Magic Inaugural cruise

[Bassic]

Just in off the Magic Inaugural cruise, and it's probably the worst cruise I have experienced, for an array of reasons. Food was just OK, service was spotty, music was great, but all in all, nothing like what we expected. Breakdowns, port changes (that they knew about BEFORE they sailed away, I am convinced).

 

The good-

The ship is beautiful, with a more muted and less obnoxious theme than the Ecstasy and Conquest. Less garish colors assaulting you, more of a refined feel.

 

SOME of the staff were wonderful, and to them, I tip my hat- our room steward, who was named Reidy, was quite attentive, and a great guy.

 

Our dining room waitress was from Romania, and I can't for the life of me recall her name, (I think it starts with an A) but she was the best...we became friends with her, she is a single mom with a 13-year old daughter back home, on the boat until March. That's gotta be tough.

 

The guys in the Red Frog Pub were a lot of fun as well, and seemed to be having a good time together.

 

The hostess in the dining room was named Elizabeth, she was awesome. Saw her in other venues from time to time as well, very professional and friendly. She should be the maitre d'.

 

The entertainment was really good- the magic show was incredible, and they must have a million bucks invested in the stage. The sound in the Showroom was great as well. Downside is the size of the showroom- we only got to see two shows there, as the lines were almost always beyond capacity. Heard the comedian, Mutzie, was hilarious, but we never got in to see him, they were over-capacity in the back Spotlight Lounge as well.

 

The musicians were all really good, the solo acoustic guys are both accomplished (I should know, I am a musician as well), and the band Blood Power is always packing the house. The show band was tight and well-rehearsed as well.

 

The elevators are much faster than the ones on the Ecstasy or the Conquest, reducing wait times. This is a good thing on a ship this size. Despite there being some 3000+ pax onboard, it didn't feel crowded.

 

The bad-

Some of the passengers were quite rude. Of course, this is to be expected out of any group of people this size, but it seemed that there was some hostility, lack of decorum, and just plain bad manners on display. Most were great, but there were a few groups of bad seeds that seemed to pop up from time to time. Not making excuses for anyone, but there may have been cultural differences at work here, as they were definitely not American.

 

The area on 5-6 near the front elevators (and our room) smelled like raw sewage nearly constantly. I didn't notice it further away or up, but sometimes even the Atrium smelled like a$$. This is a big problem, as we did not pay all that money to shack up in a room next to a sewage treatment plant.

 

The layout of the ship is somewhat of a mixed bag- it kind of works by keeping groups of people apart by several decks, but the ship is 1003' long, so bring comfy shoes if you plan on exploring! Certain functions are held at opposite ends of the ship with times nearly overlapping, so choose carefully, and if your primary interest is seeing shows, be there early.

 

The Northern Lights maitre d' was a bit of an a$$, an opinion that was confirmed when one of his waiters downstairs and he got into a fight at dinner on the second night. Wish I would have gotten that on tape, it would have been all over YouTube by now.

 

The portions at dinner were tiny. The first night, we had one appetizer, one entree, and dessert, and we left hungry. This was rectified on subsequent nights by ordering two appetizers, two entrees, and a dessert. The portion size crept up as the cruise wore on, however. I think they were still in "Europe Mode", and not used to Texans' appetites.

 

The Ugly-

 

Carnival management knew prior to embarkation that they would substitute Progresso for Costa Maya. I think they even knew ahead of time that they were going to stick us there for two days as well. Despite this, the only compensation we got was a $25 OBC. That stinks (literally). Progresso is a slum, and not yet ready to be a cruise destination. The beards must have some deal made with the Mexican government. We weren't even told that we were being diverted until hours after we sailed.

 

We were given no choice whether to go ahead and cruise with the alternate destination, or to rebook for a later date. I know this was known in advance, because they had parts waiting to repair the broken thrusters that help the ship dock in Progresso, as well as dive teams. Another strategic omission by Carnival. They knew full well the ship had some major problems, on the Trans-Atlantic, they skipped Grand Turk in favor of a two-day layover in Freeport for the same reason.

 

From talking to some of the crew, there were a bunch of crew that were supposed to get off in Grand Turk and go home, being replaced by others. That didn't happen, and many were a little peeved by this, being stuck onboard for an unwanted extension of their tour.

