A Magical Trip from the Lone Star State - Oct 13 2012 Sailing

[ukintheus]

Captain's Gala is one of our favorite nights in the dining room. We love lobster...I could eat it by the bucket load!

We all got ready for dinner, and I forced everyone to take another obligatory family photo seeing as we were somewhat dressed up again...

Dinner tonight was in Animator's Palate...and cocktail of the night was a Tuxedo...Sparkling wine, Ketel One Vodka and Chambord...

Yummy bread...I just love their bread...

I had Garlic and Herb Sauteed Shrimp, Wild Forest Mushroom Soup, Oven Baked Lobster Tail and Captain's Sweet Temptations (Amaretto Cheesecake, Banana Creme Brule and Coconut Macaroon)

Shrimp...

Mushroom soup...

Lobster...

Scott had the same but added the Pan Seared Venison Medallions in addition to the lobster....

... and had Banana Creme Brulee Cheesecake for dessert....which I just now realized that we didn't take ANY photos of dessert....

We were back to our room at 9:45 pm....

... and took our favorite spots on the balcony for about 15 minutes before calling it a night.

 

[ukintheus]

Our early night paid off and we were up at 7 am so we ordered juice, coffee and a couple of muffins from room service to keep us going until our Character breakfast...the muffins were bran...and needed a LOT of chewing ...the coffee was definitely needed to wash them down.

I just love these cups...

The sea was absolutely still...I don’t think we’ve ever seen it so calm...it was almost like glass. As we sat outside there were lots of flying fish coming off the wake at the front. We had seen them while we were on the Magic in 2010 but hadn’t seen them since. Its incredible how far they can go. We had our character breakfast in Parrot Cay that morning so we meandered down there for 9:45 am.

Breakfast was really good:

The characters started to come by....although they were in a hurry!

Chip was first to arrive...

...then the big cheese...but it was so hurried we didn't get time to get one with all four of us together...

Goofy was up next...

Then the silly hat party began.... ...although our servers didn't make us look quite as silly as they could have......

...so now with silly hats in place...the photos continue....here's Dale..

We made our servers get into the photo....Oliver (left) and Erwin (right)...

Then we took the "hats" off...

Minnie was next...again...we weren't quick enough to get one of all four of us...although we may just have been tired of getting up and down...

Final guy up was Pluto...

It could have been worse....we could have been this guy...

I really enjoy the Character Breakfast...and it's a definite "perk" of being on one of the Classic ships. The only downside was that the interaction with the characters felt rushed...especially as the dining room was half empty, but we got to see them all...and it is a ton of fun...even if you are a table of all adults....

 

[Luv2Diz]

I'm continuing to enjoy your TR.....Our Magic cruise is now less than a month away!

It is so weird that the characters were in such a hurry with a half empty dining room. On our Alaska Wonder cruise they did at least stay at the table long enough to make sure everyone got one or two photos with them...and that was with the dining room full!

 

[cruisecrasher]

Yay! Two weeks left.

 

[ukintheus]

We left PC and went to guest services to sign up for the mojito tasting that afternoon in Animator's Palate. We decided to stroll around the ship and ended up sitting on loungers in Quite Cove for a while. The weather was overcast and breezy and you could feel a sprinkle of rain in the wind every now and then.

Even though we were absolutely stuffed full, we decided to check out the food in Topsiders at about 12:15 pm because our server Oliver had said it was going to be a really good seafood buffet. Im sure that if you were hungry it would have been delicious..... and even though none of us were .......we each got a small plate.

Starting at "noon" & going clockwise: Fennel, Tomato & Cucumber salad, Salmon En Croute with spinach & herbed cream cheese, potato salad, snow crab, bread roll...

They also had a BBQ going outside behind Topsiders, it was on the port side of the ship. They were serving steak, chicken and salmon and veggie kabobs. Because we were too stuffed to move at this point we headed back to our room and just vegged out. We found the Corpse Bride on TV and watched it, and even though I felt for sure I would take a nap, I managed to stay awake through the whole thing.

Finally we faced the sad truth that we were on our last day and needed to be packed by the end of the evening. We pulled our suitcases out and got 90% of our packing done and our customs forms filled out.

