening, so there was more than enough time to stroll the streets of Key West.

The breakfast food looks yummy. One of these days I will get to Key West (perhaps after we move there next September).

I am so excited about your move to Naples, Kathy. And I am sure you will make it to Key West sooner or later.

Too bad about the wait to get a shuttle and get off the ship to explore. I hope it didn't end up being too long for you.

We didn't mind too much about the wait, especially since it gave us time to have a great little lunch. And we were surprised at the wait times lateron.

Uh, Karin are you okay?!?

That is very, very cool that you guys had run into her! And thank goodness that shopping mood had come over you, otherwise you may not have seen her till later in the trip!

It was just one of the most magical things to happen. Oksana really made the cruise extra special. (and a few other "old friends" as well. )

That is a great FE gift idea! That's a new one to me, but totally useful.

We have gotten some great FE gifts, but that one was so useful. We ended up throwing in a load of washing into one of the washing machines and used the detergent and drier sheets right away. It was an awesome idea.

I wish I had known about room service on our first cruise. We did it on our second cruise like towards the middle/end and it came in 15-20 minutes as well and it was so nice to just tidy up a bit, relax and then eat. And they don't charge you! Hello, how nice is that?

It took us quite a few cruises to order room service. With English not being my first language I feel a bit uneasy picking up the phone, where I cannot "see" the person I am talking to. So it took a bit of courage the first time I ordered something for us. Ever since we have grown to like this service and I feel much better about picking up the phone.

 

[dizneeat]

​

Day 3, March 30

Welcome to the Conch Republic - Part 3

So we changed, then walked down to the gangway

and ……hit a line.

A long line.

There was no way we could have walked into town, so we stayed. Thankfully two trolleys arrived quickly after each other and the line moved a little. Then we saw mini buses and larger buses arrive and another trolley.
They arrived, filled up with people and off they went again.

And even though there was a constant coming and going it took about half an hour until we were finally on board a trolley and headed into to town. Now this trip takes you through the military base and we were told to absolutely not take out our cameras or phones or they would be taken away, so no photos of our ride into Key West.
They dropped us off right behind Mallory Square and started our walk around. We walked through the Sponge Market, then over to the little pet shop in the adjacent building before we wanted to head further down Duval Street.

We had not planned on any sightseeing as we have been to Key West several times but we wanted to soak in the atmosphere and enjoy the vibe of Key West. So we started our trip down Duval Street, stopped here and there and even bought a Harley Davidson T-shirt for a friend’s birthday. We then stopped at the Crazy Shirts store and Tom found a T-shirt he liked which we bought as another birthday treat. There was one thing we really wanted to find as we had forgotten it at home, a stapler. We had brought all our Fish Extender supplies but had left our mini stapler at home. So when we saw a shop that looked like it could sell a stapler we went in, just to find they had everything else, but no stapler. But we knew there was a Walgreens halfway down Duval, so we were not too disappointed. So we continued on, looking at and laughing about some of the novelties and finally reached the Walgreens who is inside a former cinema. We started looking around, found the isle that offered the staplers but it came without staples and there were none on the rack. So we asked an employee if they had some and she told us that she would check in the back and off she went. And we waited. And waited. And waited some more. After a while we walked over to the ATM, always an eye on the door where she had disappeared, as Tom wanted to pick up some money as well. So we studied the ATM as they are a bit different from what we are used to, then Tom reached for his wallet, just to discover that he had only his “vacation wallet” with his credit card, but no bank card. Well, I still had my wallet with me, opened it up and discovered that I had done just the same, removed everything apart from the credit card and cash and left it in the safe. No biggie as we had enough cash to cover the trip, but it would have been nice to stock up a bit. So we went back to the corner of the isle and the employee still wasn’t back.
I think another employee must have watched us, as he came back to ask if we were sure he could not help us. We told him that the other employee had gone to look for staples and he went to look for the employee. He came back after just a few minutes telling us that he had looked in the computer and they were out of staples, but that he had no idea where the employee had gone to. She was nowhere to be found. We had a laugh and left the store, a bit disappointed that we now needed to come up with a “clever idea” on how to close our Fish Extender bags but we were still in a happy mood. And we walked further down Duval to finally reach Kermit’s, an “all about Key Limes” shop. We finally made it there and headed inside. There were quite a few people in the shop, but there is lots of tasty merchandise to look at and lots of samples out.
So we tried a few samples before going up to the counter to get ourselves a few treats, an

Espresso for Tom and a

Key Lime Pie on a stick and

some water for myself. Those Key Lime Pies on a stick are Key Lime Pies that are frozen and dipped in chocolate and they are just soo good. They are messy to eat, but delicious. We found seats and after taking photos of our goodies we enjoyed them. When we left the little store it was half past four already, but all aboard was at 7.45, so we had plenty of time. Why not stop at the rooftop bar of the La Concha for a drink. So we slowly crept up Duval again, not used to the sun at that time of the year.

