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| Our Space in the Sun |
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| No Kids Allowed! |
Wednesday, March 13, 2013
Carnival Magic, Wednesday, March 13, 2013 Freeport
For the first time ever, we're staying on the ship on a port day. We've been to Freeport before, and in our opinion, there just isn't much to see/do here. I just had a massage which was WONDERFUL. It was the "drift away" special which included a back massage with hot stones, an exfoliation back scrub, and a facial. I added a 15-minute full body massage. I knew this, but the therapist said I was full of knots - she actually said they were hard as rocks in my neck and shoulders. The total was $139 - not bad for 70 minutes (for ship massage prices, that is). Of course, there is a sales pitch at the end for products. I didn't buy the massage oil, seaweed bath, etc. but I did buy what I wanted, which was the facial skin care.
We're hanging out on the Serenity Deck today. Usually it's impossible to get a good spot up here, but since almost everyone is off the ship, we have our pick today. The plan is to have a lazy, relaxing day.
Sunday, March 10, 2013
It's Gonna be Magic...Again!
March 10, 2013
After spending the night in Texas City, we stopped by a Wal-mart to pick up last minute snacks and drinks, and about 11:00 we were at the cruise terminal in Galveston. Tim dropped the luggage and me off and went to park the car at Galveston Park and Cruise. This is covered parking right across the street from the terminal. It's very handy to drop one person off to watch the luggage and the other can park and walk back across the street. A porter was waiting. He helped put our luggage tags on (which I thought was very nice) and wisked our bigger suitcases away. It started raining hard, so Tim was soaked when he got back...oops.
Inside the terminal, workers were barking to keep people moving, and we went right past the sign for diamond, platinum, and faster-to-the-fun (FTTF) passengers. I thought something wasn't quite right, so we walked back and, sure enough, there was a much shorter line for us. After security, we walked straight up to the check-in desk and then were sent to wait in a roped-off area for priority boarding. We weren't there 15 minutes when it was time to board. We were in our cabin by 11:40. Normally it's 1:30 before cabins are ready, but not having to lug around carry-ons was great. I actually thought since we were a little later than I wanted to be that there wouldn't be a wait at all to board. We really enjoyed being able to go straight through the line for food and having a window seat available. We can definitely get used to the priority boarding!
We went to the spa to pick up our wristbands, and after we told them we had already been on the Magic before, they didn't make us do the whole spa tour thing (yay!) The wrist bands are exactly the same as last time, so we could have actually brought ours from home. So ready to enjoy the spa!
I had read about the "secret deck" all the way forward on deck 9, so we went exploring and found it. The weather wasn't good - cold and very windy - so we didn't stay for now.
Tuesday, March 12, 2013
Key West
After a breakfast of omelets in the dining room, we joined the thousands of people inching down several flights of stairs to reach Deck 0 to disembark for Key West. Our first stop was the Key Lime Pie Factory for chocolate-dipped pie on a stick.
A former English teacher just can't visit Key West without touring Ernest Hemingway's home. The cost was $13 per person. If I had brought my TTU student ID, I could have saved $7 on my ticket...I almost put it in my travel purse, but decided not to.
The tour was pretty interesting, and the six-toed cats were adorable. They are well taken care of (spoiled.) A sign instructed visitors to not pick up the cats, but I did have to pet "Harry Truman."
We stopped by one of Hemingway's favorite places, Sloppy Joe's Bar. Tim had conch fritters (I took one bite since they are one of the foods to eat on Key West) and I had some chicken strips.
I would have missed it, but Tim made his, "You're missing something but I'm not going to tell you" sound. (Of course I had to look.) There, to my right, was a Coach outlet store! I found an awesome purse that was on sale and then 50% off of the sale. Tim said that was kind of like free for Coach. The man is learning his purses.