But!! It was time to go to our first tasting session ever! Yummy!!

We got to AP just a little early.... 3 people there already....one other lady arrived after we did, so there were 8 of us total. It looked like they could have had another table of 8 though.. it was ready, just didn't have the set ups on it.

In front of each of us were all the "fixins" to make 3 mojitos and a caipirinha.

We made a regular mojita, then a melon, then raspberry and finally the caipirinha.

I don't remember the name of the CM that was running the session, but she was from Jamaica and did a good job. Did I mention that I love mojitos!!

Mum and Mo decided there was no way they could drink 4 drinks, which was very fortunate for us! LOL

The caipirinha was my favorite though the sweetest.... go figure. We ended up taking most of Mum & Mo's back with us to our room and then didn't drink them because they were melting and we were so full.

We watched the world go by from the verandah for a little while...

...and then decided to head out and watch a movie...Frankenweenie was playing in the Buena Vista Theatre at 5:15 pm....Mum and Mo decided to come along as well. We all agreed it was just OK...I'm not a huge Tim Burton fan....but it was perfect timing to go and catch a movie...and with Halloween right around the corner it was a good one to see.

We showered and changed for dinner, the breeze on the balcony was pretty cool and I began to wonder how cold it might be in the morning ....but by the time we got back from dinner it had warmed up again.

The closer we got to the Texas coast the busier the horizon was filled with tankers, oil rigs and all kinds of other shipping traffic. It was crazy to think how much stuff is out there!!!!

 

[amycramer76]

Thank you for your details! We are heading out in a few weeks for our first cruise and I you did a great job of describing everything!

 

[iloverags2]

Just caught up with the rest of your report. Oh, how I miss the Magic. Good to see you have a few more bookings on her.

Grand Cayman is one of my favorite ports - just beautiful and so relaxed on the island. I was wondering how Costa Maya would be as it has never been on my radar. The ruins sound like the perfect excursion there!

Sad to see your cruise coming to an end, but with a few more in your back pocket at least you have something to look forward to!

 

[Crecia27]

We did a similar excursion in Cayman last week, and I told my husband I was sure there had been a cut out devil on the deck the last time we'd been there. Of course that was 9 years ago so he just rolled his eyes at me. I'm glad to know it was there two weeks before us as well.

 

[ukintheus]

Just caught up with the rest of your report. Oh, how I miss the Magic. Good to see you have a few more bookings on her.

Grand Cayman is one of my favorite ports - just beautiful and so relaxed on the island. I was wondering how Costa Maya would be as it has never been on my radar. The ruins sound like the perfect excursion there!

Sad to see your cruise coming to an end, but with a few more in your back pocket at least you have something to look forward to!

We are so lucky to have the Magic right here...it wouldn't be right to not have a few trips booked.

We did a similar excursion in Cayman last week, and I told my husband I was sure there had been a cut out devil on the deck the last time we'd been there. Of course that was 9 years ago so he just rolled his eyes at me. I'm glad to know it was there two weeks before us as well.

Yes, the corny cut out was there...I take it that it wasn't when you were there last week?

 

[ukintheus]

Dinner tonight was in Parrot Cay and we headed down for our last night of our server team and someone waiting on us hand and foot.

It was the Til We Meet Again menu...such a cute menu cover..

I had the Dungeness Crabmeat Stuffed Tomato, Potato and Leek Soup, Roasted Filet of Beef Wellington and...of course... Baked Alaska. I don't know WHY I feel like I absolutely HAVE to have the Baked Alaska...it's not even my favorite...

Stuffed Tomato...

Soup...

Beef Wellington...

Baked Alaska...

The Beef Wellington was really, really good ...I really think it might have been the best piece of beef I ate all week, and that included the Filet at Palo.

Scott had Sesame Crusted Tuna Sashimi, Edamame and Napa Cabbage Salad, Roasted Filet of Beef Wellington.....and .... Baked Alaska

Tuna...

Edamame Salad...

Beef Wellington...

I didn't upload a second picture of the Baked Alaska...see above... LOL

We clapped and cheered as the chefs and servers did their parade.