We passed a store and peaked inside and were surprised that the huge bookstore we had been used to at that corner was now a CVS store. Hm, they might sell stapler, so we started to look around and did indeed find a stapler, much small than the one at Walgreens AND it came with a small box of staples AND it was only costing about a third of what the other would have been. SCORE!! Stapler in bag we walked on a bit further until we came to an off license where we had seen something else, Birthday Beer. Needless to say we had to pick up some to try, together with another “new” beer for him. Now lugging around another bag we quickly approached the La Concha and were sad to see that they were working on the rooftop, putting glass walls up on the open platform. We dropped the idea of going inside as we were tired and hot anyway and headed further up Duval. At Fresh Produce we stopped to pick up a Vera Bradley Handbag I had seen and liked a lot and we stopped at a cigar shop to get Tom some cigars and a nice souvenir case for them as well.

And with that we slowly crept back to Mallory Square.

A trolley was just arriving and we climbed on board and within a few minutes were on our way back to the ship.

Again we were told the no photography policy as we were driving through the base area and this time it would have been fun to take some photos as the Navy was obviously training some people in the nearby lagoon. Lots of people in the water trying to swim in and with all their gear. That gave us an idea. Yip, no taking photos from down there, but maybe from the ship. Before we went on board we had some flavoured water, which is offered to returning guests and such a nice thought of DCL and then we went back on board, signed in again and our stuff went through the scanner and then we were off to our room.
​

To be continued ..........​

 

[jenseib]

The water looks so pretty at Key West. I have sailed there twice many years ago on NCL. Both times we docked at Mallory Square but I think it looks like the dock is different there now...and then at least 2, maybe 3 ships could dock there. I don't think there was a 2nd pier back then either.

That funny about the employee disappearing. She probably went on break. lol.
Glad you found a stapler. I have a mini one too ....and it came with staples as well. I use it quite a bit.

 

[Flossbolna]

When we were in Key West with the Wonder, we docked at Mallory Square. That is certainly much preferable! I really enjoyed our visit there, it was just so hot! Seems like it was the same for you...

I have a picture of the cinema turned into a drug store. Looks so funny! I am glad that they kept the old facade. But they should provide better service for people looking for staples... How strange that the guy just disappeared!

 

[franandaj]

Someday we will visit Key West. Probably not on a cruise, but it looks amazing.

 

[englishrose47]

I am all caught up from start to finish ~!!!Carol rode the Mine train and confirmed my fears .... NOT for me !!!But she liked it okay not as much as ToT though !! All your food looked wonderfull, I loved Tom'smini cake and his Birthday bed thing !!!I am thinking I wan to go to Key West !! As for the Spring Trip Yippeeee !!!! Good for you !!! I would love to go again for the Flower Fest !!

 

[dizneeat]

The water looks so pretty at Key West. I have sailed there twicI e many years ago on NCL. Both times we docked at Mallory Square but I think it looks like the dock is different there now...and then at least 2, maybe 3 ships could dock there. I don't think there was a 2nd pier back then either.

Jen, I am pretty sure that two ships can dock at Mallory Square. I was so disappointed when I saw that Carneval was already docked there. I would have loved to just walk off and onto the ship, so we had to shuttle back and forth.

That funny about the employee disappearing. She probably went on break. lol.

It was just odd. She said that she would be back in a minute or two and never came back. And we had no intention to wait until she came back from her break.

Glad you found a stapler. I have a mini one too ....and it came with staples as well. I use it quite a bit.

I usually have those kinds of supplies in our owner's locker box, but we did not order it to be brought to the hotel as we were there just for the night. And I have backup at home and knew I had already packed it, but had to remove and repack it and it looks like the stapler was left out.

When we were in Key West with the Wonder, we docked at Mallory Square. That is certainly much preferable! I really enjoyed our visit there, it was just so hot! Seems like it was the same for you...

Lucky girl! I would have loved for the ship to dock at Mallory Square. But in the end it all worked out, just the waiting for the shuttle going into Key West was a bit of a bore.
Yip, it was hot, especially since it had not been really warm here in Austria before we left, but try Key West in the summer . There is a reason why we flee back to our room over midday. It really gets hot!

Someday we will visit Key West. Probably not on a cruise, but it looks amazing.

