Howell, Michigan: Holiday Inn Express & Suites, Breweries

 March 2022, 1 night, Friday-Saturday, king whirlpool suite 322?

Reservations, platinum perks, check-in

I do not remember our guestroom number for sure, and I do not have a bill to check it because we used points for this stay. We made the reservation online the day before our stay using only 17,600 points. I previously stayed in this hotel 10 years ago in January 2012. 

Before we arrived, I noticed on the IHG app that our room had been upgraded to a whirlpool suite. The agent also informed me of this during check-in. She provided efficient and professional assistance.

Howell, Michigan Holiday Inn Express whirlpool fireplace suite

King whirlpool suite

This spacious guestroom is located on the top floor next to the elevator. We did not hear any noise from the elevators during our stay. There is a large window in the bedroom and in the living room. Both windows could be opened a few inches, and they both faced toward Tanger Outlet Mall and the expressway.

Howell, Michigan Holiday Inn Express whirlpool fireplace suite

Orlando, Florida: Staybridge Suites Orlando Airport South

February 2022, weekday (Wednesday), 1-night

I am confused about why this hotel is called "airport south" because it is not south of the airport. The only hotel I know of that is south of the airport is a newer SpringHill Suites that does not provide shuttle service. 

Arrival, check-in, platinum perks

It was before noon when we called for the shuttle after returning our rental car. The driver happened to be at the airport dropping someone off, so he arrived very quickly. When we got to the hotel, the front desk agent said the room type I had requested (top floor, corner, quiet area, like usual) was not ready yet, and that he could give us a room on the second floor, if we wanted. It sounded like he had a specific room picked out for us on the top floor, because he stated my preferences and said the current guest had not checked out yet. We decided to wait for the corner top floor guestroom. When I returned to the front desk to request the wifi password less than an hour later, the same employee told us our room was ready. I was surprised and impressed (until we go to the room). I received the standard platinum 500 bonus points.

View from suite 317 Staybridge Suites Orlando Airport South

King one bedroom [hearing impaired] suite #317

When we arrived at the guestroom, we saw that it was not a corner suite. It looked like a standard one bedroom suite, other than it was a room for the hearing impaired. There was a doorbell on the outside of the guestroom, and lights flashed inside when the button was pressed. I assume this guestroom had been available when we arrived, and that the agent decided to just give us this room instead of having us wait longer. The air smelled stagnant, as though there had not been anyone in the guestroom recently. Although I have high exceptions, I also dislike complaining/making a fuss, so we stayed in the room.

Suite 317 in Staybridge Suites Orlando Airport South
Floor debris on kitchen floor in photo below

The guestroom was comfortable, and we did not have any trouble with noise. The view overlooks the parking lot. The bedding looked clean; however, the floors needed a bit of cleaning, especially the kitchen floor.  

Bedroom and floor diagram in suite 317
Staybridge Suites Orlando Airport South

Indialantic, Florida: DoubleTree Suites by Hilton Melbourne Beach Oceanfront

 February 2022, weekdays, 3-nights

Sunrise from our bedroom balcony DoubleTree Melbourne Beach suite 913

We had an amazing stay at this hotel booked totally with points. The service was great, the guestroom was comfortable, and the food was amazing. The hotel is located between the Atlantic Ocean and intercostal waterway. We enjoyed ocean sunrises from our bedroom balcony, and sunsets over the waterway from the table in the living room.

Sunset from living room area in DoubleTree Melbourne Beach suite 913

Arrival, check-in, diamond perks

We arrived quite early before check-in time, and opted to wait for a top floor guestroom. We walked on the beach, and settled in at the pool area, expecting to wait a few hours for our room. We were surprised when we received a text before noon telling us our room was ready. I received two bottles of water, and $30 per day food and beverage credit. There are only three types of guestrooms at this property, unless they have hidden rooms, so there was no opportunity for an upgrade.

View out the front of suite 913 DoubleTree Melbourne Beach

King guestroom 913

This room is set up almost exactly like an Embassy Suites. The entrance door opened into a spacious room with a small table and 2 chairs, and a sofa with left arm facing chaise. A flatscreen TV, small fridge, microwave, and beverage items (coffee/ice bucket) were on the large countertop/armoire across from the sofa. I do not have pictures of this area; the photos on the hotel website match this guestroom.