I always wonder how they manage to look so happy about it when they do it week after week, but they always pull it off.

Our server Oliver...

After dinner went back to the room to put our bags out....towel animal of the day along with the questionnaire...

We then headed down to the main atrium to see the 'Til We Meet Again show. It's the first time Scott and I had ever made it down there and it was really neat to get to see all the characters. I didn't realize that they come down and stand at different points around the atrium for photos etc. It was cool and sad all at the same time...talk about a reality check that they are really kicking you off the next day!!!

After we had said Good Night to Mickey and all the gang, we headed back to our cabins. Scott and I sat on the balcony and tried to figure out what all the different lights...flashing lights...ships...tankers...oil rigs....oil platforms...etc were. The entire horizon was literally FULL of lights it was really strange to see. I tried to take some photos but they didn't come out well...you just couldn't capture enough of the horizon to really do it justice.

 

[ukintheus]

We didnt have a great night of sleep, I guess it was because we knew that we needed to be up and ready to get off the ship.

There was a constant banging in our cabin...and I just couldn't get to sleep....at about midnight I was ready to call down to guest services to DEMAND to know what the HECK was going on I sat up...and then it finally dawned on me...it was the safe door swinging open and hitting the closet door. Boy am I glad I didnt make that call LOL .... that would have been super embarrassing.

So after figuring that out I got to sleep for a few hours. About 5:15 am the ship was rocking just a little back and forth and I figured we had to be getting close to the coast, sure enough as I looked outside I could see the coastline. I decided to go out onto the verandah and watch us arrive. We passed a dredger in the ship channel that was really noisy...

That was enough to wake Scott up and so he came out to join me... We both stood out and watched as we sailed into Galveston and docked.

As we arrived at the dock they shot the mooring line out and about scared the life out of me!! LOL

We decided to go back to bed for an hour as it was chilly and there really was no need to be actually up and about that early.

At about 7:30 am we heard them announce that anyone that was going to do the express walk off with their luggage needed to proceed to Rockin Bar D before they cleared customs. We didnt hear any of the other announcements but there were a couple.

We got ready and watched all the activity with loading and unloading the ship from our balcony...I could have stayed just to watch that as it was really interesting...

There were lots of semi trucks waiting to unload...

Luggage being taken off....

They had two dogs sniffing all the cargo that was about to be loaded...evidently there was a shortage of ladders....LOL

And a dead copier machine...plus lots of mini fridges were removed....

Before long it was the dreaded 8 am cut off.... and we left our stateroom.

We walked down to Parrot Cay for breakfast. The line to get off the ship went all the way back to almost the entrance of PC, and there was a line to get into PC so people were a little confused.

We chuckled at the amount of people who were still directionally challenged ... and were trying to head into PC to exit the ship.

The poor servers handing out hand wipes infront of PC would ask are you here for breakfast or trying to exit the ship and they would say were trying to get off!!! in a frustrated voice and continue to walk toward the closed doors of PC.

It kept us busy people watching while we waited for PC to open. Breakfast was fast....I didn't get any pics of the food...but I took this of the menu (for what it's worth - LOL).

We said goodbye to Oliver and Erwin one last time before it was time for us to head off the ship.

We swiped our KTTW card one more time and walked down the gangway with no problems at all. We decided to take the escalators as the line for the elevators was quite long. We think that a LOT of people kept their luggage with them and walked off with it. When you got to the bottom they were dividing you between people that wanted to use a porter and those that didnt. As the line that did was longer we said that we didnt....although with 6 pieces of luggage and 3 carry ones we probably could have used one ....but we managed. We found our luggage very quickly and loaded up so that we could wheel it all out through customs and immigration.

The walk to customs isnt that long and there was no line at all, we breezed through and went outside to stack our luggage and find a place for Mum to sit while Scott and I dashed across the street to pick up the car. It was busy, but not that bad outside the terminal and it was a short walk for us to get across to the parking garage. The golf cart was right there waiting for us and took us straight to our car. We drove back to the terminal and found a spot to load up. I would guess it took us about 10 minutes from the time we left Mum & Mo to when we were back to load up.