We each bought $65 flip flops. Sound ridiculous? Well, these are amazing. They have arch support, and they mold to your feet. The best part is that you don't have to clinch your toes to hold them on. The next best part is that they already feel like they are broken in. My Crocs were rubbing a spot on the top of my left foot, so I put the new flip flops on and FORGOT I WAS WEARING NEW SHOES. This is how comfortable they are. Tim is extremely picky about shoes, and he wanted some. So...we each have new $65 flip flops. Who would have thunk it. This place only has 3 locations. For life, you can mail your worn out or damaged shoes back and get another pair for 40% off. They threw in a heavy-duty, waterproof beach bag (in picture below). The salesman said he likes to fill his with ice, beer, and wine.
After spending the night in Texas City, we stopped by a Wal-mart to pick up last minute snacks and drinks, and about 11:00 we were at the cruise terminal in Galveston. Tim dropped the luggage and me off and went to park the car at Galveston Park and Cruise. This is covered parking right across the street from the terminal. It's very handy to drop one person off to watch the luggage and the other can park and walk back across the street. A porter was waiting. He helped put our luggage tags on (which I thought was very nice) and wisked our bigger suitcases away. It started raining hard, so Tim was soaked when he got back...oops.
Inside the terminal, workers were barking to keep people moving, and we went right past the sign for diamond, platinum, and faster-to-the-fun (FTTF) passengers. I thought something wasn't quite right, so we walked back and, sure enough, there was a much shorter line for us. After security, we walked straight up to the check-in desk and then were sent to wait in a roped-off area for priority boarding. We weren't there 15 minutes when it was time to board. We were in our cabin by 11:40. Normally it's 1:30 before cabins are ready, but not having to lug around carry-ons was great. I actually thought since we were a little later than I wanted to be that there wouldn't be a wait at all to board. We really enjoyed being able to go straight through the line for food and having a window seat available. We can definitely get used to the priority boarding!
We went to the spa to pick up our wristbands, and after we told them we had already been on the Magic before, they didn't make us do the whole spa tour thing (yay!) The wrist bands are exactly the same as last time, so we could have actually brought ours from home. So ready to enjoy the spa!
I had read about the "secret deck" all the way forward on deck 9, so we went exploring and found it. The weather wasn't good - cold and very windy - so we didn't stay for now.
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| Beautiful Spa Room |
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| The "secret deck" on deck 9 |
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| Our traditional first meal onboard. Awesome burgers! |
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| Elevator to the Cloud 9 Spa-very close to our cabin |
Key West
After a breakfast of omelets in the dining room, we joined the thousands of people inching down several flights of stairs to reach Deck 0 to disembark for Key West. Our first stop was the Key Lime Pie Factory for chocolate-dipped pie on a stick.
A former English teacher just can't visit Key West without touring Ernest Hemingway's home. The cost was $13 per person. If I had brought my TTU student ID, I could have saved $7 on my ticket...I almost put it in my travel purse, but decided not to.
The tour was pretty interesting, and the six-toed cats were adorable. They are well taken care of (spoiled.) A sign instructed visitors to not pick up the cats, but I did have to pet "Harry Truman."
We stopped by one of Hemingway's favorite places, Sloppy Joe's Bar. Tim had conch fritters (I took one bite since they are one of the foods to eat on Key West) and I had some chicken strips.
I would have missed it, but Tim made his, "You're missing something but I'm not going to tell you" sound. (Of course I had to look.) There, to my right, was a Coach outlet store! I found an awesome purse that was on sale and then 50% off of the sale. Tim said that was kind of like free for Coach. The man is learning his purses.
We each bought $65 flip flops. Sound ridiculous? Well, these are amazing. They have arch support, and they mold to your feet. The best part is that you don't have to clinch your toes to hold them on. The next best part is that they already feel like they are broken in. My Crocs were rubbing a spot on the top of my left foot, so I put the new flip flops on and FORGOT I WAS WEARING NEW SHOES. This is how comfortable they are. Tim is extremely picky about shoes, and he wanted some. So...we each have new $65 flip flops. Who would have thunk it. This place only has 3 locations. For life, you can mail your worn out or damaged shoes back and get another pair for 40% off. They threw in a heavy-duty, waterproof beach bag (in picture below). The salesman said he likes to fill his with ice, beer, and wine.
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| Conch Fritters |
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| Chocolate-Dipped Key Lime Pie on a Stick
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| Bunny Rabbit(?) |
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