Shower in suite 913 DoubleTree Melbourne Beach

The bathroom was located between the living room and the bedroom. The large vanity was along the hallway area on the right, and the shower and toilet room were on the left. Several good quality towels and washcloths were provided, along with bath amenities. There was a door that could be closed to the bathroom, and one for the bedroom.

Carnival Magic 8 Day Eastern Caribbean Ports of Call: St. Maarten, St. Kitts, San Juan, Grand Turk

February 2022

Some of the ports on our cruise itinerary had paused cruise ship visitors before our cruise, so we were not 100% sure if any of our port stops would be changed. Locations were starting to reopen right when we left on our cruise, and Carnival Magic ended up stopping at all the original ports.

St. Maarten from Carnival Magic spa cabin 12038

St. Maarten 9:00 AM - 6:00 PM

We love this island! The people are great, and the beach within walking distance is beautiful. You can take a water taxi ride to the beach area for $7 roundtrip, if you prefer. We wanted to walk through the shops first, so we did that, and then continued out of the cruise terminal, then down the sidewalk to the beach, which is an easy walk of about 1 mile, one-way. 

Beach in St. Maarten in front of Kalua Bar & Restaurant

We rented our chairs from a friendly guy with chairs in front of Kalua Beach Bar & Restaurant. We paid $15 for 2 chairs, and an umbrella right by the water. You could also rent chairs that came with rum punch (I do not know if it was unlimited, as we did not purchase that). The beach and water in this area is beautiful! When you walk farther down the beach, toward the shopping pier and downtown shops, the sand becomes more like the beach near the cruise port in Grand Turk with crushed shells. It is still a nice beach; the sand is just not as soft as it was where we were seated. You can enlarge any photo in this post by clicking on it.

Above: some of the crushed shells on the beach near the west end
Below: looking east from in front of our seat in front of Kalua

With the chairs we rented, we were also allowed to use the bathroom in the bar, and the wifi code. The wifi signal was not strong enough to use by the water. There are benches along the sidewalk by the bar, so we used it there before we left for the day. A bucket of 5 beers with ice from Kalua cost $12, and the guys renting chairs were eager to please. 

View while on our walk back to the cruise port in St. Maarten

We stopped at Amsterdam Cheese & Liquor Store on our way back to the ship for complimentary tastings. This store is just outside the cruise terminal, so it is not far to carry purchases back. There is a public restroom outside at this location. Everyone on this island is extremely friendly, and the prices are fair. Payment was not expected to use any of the restrooms. When we politely declined sales by people on the beach and when leaving the cruise terminal, we were not resolicited.

Two of the ships docked in St. Kitts February 2022

Photos and Activity Schedules from Carnival Magic Cruise: 8-day Exotic Eastern Caribbean from Port Canaveral

February 2022

The photos and activity schedules in this post go along with the previous cruise post.

Additional food and beverage photos 

Above: Breakfast Board (breakfast)
Below: Eggs Benedict with Salmon & side of hash browns (Sea Day brunch)

Above: Signature tower tuna and salmon, side of cheese grits (Sea Day brunch)
Below: Prime rib dinner, ordered medium, second elegant evening (dining room)

Above: Turkey dinner in dining room
Below: Ceviche appetizer in dining room (dinner)

Above: Lobster bisque in steakhouse - delicious!
Below: Australian wagyu in steakhouse (the one cold entree)

Above: Risotto appetizer in steakhouse
Below: Cheese plate in steakhouse 

Although the steakhouse said our reservation had been cancelled,
we each received a confirmed reservation in the cabin

Misc. photos

Above: Main pool on Carnival Magic
Below: spa tepidarium and aroma steam room against back wall 

Carnival Magic Cruise: 8-day Exotic Eastern Caribbean from Port Canaveral

February 2022

Carnival Magic in Grand Turk February 18, 2022.

We went on a 7-day western Caribbean cruise on Carnival Magic from this cruise port in 2018. You can find additional info about the Magic in that post, and more photos in the 2018 Carnival Magic Facebook album. 

Booking and pre-cruise

This is the first cruise we have been on that we booked after the pandemic started. We had two cruises that cancelled, and Carnival was giving on board credits for rebooking a cancelled cruise. I was not initially interested in booking a replacement cruise, as we still had two B2B cruises in November and December 2021 that did not cancel. My husband talked me into it because he could not give up the $600 on board credit! We did let the first cancellation, of the four cruises we had booked prior to COVID-19, go by the wayside when that one cancelled. I was also not excited about this cruise because it was replacing our trip on the newly upgraded Radiance (which we did not get to go on), and we had already been on the Magic a few years ago. The itinerary was a plus though, as it was pretty much the same as the one on the cancelled Radiance cruise.