 

I feel that Carnival should have at least given us a choice as to whether to accept the port substitution, or to have 'fessed up on the problems that this boat was having (major), and let us decide.

 

But all the poor Guest Services could do was point out that line in the carriage contract that Carnival reserves the right to substitute ports at their whimsy, and get screamed at by thousands of pissed off pax. I don't envy them, some of these people screaming and cursing were really coming unhinged. That said, I feel lied to by the Carnival corporation, and will likely never cruise with them again as a result.

 

Mediocre food, tired crew that are overworked, and multiple problems with the boat are only worth a $25 OBC? I don't think so!

 

Another incident was the loss of hot water for many cabins on the last two days of the cruise, for reasons unknown.

 

All of this taken together, as well as other points I have missed, resulted in a cruise that in no way resembled the cruise we were sold- the fabled "Inauguration Cruise". I know that new boats have little problems here and there, but this was a crew that had been aboard for quite a few months, and the mechanical problems should have been addressed prior to it being sent to Galveston as the "flagship" offering.

 

I know things happen, but there was precious little communication to the pax about the situation. Had there been more effort to inform us on Carnival's part, instead of obfuscating and twisting the truth to keep up the veneer, if not outright lying, I would have had a much different opinion of Carnival and the Magic. This was not the case, however, and I do not feel it fair of Carnival to treat its customers and crew this way. I believe I will be contacting Carnival directly about this cruise, as it was so far below par from what was presented.

 

Did I receive value? Yes, somewhat…but not what I paid for. I am not a complainer, and am a very easy-going guy. It is the betrayal of trust that I feel will keep me from cruising with Carnival again. I am most certainly not trying to get something for nothing, I wasn't raised that way. But I spent lots of money with Carnival over the years, and their lack of respect for their passengers (customers) and crew on this voyage tells me that it will be my last. I am very disappointed in Carnival now, previously a big fan, but no longer. It has become painfully apparent that they care more about the bottom line than the customers.

[shof515]

J

The bad-

Some of the passengers were quite rude. Of course, this is to be expected out of any group of people this size, but it seemed that there was some hostility, lack of decorum, and just plain bad manners on display. Most were great, but there were a few groups of bad seeds that seemed to pop up from time to time. Not making excuses for anyone, but there may have been cultural differences at work here, as they were definitely not American.

 

Your on a ship with 3,000+ people on board a vessel. What can you expect? Everyone where you go, weather it is the ball game or anything there will always be a few handful rudely people

[waiting4acruise]

Sorry about the change of ports. Unfortunatly Carnival has been known to lie about Ship mechanical issues in the past.

[sagj5052]

Just in off the Magic Inaugural cruise, and it's probably the worst cruise I have experienced, for an array of reasons. Food was just OK, service was spotty, music was great, but all in all, nothing like what we expected. Breakdowns, port changes (that they knew about BEFORE they sailed away, I am convinced).

 

The good-

The ship is beautiful, with a more muted and less obnoxious theme than the Ecstasy and Conquest. Less garish colors assaulting you, more of a refined feel.

 

SOME of the staff were wonderful, and to them, I tip my hat- our room steward, who was named Reidy, was quite attentive, and a great guy.

 

Our dining room waitress was from Romania, and I can't for the life of me recall her name, (I think it starts with an A) but she was the best...we became friends with her, she is a single mom with a 13-year old daughter back home, on the boat until March. That's gotta be tough.

 

The guys in the Red Frog Pub were a lot of fun as well, and seemed to be having a good time together.

 

The hostess in the dining room was named Elizabeth, she was awesome. Saw her in other venues from time to time as well, very professional and friendly. She should be the maitre d'.

 

The entertainment was really good- the magic show was incredible, and they must have a million bucks invested in the stage. The sound in the Showroom was great as well. Downside is the size of the showroom- we only got to see two shows there, as the lines were almost always beyond capacity. Heard the comedian, Mutzie, was hilarious, but we never got in to see him, they were over-capacity in the back Spotlight Lounge as well.

 

The musicians were all really good, the solo acoustic guys are both accomplished (I should know, I am a musician as well), and the band Blood Power is always packing the house. The show band was tight and well-rehearsed as well.

 

The elevators are much faster than the ones on the Ecstasy or the Conquest, reducing wait times. This is a good thing on a ship this size. Despite there being some 3000+ pax onboard, it didn't feel crowded.

