Carnival Magic Reviews

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So, my first time writing a review, so here I go... I saw all the negative reviews posted here, so let me clear some things up. 1st - it is crowed, 3500+ people, so there will be lines everywhere! Shouldn't complain about it, there just a lot of people. 2ND - The food was great, didn't have one bad thing! They do a great job! So the red frog pub is the place to be, there is a party there every night! The red frog beer was soooo good!! Have to try it! We didn't hit the steak house, never that hungry to sit down for a big steak dinner. The burritos are awesome!! The staff was great! Security staff was a little rude, but whatever. So lets talk about excursions. Key West - Not a lot to do here, so we just walked around duval street, shopped and drank. Freeport - Take the $10 cab ride to the Port Lucaya Marketplace. The cab driver said they would charge $30 per person for the beach and pool access, we didn't pay for anything, just walk through the hotel and hit the beach. No questions asked. we finished up by hitting the marketplace across the street. 2 beers for $5, and fried Conch fritters for 1 dollar!! Awesome! Nassau - Rained most of the day here. So we walked to the British Colonial Hilton, walked in the front and straight to the beach, didn't pay anything. Close to the cruise terminal, the beers and food was really pricey! $7.30 for one beer! But we still had a great time! We then walked to sharky's and stayed there before the cruise left! Rum Runners flask are the best!!! Worked like a charm for everyone i spoke to! Have fun!

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As I sat down to look at my cruise bill after returning from our vacation to the Caribbean, I noticed some problems with my bill. I wish now that I had taken the time to examine it after it was delivered to our outside mail holder before we left the ship. I noticed my husband was charged for 2 drinks in the Hat Trick Bar casino at 4:48 PM and again at 4:50 PM I asked him about these charges and he said that no one came by that often, much less serving him that quickly. If the tickets were just turned in at this time, they should have been recorded as he was served. I don't know if he was actually given the drinks that he paid for! Anyway, just be aware, and keep all your receipts!! The cruise, for the most part, was enjoyable. We went up to the Serenity Deck for adults only to look around and lounge for awhile. I was surprised to see the water slide right next to this area. So, you can imagine the serenity that we had while there. Our room was on deck six at the front of the ship. I was concerned that it might be too rough, but since we had no stormy weather, I cannot say if it would be rough or not. It is noisy when the ship is docking. The view out the window is said to be obstructive, but we had no trouble seeing the water and had the same view that is shown on the ship's channel to view the water ahead of the ship. There is a walkway that is accessible from doors at each end of the hallway and benches to sit on if you would like to go outside. It was quite peaceful with only a few people wandering by. We had early dining and I thought the food was good, but nothing extraordinary. I feel the menu has been changed and no long serve escargot as an appetizer. Portions are adequate and there is one menu that remains the same each day. I especially enjoyed the warm chocolate cake with vanilla ice cream for dessert. I was disappointed in the buffet. It was hard to get drinks during busy times, because you had to stand in line to get ice and then go to another machine and stand in line to get tea, water, or lemonade. I would liked to have been able to go and just get a glass that was already poured and waiting. Too many people to deal with just for a glass of tea. I enjoyed eating in the main dining room much better. Our wait staff wss very attentive and it was a relaxing time. The Italian restaurant was too noisy when we were eating there. Above it is a basketball court, or some kind of sports court and it was quite noisy and not relaxing.

