Carnival Magic Review August 5-13, 2017

Now that I'm home and the laundry is all done, I wanted to share our fantastic first experience with Carnival. We were travelling as a group of 8, my mom & dad, sister, my hubby and our three kids.

Embarkation Day

We were already in Florida 6 days ahead of the cruise for Disney. We had a check in time of 11:30am and arrived at the cruise terminal at about 11:15. By the time our driver was allowed into the drop-off bay, it was about 11:40. We hopped out, dropped our luggage with the porter that was there to greet us and made our way into the terminal. We went through security, got checked in and had our sign and sail cards all before noon and we were on the boat shortly after 12. It was very well organized and a very smooth process.

We all had a piece of carry-on luggage, so it made navigating the ship a bit difficult. We decided to head to Deck 10 (Lido) and check out the buffet, Guy's, Tandoor and Mongolian Wok, as well as view the other things on Deck 10 (the pool, the Blue Iguana Bar and Red Frog's Rum Bar). A few of us chose to eat in the buffet, while the rest of us had Tandoor and Guy's Burgers. The report on the buffet was that it was good. Hubby and I had Tandoor (excellent!) and the kids had Guy's (also fantastic!).

The rooms were ready at about 1:30. I prefer to get the unpacking done right away, so that I can enjoy sail away knowing everything is unpacked. During this time, the kids went to explore other areas of the ship.

Once the unpacking was done, it was time for another drink and the muster drill. The muster drill was well run, held inside and lasted about 30 min.

Sail away was great - always a fun time for all.

We had early dining in Northern Lights. We were so pleased with Thomas III and Sherwin. They were fantastic, knew what drinks we liked and all our names by night two. I'll do more of a review on this later, along with menu pictures.

Day 1 - Sea Day

We spent a lot of the day exploring the ship, having drinks at various bars (thanks to Cheers!), checking out Waterworks, the mini-putt, ropes course, etc.

More to come once I can get some cooperation from Photobucket...

I was also on this cruise with you! Haven't started my review yet. I'm having cruise withdrawals [emoji23]

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I was also on this cruise with you! Haven't started my review yet. I'm having cruise withdrawals [emoji23]

Same here...cruise, food and drink withdrawals. :')

We enjoyed the Magic. Looking foward to your thoughts.

Same here...cruise, food and drink withdrawals. :')

I can't wait for my next one. 10 day Europe cruise on the Carnival Horizon

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Thanks for the report.

Did you get a plan from photobucket?

Did you get a plan from photobucket?

I've signed up for the free plan and hope to learn to use it tonight. :)

We're 50 days out from our cruise on the magic. Can't wait to be onboard. Thanks for the review!

Following. Looking forward to your review as we leave on Magic in less then a month!:D

Looking forward to your review - we leave in 30 days on the Magic!

Thanks for doing a review, waiting for more....

Northern Lights Dining Room

As mentioned previously we had the early sitting at 6pm. We have a younger family and this worked out well for us. The American Table menu was good, we always found something to eat and for the most part, each night we really enjoyed our meals. The only thing I found to be lacking was vegetables with meals. If you like veggies, my suggestion is to order extra. Lobster was available on the first formal night. I will post some menu pictures later.

Tandoor

I ended up grabbing lunch here for a few days, as did our youngest child. The food was delicious, always very hot and it was never very busy! A hidden gem on the Magic.

Guy's Burgers

This was a favourite among our family. The burgers and fries are fantastic and the topping bar is great. The lines can get long, but more relatively quickly.

Guy's Pig and Anchor

This seems to be another hidden gem. The lines are never very long and they move quickly. The pulled pork, chicken, beef and sides are all good. The only downfall is the hours it's open (usually 12-2:30).

Blue Iguana

This was great too. I believe I tried the breakfast burrito, tacos and taco salad. I didn't get a regular burrito, but all the others were good. The topping bar also has a nice selection.

Mongolian Wok

My hubby is the only one that tried it out...and for him to get his food took close to 35 min. I think the wait time turned everyone else off of it. Hubby said it was good, but not worth the wait.

Lido Buffet

The only meal I ate in Lido was breakfast. Breakfast was good, but very repetitive. As in, breakfast was the exact same offering daily. I don't recall this being the case on previous cruises with Princess. I found that boring. I did peruse the buffet at lunch and in the evening. The evening meal seemed to be similar to the MDR, but I always chose to eat at one of the specialty places.

Pizzeria Del Capitano

The pizza was ok, usually fairly quick...except at 2am when you've had too much to drink with 100 other people trying to scrounge for food. ;)

Cucina Del Capitano

This offers a pasta buffet at lunch that is included. Dinner is $15 per person. Sadly I didn't have enough time to try it out.