 

The bad-

Some of the passengers were quite rude. Of course, this is to be expected out of any group of people this size, but it seemed that there was some hostility, lack of decorum, and just plain bad manners on display. Most were great, but there were a few groups of bad seeds that seemed to pop up from time to time. Not making excuses for anyone, but there may have been cultural differences at work here, as they were definitely not American.

 

The area on 5-6 near the front elevators (and our room) smelled like raw sewage nearly constantly. I didn't notice it further away or up, but sometimes even the Atrium smelled like a$$. This is a big problem, as we did not pay all that money to shack up in a room next to a sewage treatment plant.

 

The layout of the ship is somewhat of a mixed bag- it kind of works by keeping groups of people apart by several decks, but the ship is 1003' long, so bring comfy shoes if you plan on exploring! Certain functions are held at opposite ends of the ship with times nearly overlapping, so choose carefully, and if your primary interest is seeing shows, be there early.

 

The Northern Lights maitre d' was a bit of an a$$, an opinion that was confirmed when one of his waiters downstairs and he got into a fight at dinner on the second night. Wish I would have gotten that on tape, it would have been all over YouTube by now.

 

The portions at dinner were tiny. The first night, we had one appetizer, one entree, and dessert, and we left hungry. This was rectified on subsequent nights by ordering two appetizers, two entrees, and a dessert. The portion size crept up as the cruise wore on, however. I think they were still in "Europe Mode", and not used to Texans' appetites.

 

The Ugly-

 

Carnival management knew prior to embarkation that they would substitute Progresso for Costa Maya. I think they even knew ahead of time that they were going to stick us there for two days as well. Despite this, the only compensation we got was a $25 OBC. That stinks (literally). Progresso is a slum, and not yet ready to be a cruise destination. The beards must have some deal made with the Mexican government. We weren't even told that we were being diverted until hours after we sailed.

 

We were given no choice whether to go ahead and cruise with the alternate destination, or to rebook for a later date. I know this was known in advance, because they had parts waiting to repair the broken thrusters that help the ship dock in Progresso, as well as dive teams. Another strategic omission by Carnival. They knew full well the ship had some major problems, on the Trans-Atlantic, they skipped Grand Turk in favor of a two-day layover in Freeport for the same reason.

 

From talking to some of the crew, there were a bunch of crew that were supposed to get off in Grand Turk and go home, being replaced by others. That didn't happen, and many were a little peeved by this, being stuck onboard for an unwanted extension of their tour.

 

I feel that Carnival should have at least given us a choice as to whether to accept the port substitution, or to have 'fessed up on the problems that this boat was having (major), and let us decide.

 

But all the poor Guest Services could do was point out that line in the carriage contract that Carnival reserves the right to substitute ports at their whimsy, and get screamed at by thousands of pissed off pax. I don't envy them, some of these people screaming and cursing were really coming unhinged. That said, I feel lied to by the Carnival corporation, and will likely never cruise with them again as a result.

 

Mediocre food, tired crew that are overworked, and multiple problems with the boat are only worth a $25 OBC? I don't think so!

 

Another incident was the loss of hot water for many cabins on the last two days of the cruise, for reasons unknown.

 

All of this taken together, as well as other points I have missed, resulted in a cruise that in no way resembled the cruise we were sold- the fabled "Inauguration Cruise". I know that new boats have little problems here and there, but this was a crew that had been aboard for quite a few months, and the mechanical problems should have been addressed prior to it being sent to Galveston as the "flagship" offering.

 

I know things happen, but there was precious little communication to the pax about the situation. Had there been more effort to inform us on Carnival's part, instead of obfuscating and twisting the truth to keep up the veneer, if not outright lying, I would have had a much different opinion of Carnival and the Magic. This was not the case, however, and I do not feel it fair of Carnival to treat its customers and crew this way. I believe I will be contacting Carnival directly about this cruise, as it was so far below par from what was presented.

 

Did I receive value? Yes, somewhat…but not what I paid for. I am not a complainer, and am a very easy-going guy. It is the betrayal of trust that I feel will keep me from cruising with Carnival again. I am most certainly not trying to get something for nothing, I wasn't raised that way. But I spent lots of money with Carnival over the years, and their lack of respect for their passengers (customers) and crew on this voyage tells me that it will be my last. I am very disappointed in Carnival now, previously a big fan, but no longer. It has become painfully apparent that they care more about the bottom line than the customers.