We squeezed all the bags in and made the drive back across Houston to Magnolia, thankfully with no traffic on a Saturday we were home by about 11:15 am.

We had a wonderful time . I made a few notes along the way of things that I thought of, so here they are...

Fantasy/Dream vs Magic: - I was really concerned that having sailed on both of the new ships within a few weeks of their inaugural sailings that we would find the Magic old and run down by comparison. I honestly did not feel that way at all. Here's what I loved about the Magic that is different from the new ships even though obviously the new ships are beautiful and updated with the latest conveniences and they don't have the amount of wear on them in general. Benefits of the Magic: Smaller...that alone is a major selling point to me...smaller and less crowded. Food...we though the quality of the food was slightly better. Servers... have WAY more time to interact with you...they didn't seem anywhere near as rushed. Character breakfast: You can't get it in the new ships. I wasn't disappointed in the Magic at all...in fact we have decided that we prefer the Classic ships over the Dream Class ships.

Room Cooler/Fridge: The fridge kept things a lot cooler than I remembered. I don't know if they have changed them from the last time we were on the Magic in 2010, but it did a good job of keeping our wine cold.

A/C: The AC was great and ours worked well. We were even chilly one night.

Bathroom: I thought both were in good condition - there was nothing that was noticeable that showed a deterioration in condition.

Cabin: Again, good condition. Some knocks on the furniture, but the bedspread was in good condition. The couch was a little hard - not the comfiest to sit on - but the fabric was in good shape. So was the carpet.

Verandah: This was the one area that I can say was showing signs of wear. It wasn't terrible, but there was a good amount of rust, and the plexiglass (or whatever it is) was spattered with paint. The wear didn't detract from our enjoyment out there at all. The ONLY thing that I could gripe about was the smoker 2 cabins down. I'm not a smoke-a-phobe by any means...it usually doesn't both me, but for some reason the smoke seems to draw down onto the other verandah's....all of us would have to disappear inside when they came out to smoke.

Cabin location: I was worried about the noise from being right outside the aft elevators, but we LOVED the location. So easy to get to the restaurants and to Topsiders....which I've been told by my sister I keep referring to as Cabana's in this report...apologies for that!

Onboard booking: I usually start to think about future cruise sales about half way through our trip...and then I get nervous at the end of the cruise that they have got it all completed. This time I did the OBB on the (I think) second day...and got all my paperwork delivered to the stateroom with confirmation etc early in the week. I had researched what I wanted ahead of time...I'll never leave it until later in the week again.

Debarkation morning elevators:: A tip for everyone if you need to use the elevator....go UP first...LOL You'll never get in one if you wait for an empty one to come down. We waited a long time...then finally figured out that if we took an EMPTY one going up....we'd at least be in one.

So....I think that's everything Thanks to everyone that has subbed along...and Happy Sailing to those that have their trip coming up!!

 

[Ajojo]

Thank you so much for this report. It seems a little sad to be over, but we will be on the Magic in a few days.

I had to laugh at your safe door incident. WHen I was on the Magic in 2010 for 2 nights I could really feel the rocking of the ship and my closet doors would roll back and forth and bang the walls. I finally put towels in the rack so the doors wouldnt move. I finally realized how to shut the doors correctly and I was so glad I did not complain

 

[ukintheus]

Thank you so much for this report. It seems a little sad to be over, but we will be on the Magic in a few days.

I had to laugh at your safe door incident. WHen I was on the Magic in 2010 for 2 nights I could really feel the rocking of the ship and my closet doors would roll back and forth and bang the walls. I finally put towels in the rack so the doors wouldnt move. I finally realized how to shut the doors correctly and I was so glad I did not complain

Have a wonderful time on your trip...I'm very jealous as I could do it all over again already!! Funny about your "noisy" cabin too Yes, I was so ready to make that call...and I am SO glad I didn't!!!

 

[Goofysrus]

Sad to see your TR over.

 

[iloverags2]

Too funny about the safe banging against the closet! Sounds like something I would do!

I so love the Til We Meet Again on the last evening...sooooo much better on the classic ships than on the Dream class. Much more interaction, and all around better show.