Red Frog Pub

We really enjoy this place and spent a lot of time here (the kids too playing shuffle board). The drinks were great and Crystal, one of the bartenders, was fantastic. Their red frog amber ale is delicious. As is the Blue Bahama. We did order wingd and conch fritters one night and both were good.

I'm pretty sure I'm going to the Magic for Spring Break 2019 with my niece, so I appreciate the review! :D

I've signed up for the free plan and hope to learn to use it tonight. :)

Photobucket is changing it's terms to not allow 3rd party hosting unless you purchase one of the premium plans. I used Photobucket extensively in the past but since that change, I've started using Flickr. Works just as well and is still free.

Great start to your review!

Photobucket is changing it's terms to not allow 3rd party hosting unless you purchase one of the premium plans. I used Photobucket extensively in the past but since that change, I've started using Flickr. Works just as well and is still free.

 

Great start to your review!

Thanks for the tip - maybe I'll try Flickr instead! I know the pictures is really what people want to see!

Can't wait for Tandoor! I love Indian food, but because so many seem to fear it, it's always my go-to option for lunch.

Thanks for doing the review. Will be on Magic in November. Thanks for mentioning about the Tandoor, I also love Indian food and will hit it up the first day, probably other times as well :D

Thanks for your review. Hope you get the photo issue resolved. We will be on the Magic next April for a B2B. Can't wait.

My family and I were on this cruise with you. I am looking forward to the rest of your review so that I can relive the cruise through someone else's eyes. I am sad that I missed Tandoor Indian food. Maybe next time. ;)

Thanks for the review and information. We board the Magic next Saturday, along with 72 family members and friends. We had a friend on the same cruise as you, and she loved it also. Nothing but positive information from her family. I love the Tandoor and Blue Iguana, and was so happy to find the Tandoor was on the Magic!!! This will be my lunch stop every day. Since we sailed on the Breeze and had Fat Jimmy's BBQ, a few of us can't wait to try the Pig and Anchor and do a comparison. I've tried to get most people prepared for the cruise by noting the food options onboard. I think most have heard about Guy's so much from other people, they won't walk around the Lido first and explore the other food options.

We always have a great time onboard, and this is our largest group so far, by threefold. It was a task trying to coordinate this cruise, but once onboard, hopefully, everyone will ease into the cruising life, and explore, have fun, or relax. Now only thing we have to do is get through some of their heads is that it'll be impossible for all of us to try to take a tour together!!!!

How was the Serenity Deck?

Thanks agsin.

Now that I'm home and the laundry is all done, I wanted to share our fantastic first experience with Carnival. We were travelling as a group of 8, my mom & dad, sister, my hubby and our three kids.

 

Embarkation Day

We were already in Florida 6 days ahead of the cruise for Disney. We had a check in time of 11:30am and arrived at the cruise terminal at about 11:15. By the time our driver was allowed into the drop-off bay, it was about 11:40. We hopped out, dropped our luggage with the porter that was there to greet us and made our way into the terminal. We went through security, got checked in and had our sign and sail cards all before noon and we were on the boat shortly after 12. It was very well organized and a very smooth process.

 

We all had a piece of carry-on luggage, so it made navigating the ship a bit difficult. We decided to head to Deck 10 (Lido) and check out the buffet, Guy's, Tandoor and Mongolian Wok, as well as view the other things on Deck 10 (the pool, the Blue Iguana Bar and Red Frog's Rum Bar). A few of us chose to eat in the buffet, while the rest of us had Tandoor and Guy's Burgers. The report on the buffet was that it was good. Hubby and I had Tandoor (excellent!) and the kids had Guy's (also fantastic!).

 

The rooms were ready at about 1:30. I prefer to get the unpacking done right away, so that I can enjoy sail away knowing everything is unpacked. During this time, the kids went to explore other areas of the ship.

 

Once the unpacking was done, it was time for another drink and the muster drill. The muster drill was well run, held inside and lasted about 30 min.

 

Sail away was great - always a fun time for all.

 

We had early dining in Northern Lights. We were so pleased with Thomas III and Sherwin. They were fantastic, knew what drinks we liked and all our names by night two. I'll do more of a review on this later, along with menu pictures.

 

Day 1 - Sea Day

We spent a lot of the day exploring the ship, having drinks at various bars (thanks to Cheers!), checking out Waterworks, the mini-putt, ropes course, etc.

 

More to come once I can get some cooperation from Photobucket...

259 days to go!! My 1st balcony!!!:D

I've signed up for the free plan and hope to learn to use it tonight. :)

Others find the Cruise Critic Forum mobile app as easy to upload. Some use Flickr. Good luck and looking forward to more of your posts!

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Great review so far! We board tomorrow and are super excited!

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Love Tandoor too!