Magical Mystery Tour

[LittleDisneyLovers]

Corrina, I just spent the last couple of hours with a cuppa tea and some choccies reading your report. I really enjoyed it, your writing is entertaining and easy to read.
Looking forward to cruising with you on the WBTA

 

[mandymouse]

Wow, those waves were amazing, I loved your videos, especially where your hubby is in the pool

Your snake towel animal was so cool. Another great day

 

[Jets fan]

Loved your wave clips Would have loved to see them.

Am really enjoying your trippie.

Tina

 

[UKANGEL]

Hi Corinna!
Deb (UKDeb) recommended your trippie and I am so glad! Just spent a lovely time reading and looking at your pics and videos. (the rough seas don't put me off!)
Loved all your photos and it really brought back our NCL med cruise from last summer. You look lovely in your dresses (I have a very similar one to your lace black one), they look great!
I'm a Chagall fan too so especially loved the pics from the museum, thank you!
Thanks for posting this ........so looking forward to 16 weeks today!

 

[dolphingirl47]

Corrina, I just spent the last couple of hours with a cuppa tea and some choccies reading your report. I really enjoyed it, your writing is entertaining and easy to read.
Looking forward to cruising with you on the WBTA

Hi Corinna!
Deb (UKDeb) recommended your trippie and I am so glad! Just spent a lovely time reading and looking at your pics and videos. (the rough seas don't put me off!)
Loved all your photos and it really brought back our NCL med cruise from last summer. You look lovely in your dresses (I have a very similar one to your lace black one), they look great!
I'm a Chagall fan too so especially loved the pics from the museum, thank you!
Thanks for posting this ........so looking forward to 16 weeks today!

Thanks for stopping by and reading. I can't wait until September either. In 16 weeks time, I will probably be fast asleep in my bed on the Magic.

It's nice to have a fellow Marc Chagall fan on the cruise. Have you ever seen his stained glass windows at Tudeley in Kent?

Corinna

 

[dolphingirl47]

Day 16

The day that I did not want to arrive had done so anyway. It was debarkation day and time to say goodbye to the Magic.

On the last morning, you have an assigned breakfast at the restaurant where you had dinner the night before. So for us it was Animator's Palate. You sit with your table mates from dinner and you are served by your serving team. It is nice to all get together one last time.

When we got up, we packed the last odds and ends, had a look around that we had not forgotten anything, took our hand luggage and left our cabin for the last time. We got to Animator's Palate slightly early and had to wait for a short while.

Soon we were allowed in and everybody on our table was present. They serve a different breakfast menu on the last morning and I always have the Open Barbecue Chicken Omlette. Everybody at our table thought that this was disgusting and I was teased mercilessly about this. I enjoyed it as much as I had done on the previous cruises.

After breakfast, we said goodbye to our table mates and our servers and headed down to the atrium to leave the ship for the last time for this cruise. Once we left the ship, we went down a covered walkway and an escalator. There was a short line to have your keycard swiped, but they were opening additional kiosks when we got there. The luggage was in the same room where we had waited to get on the ship 11 days before and we spotted our cases straight away. Once we had our luggage, we walked straight out of the terminal. They did not even check our passports. The whole operation was much more smooth and efficient then at Port Canaveral.

We had heard previously that taxis can be a bit of a problem at the port, but that was not our experience. There was a line of people, but it moved quickly and there were plenty of taxis. The police actually did the crowd control.

While we were waiting for our turn to get a taxi, I noticed that the Magic had taken some cosmetic damage the previous day. There were a number of patches near the top of the ship where the white paint had flaked off and the black paint was badly scratched around the anchors. They had maintainance out there with paint and brushes and I am pretty sure that this would have been fixed by the time the next people got on board.

Soon it was our turn to get into a taxi and even though it was the middle of rush hour, we got to the airport very quickly. Our driver had asked us what airline we were flying with. When he dropped us at the terminal, we could see know evidence of our airline or of our flight being listed. I went to airport information, where it transpired that we were in the wrong terminal! We were directed to the shuttle bus that links the two terminals. About 10 minutes later, we were in the correct terminal. Check in was not open yet.

I was a little nervous on two counts. We had no opportunity to weigh our luggage and I was worried that at least I was over the weight allowance. I was actually spot on with 20 kg and DH was under with 17.5 kg. I was also a little worried that they had not amended our booking properly and that our booking had ended up cancelled. Well, there was no reason to be worried. They found us straight away and we were checked in very quickly. I was very impressed with Monarch.

Barcelona is a very modern airport and clearing security was quick and easy. When we got to the gate, we were the first people there. We had to take a bus to the plane, but the whole process was very smooth.

I had hoped that we might get a last glimpse of the Magic from the plane, but we were sitting on the wrong side. I had heard horror stories about how little space you have on Monarch, but for a short-haul flight it was perfectly adequate. I just settled down with my ebook reader and the time until we arrived back in Manchester passed very quickly.