Many folks in the Facebook group for this sailing said they received wonderful upgrade offers for minimal cost, although we did not receive any offers. Online check-in for diamond and platinum guests opened up 16 days before the cruise, and boarding zones went quickly. We checked in before 8:00 AM, and received boarding zone A03.

View of Port Canaveral from Carnival Magic spa cabin 12038.

Arrival and check-in at Port Canaveral

Our arrival appointment was for 10:00 - 10:30 AM. We arrived about five minutes after 10:00, and the terminal area was quite full. It only took us a few minutes to complete check-in, and then we were directed to the general waiting area. It appeared that there was a VIP waiting area in this terminal that became full right before we completed check-in. An agent walked behind the person completing our last check-in step right before we finished, and told everyone, "No more diamond and platinum." When the boarding process started, guests were called in the following order: guests with suites, diamond guests, and then zone A01. We did not see anyone move toward the boarding area until zone A01 was called. The agent had told us all to board when zone A01 was called (our son had boarding zone A01). We were on board around 11:00 AM. 

Departing Port Canaveral; view from Carnival Magic spa cabin 12038.

Spa balcony cabin 12038

Our son's room steward on deck 6 was just finishing his cabin after we boarded, although our cabin was not ready until after 12:30 PM. 

Carnival Magic spa cabin 12038.

This is a typical spa balcony cabin; however, there are a couple of things worth noting. Deck 12 is the first floor under serenity deck, and there is no roof over the balconies on this floor. I suppose this is nice if you want lots of sun, and the view is better without the roof. However, without a roof, there is no shade, and you cannot sit outside when it is raining. If the balcony door is open when it rains, the floor and foot of the bed will get wet. It rained at least three different times (for only a short period) during our cruise. 

This cabin is not in a quiet area like we expected for a spa floor. We could hear noise from lido deck when on the balcony, or if the balcony door was open, and the overall noise in this room seemed much noisier than we usually experience. We could hear our neighbor's phone ring, commotion inside their rooms, and one day they blared their music on the outside balcony when apparently everyone was inside the cabin (we could not hear any voices). The music in the video above is much quieter than the volume had been right before I started recording.

Dining room breakfast: Corned Beef Hash above,
Masala Dosa below.

Food and beverages

Again, check out my previous blog posts for more details about dining options. Following are a few things that were new on the Magic since 2018, or that I did not write about before.

Breakfast

• Dining room breakfast is still my favorite meal! Corned Beef Hash and Egg was different, and I tried a new item; Masala Dosa. Although Masala Dosa was flavorful, mine did not look anything like the photo posted on John Heald's page. The photo John posted looks more appetizing than what I received (my photo above).

• Sea Day Brunch was extremely packed every morning, and the check-in app was not working correctly two of the days. The salad tower continues to come out differently every time, and the bagels and tomato portion are not included unless you request it. Pancetta Scrambled had good flavor, except I could only eat a small portion of it because it was extremely salty.

Pancetta Scrambled at Sea Day Brunch on Carnival Magic.

One negative about the breakfast foods on this ship, is that the eggs were always undercooked unless they were scrambled. Although I do not like overcooked eggs, I do not like the whites runny either. The Broken Egg Sandwich ran out while eating, as the inside was not cooked. Egg whites were runny in all of the following dishes: Breakfast Board (supposed to be soft boiled), eggs-over-easy, Breakfast Bowl, and Eggs Benedict (at breakfast and brunch).

Lunch

• Guys Pig and Anchor was only open on sea days, and on the day we boarded. The least busy time was right after we boarded, and when we went through a patch of rain one afternoon.
• Cucina del Capitano was open almost every day at noon (no charge for lunch).
• Guys' Burger Joint, BlueIguana Cantina, Carnival Deli, Seafood Shack (extra charge), Pizzeria, and Lido buffet were open every day.
• Sushi (extra charge) and Light Lunch in Ocean Plaza were not open every day. You can check location hours for each day in the app, if you want to plan your meals. I tried to visit Ocean Plaza for lunch the day we were in St. Kitts, and neither location was open.  
• Tandoor, which I loved in 2018, is no longer on this ship.

Complimentary house wine in steakhouse first evening.