Key West is just beautiful. And if you ever need a recommendation on a hotel there - I can give you several. They all worked out fine for us - no FL experience outside of FL.

I am all caught up from start to finish ~!!!

Yippie!

Carol rode the Mine train and confirmed my fears .... NOT for me !!!But she liked it okay not as much as ToT though !!

It is a bit like BTMR, Rosie. It was a nice ride though.

I am thinking I wan to go to Key West !!

You should! It is a beautiful place to be and the drive over all those bridges is just awesome.

As for the Spring Trip Yippeeee !!!! Good for you !!! I would love to go again for the Flower Fest !!

Thank you, Rosie. We were in awe with Lufthansa for changing our flights. On the other hand - they will for sure be the ones to book with for our 2016 trip.

And as far as F&G ..... we did see them put up things during our February trips, but never really got to experience the whole thing. Now this year we were able to go during the actual F&G festival and it was awesome. Unfortunately we only had two half days and they were Easter Sunday and Monday, so it was super crowded. But it was enough to lure us back in 2016.

 

[englishrose47]

You have to get the passport and get the stamps for each garden and food place. Carol made that her goal!!! I think my favorite was the Butterfly exhibit !!! I liked the food booths too and it is NOT as crowded as for Food & wine and no drunks to contend with We actually went the very first trip during it , and had no idea it was an annual thing to begin with !!!! My very first pin was of the 2007 F & G festival

 

[dizneeat]

You have to get the passport and get the stamps for each garden and food place. Carol made that her goal!!! I think my favorite was the Butterfly exhibit !!! I liked the food booths too and it is NOT as crowded as for Food & wine and no drunks to contend with We actually went the very first trip during it , and had no idea it was an annual thing to begin with !!!! My very first pin was of the 2007 F & G festival

We did pick up one of those passports, but there was no way we could get more than just a few stamps. So, I am sure we will pick one up and get a good number of stamps in 2016. I want to try and get the "easteregg map" as well, as we did find quite a few of the easter eggs in April.

It will be the week before Easter again in 2016, but I hope we will have a few days with a little less crowds. But at least we have a little over a week this time.

 

[englishrose47]

Oh I don't think I knew about the easter eggs but as we went in May they probably weren't doing it !!

 

[dizneeat]

Oh I don't think I knew about the easter eggs but as we went in May they probably weren't doing it !!

I did see it online when researching for this year's trip and it looks so cute. We did see quite a few of the "hidden" character eggs and I really would love to hunt them all down.

You get this map and some egg stickers, then find the character eggs and stick them into the correct location, just like this

 

[KatMark]

Great update, Karin/

 

[dizneeat]

Great update, Karin/

Thank you, Kathy!

 

[dizneeat]

​

Day 3, March 30

Welcome to the Conch Republic - Part 4

Before we went on board we had some flavoured water, which is offered to returning guests and such a nice thought of DCL and then we went back on board, signed in again and our stuff went through the scanner and then we were off to our room.
Our Fish Extender was overflowing again

and after emptying it out, we quickly grabbed our cameras and hot footed it up to the top deck. They were still swimming in the lagoon,

many of the soldiers had actually made it back to a platform, but still we could take good photos of the rest. Another score!

Photos done we walked back to our room, had showers and Tom put his new beers into the fridge.

We sat out on the veranda with a glass of his birthday sparkling wine and watched the Carnival ship go by

and a little later the sun started to set.
​

To be continued ..........​

 

[Leshaface]

It took us quite a few cruises to order room service. With English not being my first language I feel a bit uneasy picking up the phone, where I cannot "see" the person I am talking to. So it took a bit of courage the first time I ordered something for us. Ever since we have grown to like this service and I feel much better about picking up the phone.

When you write, it's perfect! Do you feel writing it out is easier than speaking?

And even though there was a constant coming and going it took about half an hour until we were finally on board a trolley and headed into to town.

Yikes that is a long time to wait, even with all the transportation available.

I think another employee must have watched us, as he came back to ask if we were sure he could not help us.

e came back after just a few minutes telling us that he had looked in the computer and they were out of staples, but that he had no idea where the employee had gone to. She was nowhere to be found. We had a laugh and left the store,

Bermuda Triangle?!

Needless to say we had to pick up some to try, together with another “new” beer for him.

I love that Tom gets all these random and new beers to try

Cute bag!

I want this in my FE!

and after emptying it out

The bottles or the FE??

many of the soldiers had actually made it back to a platform, but still we could take good photos of the rest.

What is it that they're swimming with?

I still think it's crazy how to goes over the side of the boat. Imagine if that part broke off while you were on it