When we landed in Manchester, we actually parked right at the terminal. We cleared passport control in record time and did not have to wait long for our luggage either. Of course, when we got to the airport train station, the first thing we heard was that a train had been cancelled. It was really ironic. We had travelled half way across Europe by train and also used the trains extensively during our cruise and everything had worked like clockwork. Yet, as soon as we got back home, the trains are letting us down. It did not really matter to us as virtually every train from the airport goes to Manchester Piccadilly. We were home soon enough.

 

[mandymouse]

Aww, what a shame that your trip report has come to an end. Thank you so much for sharing it with us, I have thoroughly enjoyed reading it, and I can't wait to read about your next adventure

Thanks again Corinna

 

[jjk]

I have really enjoyed your report, thanks for sharing

 

[ForTheLoveOfDCL]

Loved your report Corinna and I look forward to the next one after the transatlantic!!

 

[wickesy]

Really great trip report Corinna which has got me all fired up for our own trip on the Magic.

 

[dolphingirl47]

There is one more installment to come. I am in the process of typing up a post script with some thoughts and observations, which I am hoping to post on Wednesday or Thursday and then of course there will be the Navigators.

Corinna

 

[eeyorefanuk]

I have loved this report - thank you

Look forward to your final chapter

PS Nothing to do with your report but had do you manage to get your two tickers alongside each other - the bottom of our third one is missing ! Ah

 

[UKANGEL]

Thanks for stopping by and reading. I can't wait until September either. In 16 weeks time, I will probably be fast asleep in my bed on the Magic.

It's nice to have a fellow Marc Chagall fan on the cruise. Have you ever seen his stained glass windows at Tudeley in Kent?

Corinna

No haven't had the pleasure, but i may have to take a look now!

 

[Tanzanite]

Corrina thank you for sharing your wonderful trip report.Iwant to go next year .Ilove all the photos the charactor costumes are amazing you& your husband looked fabulous in all those pictures.

 

[dolphingirl47]

I have loved this report - thank you

Look forward to your final chapter

PS Nothing to do with your report but had do you manage to get your two tickers alongside each other - the bottom of our third one is missing ! Ah

I just deleted all the spaces between the two image links so that the brackets touch each other.

No haven't had the pleasure, but i may have to take a look now!

If you get the chance, do it. They are well worth it. The little church is in the middle of nowhere, but the windows are stunning.

Corinna

 

[CustardTart]

We had no regrets doing most of it on our own. That way we could do it at our pace and see what we wanted to see. As I said in my trip report, I think it was a wise decision to do an excursion in Tunesia and I would also do either an excursion or a private tour in Naples if I ever go back there. The rest was so easy and a lot cheaper to do it by ourselves.

Funnily enough that's exactly what we have planned - a DCL excursion in Tunis and then we're sharing a private tour of Pompeii/Amalfi Coast with another couple we know..

The Chagall Museum looks a must-do - thanks for the info as I hadn't planned on going into Nice (never been much of a fan) so will pop in for that before returning to Villefranche for a leisurely look around and a glass of wine... BTW, the windows at Tudeley are amazing - my DS goes to school near there so I've seen them a couple of times.

I am sure you will have a wonderful time. I think this was my favourite cruise so far.
Corinna

Oh that's good to know too!!! My fave so far was the Mexican Riviera cruise we did in August 2008 so this one has a lot to live up to...

And thanks for the disembarkation info - sounds very straightforward...

 

[dolphingirl47]

Funnily enough that's exactly what we have planned - a DCL excursion in Tunis and then we're sharing a private tour of Pompeii/Amalfi Coast with another couple we know..

The Chagall Museum looks a must-do - thanks for the info as I hadn't planned on going into Nice (never been much of a fan) so will pop in for that before returning to Villefranche for a leisurely look around and a glass of wine... BTW, the windows at Tudeley are amazing - my DS goes to school near there so I've seen them a couple of times.


Oh that's good to know too!!! My fave so far was the Mexican Riviera cruise we did in August 2008 so this one has a lot to live up to...

And thanks for the disembarkation info - sounds very straightforward...

I love the windows at Tudeley, but the windows that started my love for the art of Mark Chagall are literally breathtaking. They are in the city of Mainz in Germany (near Frankfurt where I grew up) and they are all different shades of blue with some other colours as accents.

We are doing a Mexican Riviera cruise next October. I am not really sure what to expect. I originally booked this as I had to transfer the reservation that I was holding for the Eastbound Transatlantic to another cruise or I was going to lose my onboard credit. A lot of the people that cruised with us on the Western Caribbean last year booked this while we were on board, so it seemed like a good idea. Of course, since then most of those people have cancelled the cruise. Still, DH finally gets to cruise on the Wonder again (he prefers the Wonder to the Magic) and we have not been to California since 2006 even though we both love Southern California.

Corinna

 

[disney_princess_85]

I would've been scared of flying plates etc. too! Thankfully, you've not put me off- the possibility of rough seas is just one of those things you have to come to terms with if you choose to cruise I guess.

Looking forward to your last installment ().

 

[Disney_Sarah]

Wow loving your trip report....especially the piccies
x

 

[tennisfan]

Loved you report Corinna. Brilliant photos, thanks for sharing