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We drove the six hour trip to Galveston the Saturday before the ship was to leave. Spent the night at Gaido's Seaside Inn, it is a nice family run hotel with a restaurant attached. We left the car in their parking lot and taxied over to the ship, there were 14 people cruising from there so they called two van type cabs and we shared the fair. Embarkation did not take long, porters took our luggage at the sidewalk and we made it past security, even with a cooler that was maybe a little bigger than the 12 inches they would have liked. Tip: tell them you are keeping your meds in it, it ended the conversation about the cooler quickly. First thing we do is explore the ship. Went to the theater, found the dinner seating, walked around the promenade deck and looked at the casino, so we could see what machines we wanted to play once it opened. We went to the Lido deck for some lunch, was a disaster. Nobody could get into their cabins yet, so, guess where everyone is. Walked all over with our plates of food, finally someone saw us and got up and gave us a seat. At 1:30 we were able to get to our cabin. It was beautiful, love the balcony. The only hiccup for the trip was the abandon ship drill. Scheduled to start at 3:30, it was 4:00 before any announcement was made. We were sitting at our station with a lot of other people, wondering if we were in the right place. Then it took probably another half hour to get every else gathered up and to the right places. I was just happy we did not have to wear life jackets this whole time. After that it was a wonderful cruise. The Magic is clean and bright with several entertainment venues. There is something for everyone. We went to several shows. There is a comedy club, with 4 different acts nightly. A main theater where the dancers performed. A casino, which we most nights donated to. The food was excellent. In the dining room, Sara and her staff were hardworking getting food out to the tables. I don't see how they keep up with everything, remembering everyone's name. They always knew just when to bring the next plate out. The only bad experience was the Italian restaurant at lunch. It is only a pasta bar at lunch, didn't really care for it, and also didn't like the basketball game going on overhead. It was noisy and the ceiling tiles shook. We visited Montego Bay, Jamaica, Georgetown, Grand Cayman and Cozumel, Mexico. Excursions tours we took were excellent. We got to see a lot of the places we went to, and do some shopping. The high point was the turtle farm in Grand Cayman. We came back to the ship early each day so we could have some quiet time without the crowds. Debarkation we had number 29, so it was a wait to be called. However, because we chose to wait in the Showtime Theater, which is closest to the gangway, they would come in and call for people to leave from there before they announced it over the ship's intercom. Finding our bags and getting thru customs went about as expected, a little hassle, but no big deal. Now we are back home, washing clothes, getting back to work and planning for the next one.

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We sailed on April 29, 2012 and Magic turned one year old on May 1st. Carnival had a very nice celebration. The night before our cruise we stayed at Gaido's Seaside Inn in Galveston. It was a nice, clean room with a wonderful staff. Many of our fellow cruisers were also guests at Gaido's, so we got to meet some people early. Getting onboard was easier than ever. We parked in Lot B, first dropped off the luggage, parked the car, went through embarkation and was on the ship in less than an hour. We could have left our car for free at Gaido's, but we opted not to. Our stateroom was ready by 1:00 p.m. We had an 8-E balcony on the 9th deck, cabin 9271. It was a prime location and the cabin was very roomy. The balcony was small, but it held two chairs and a small table and was perfect for the two of us. Our room steward, Heru, was absolutely wonderful. He always remembered our names and kept our small cooler full of ice. About the cabin, I would recommend bringing: A powerstrip, a small oscillating fan (for white noise), your own pillow and your own hair dryer. Also bring a small collapsible ice chest. You can also bring two bottles of wine and 12 sodas - which we did. I also ordered a bottle of rum from Bon Voyage. We also brought a 2 quart plastic pitcher and a container of pink lemonade crystal light packets. We made all our own drinks. This may be too much, but I also brought two small limes, a knife, cutting board and a bottle of cherries - we had really good drinks! The cabin had 3 closets and lots and lots of storage space. The bed was very hard (I like a soft bed), and the pillows were too firm for me (I like down feather). Since this was my 11th or 12th cruise, I knew what to bring to keep me comfortable. I brought the extra drink-making ingredients because we had a party in our room for some fellow cruise critics and was able to give everyone a good drink (I also brought a roll of plastic cups). For the party, I ordered a cheese tray from Bon Voyage - it was really, really good. I absolutely loved our cabin. It was by the elevators, looked down on deck 5, had a smooth ride, and we could still hear the water and waves. The Magic is a beautiful ship - it is well laid out. We loved the Serenity area, the Northern Lights restaurant, the Steakhouse (surf and turf, extra yummy), the Red Frog pub, the buffet, room service - well, we loved everything! It was so nice making friends on Cruise Critic before we cruised, many of us felt like we already knew each other and it was really nice. DH and I always cruise alone - this cruise we did not feel alone - everywhere we went it seemed like we knew someone and that was totally awesome. The people we met all were wonderful and I hope that we have the opportunity to cruise together again. We had a Meet and Greet and 97 people signed up. Wonderful turnout. We went to several of the shows and the late night comedy club. We also watched Movies under the Stars - it was dreamy. We had perfect weather throughout the cruise. In Jamaica we went to Sunset Beach - this was our third time going there and it did not disappoint, it was a perfect day. We stayed on the ship in the Caymans - we have been there many times and I had hurt my foot so did not want to do a lot of walking. In Cozumel, we went shopping and drank some good tequilla and made it back on the ship in one piece(thankfully!) We loved Magic, the staff was incredible, the ship beautiful and the friends we made all warmed my heart and made our cruise so extra special. I cannot wait to cruise Magic again. Getting off the ship was just as easy. We were Group 20 and we were off the ship and in our car heading back to Dallas at 9:30 AM - home at 2:15 and back to reality. This was a perfect vacation.