We are with you on the Magic class being our preferred ships...love the size, atmosphere, and overall better interaction with the crew.

Thanks for sharing your vacay with us!

 

[dsrose345]

Thanks for sharing! I am so excited to go now!! Was before but reading your report has helped get me even more hyped!!! We are looking at 32 days until we sail......

 

[shaned]

Mike and I found out the hardway about the elevators . I bet we waited 10 minutes for one. Finally some lady told us we would be better off taking one up and then ride it back down. A woman that was already on the elevator when we got on, I think got mad cause I asked her to switch spots so that she could get off without having to climb over Mike and I and 3 suitcases.
Dena

 

[ukintheus]

Sad to see your TR over. ��Glad you had a wonderful trip and Thanks for letting us know how truly beautiful the Magic is! ����

I am sad it is over too! It was fun to do.

Too funny about the safe banging against the closet! Sounds like something I would do!

I so love the Til We Meet Again on the last evening...sooooo much better on the classic ships than on the Dream class. Much more interaction, and all around better show.

We are with you on the Magic class being our preferred ships...love the size, atmosphere, and overall better interaction with the crew.

Thanks for sharing your vacay with us!

I know you love the classic ships...are you going to be able to get to the Wonder while she is in Miami??

Thanks for sharing! I am so excited to go now!! Was before but reading your report has helped get me even more hyped!!! We are looking at 32 days until we sail......

Have a great time!

Mike and I found out the hardway about the elevators . I bet we waited 10 minutes for one. Finally some lady told us we would be better off taking one up and then ride it back down. A woman that was already on the elevator when we got on, I think got mad cause I asked her to switch spots so that she could get off without having to climb over Mike and I and 3 suitcases.
Dena

We waited for a while too. We only had rolling bags as we had put our luggage out the night before, but it only took 1 family with all their cases and those elevators were FULL!!

 

[mandymouse]

What a great trip report Jenny, thanks for sharing

I love your pics, and I wish we had been there to share it with you again

Did you miss not being able to go to Remy or your favourite barman Leo ?

Thanks again, I hope it won't be too long before we're sailing together again

 

[MrsKP]

We had a wonderful time . I made a few notes along the way of things that I thought of, so here they are...

Fantasy/Dream vs Magic: - I was really concerned that having sailed on both of the new ships within a few weeks of their inaugural sailings that we would find the Magic old and run down by comparison. I honestly did not feel that way at all. Here's what I loved about the Magic that is different from the new ships even though obviously the new ships are beautiful and updated with the latest conveniences and they don't have the amount of wear on them in general. Benefits of the Magic: Smaller...that alone is a major selling point to me...smaller and less crowded. Food...we though the quality of the food was slightly better. Servers... have WAY more time to interact with you...they didn't seem anywhere near as rushed. Character breakfast: You can't get it in the new ships. I wasn't disappointed in the Magic at all...in fact we have decided that we prefer the Classic ships over the Dream Class ships.

Room Cooler/Fridge: The fridge kept things a lot cooler than I remembered. I don't know if they have changed them from the last time we were on the Magic in 2010, but it did a good job of keeping our wine cold.

A/C: The AC was great and ours worked well. We were even chilly one night.

Bathroom: I thought both were in good condition - there was nothing that was noticeable that showed a deterioration in condition.

Cabin: Again, good condition. Some knocks on the furniture, but the bedspread was in good condition. The couch was a little hard - not the comfiest to sit on - but the fabric was in good shape. So was the carpet.

Verandah: This was the one area that I can say was showing signs of wear. It wasn't terrible, but there was a good amount of rust, and the plexiglass (or whatever it is) was spattered with paint. The wear didn't detract from our enjoyment out there at all. The ONLY thing that I could gripe about was the smoker 2 cabins down. I'm not a smoke-a-phobe by any means...it usually doesn't both me, but for some reason the smoke seems to draw down onto the other verandah's....all of us would have to disappear inside when they came out to smoke.

thanks for telling us about the Magic. Sailing her in he Med next year with some friends who are 1st time cruisers. I have been worried she would look tired & sad.