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This was my fourth cruise (2 on Royal Caribbean, 1 on Princess), and my fiance's first. We chose a cove balcony. It was very private, very close to the water, and mostly protected from the sun. I could hear the water (and, on the day it rained, get splashed by larger waves). I would definitely get this type of room again. The first sea day we went to the Tides pool around 9:30 am. It was mostly deserted, and we had a hot tub to ourselves. I went back to the Tides pool several times (usually in the morning or around 3 pm), and there were always empty chairs. The Serenity area seemed to remain more full, but there were usually seats available on the deck overlooking the pool, and there were loungers available at the Beach pool at almost all times (unless there was some kind of contest/activity at the pool). We spent some time in one of the hot tubs on Deck 5 (wonderful views), and relaxed on loungers on Deck 5 forward. It was a little windy there, but usually no one else around. The water slides were disappointing. We went on both in a half-hour span (morning of first sea day - lines not long at all), and they both hurt! It was very rough where the different sections are joined together and I felt like I was being jabbed over and over. Did not go on those again. The ropes course was fun, and not the least bit scary - in actuality there's a floor just a deck below you. The miniature golf course was a lot of fun and a little challenging. I liked the food in the dining room MUCH better than what I was served on Sapphire Princess last year. For the most part it appeared well seasoned (although if you are from the Southern US, do not get the fried chicken). The buffet was mediocre, with long lines and inconvenient hours. I did enjoy the breakfast buffet (and discovered on the second-to-last-day that waffles are at the grill by the pool), the Mongolian Wok, and the lunch pasta bar. The lines for burgers/hot dogs were always incredibly long (and they weren't that good), but the mini burgers at the Oceanside BBQ on sea days were pretty good. French fries were small and crunchy - not my style. Pizza was sometimes available, sometimes not. I purchased desserts at the Ocean Plaza coffee bar and they were well worth the price. The candy store was also decently stocked. I did not go to any shows, but saw most of the comedians. The 9:45 adults-only-show seemed to fill up very fast (the first night we were there 25 minutes early and could not find a seat), but it was a lot easier to get a spot at the later shows. There was a wide variety of music in the evenings, including a piano bar (which I didn't like - he spent more time talking than playing), an acoustic guitarist, a duo who played slow songs in the main lobby, and various bands performing in Ocean Plaza. We danced all over the ship ;) The nightclub had a wide variety of theme nights that played good music - country, 80s, 50s/60s, disco, but the nightclub allows smoking and I couldn't stay in there very long before it made me feel sick. The stairwells near the casino also smelled like smoke from a floor away. We did Anytime Dining. There was a looong wait on the first formal night (do not get there at 7:30), but usually we were seated within 10 minutes. On the nights we ate a little later, the waitstaff knew they wouldn't need to put a table back in service quickly, so sometimes they'd leave the tables with empty glasses and dirty napkins - not a great view when you are eating. The buffet area was worse; they didn't seem to be cleaning the tables off very quickly. The fitness center was very nice, and there were employees available to answer any questions.

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