Thank you well said I too feel we were molested as passengers and not told the truth We should have been given the choice to sail or not Oh yes a woman that was with us was harassed and accosted by a drunk young man also and not a lot was done about his incident also everyone be aware that lido deck is a skating rink of water saaw several people fall due to excess water on complete floor ! I feel CARNIVAL OWES US SOME COMPENSATION FOR SUCH A BAD DEAL !!!!!!!:mad:

[English Tim]

Interesting point about the lido deck, as I found it quite 'icy' at times and saw one lady slip over. They were constantly sweeping the water off the deck, so clearly were aware of the problem, so maybe it's a design fault.

Definitely don't wear Crocs on a wet deck!:)

[ItsAllAboutTheSass]

Thank you well said I too feel we were molested as passengers and not told the truth We should have been given the choice to sail or not Oh yes a woman that was with us was harassed and accosted by a drunk young man also and not a lot was done about his incident also everyone be aware that lido deck is a skating rink of water saaw several people fall due to excess water on complete floor ! I feel CARNIVAL OWES US SOME COMPENSATION FOR SUCH A BAD DEAL !!!!!!!:mad:

 

I was wondering how long it would take for the "we are owed something" people to come out.

 

Interesting point about the lido deck, as I found it quite 'icy' at times and saw one lady slip over. They were constantly sweeping the water off the deck, so clearly were aware of the problem, so maybe it's a design fault.

Definitely don't wear Crocs on a wet deck!:)

 

I always wear Crocs and have never fallen. The people that I have seen fall are those that don't lift their feet when they walk, or they are running on what could be a wet surface.

[GalvetrazIsland]

Yeah, I was on the same cruise and was VERY disappointed...to be fair, the ship IS beautiful, but there was a lot wrong with the ship that should have been brought to our attention BEFORE we set sail. I, for one, would have probably opted for going on a different date. The lines for the Wok place were so long I never got to eat there- what's up with only having two woks going, when I saw on YouTube that there were supposed to be three per side? At least you got to see two shows, I only got to see one- the doors were closed saying they were full. I never met the maitre d, nor do I care, because from what I heard, he was a waste of my tip money. In the past-guest party, Marusya actually tried to bring us drinks even though we weren't in her station. She also had a good attitude, even though she was really tired. I tipped her, and others who took good care of me with cash, I don't depend on Carnival to do it for me. I don't trust them any more, maybe RCCL or NCL will be better.

[btrbill]

Sorry you had a bad cruise, I really am. I want to try the Magic sooner rather than later. But even with all that, you could have been at work, like me!;);)

[Bassic]

Your on a ship with 3,000+ people on board a vessel. What can you expect? Everyone where you go, weather it is the ball game or anything there will always be a few handful rudely people

 

Read the second sentence of the section you reposted...;)

[happy cruzin]

Thank you well said I too feel we were molested as passengers and not told the truth We should have been given the choice to sail or not Oh yes a woman that was with us was harassed and accosted by a drunk young man also and not a lot was done about his incident also everyone be aware that lido deck is a skating rink of water saaw several people fall due to excess water on complete floor ! I feel CARNIVAL OWES US SOME COMPENSATION FOR SUCH A BAD DEAL !!!!!!!:mad:

 

 

I understand that you are upset and feel things should have been handled differently. But is that really how you want to describe it :eek:???

[5waldos]

Oh dear- does not sound like the cruise of dreams for sure. Hope they pull it together before March. But rather agree- $25 compensation for all those problems does sound thin.

[GlendaleCruiser]

I'm really sorry to hear of your experience and must say that I am truly mystified. I did the inaugural cruise of the Dream in the Med and it was wonderful. Service, everything. Then it goes to the Caribbean and nothing but complaints. Especially about the smell. They seem to have fixed that and I think the consensus was that they would correct the problem (whatever it was) on the Magic.

 

Then I went on the second voyage of the Magic in the Med--same thing--Magical. Great food, nice portions, wonderful services, smiles all around (which isn't easy when all those Russkies are onboard, apparently). Then it comes to the Caribbean and you report the same kinds of issues.

 

What is the underlying cause, I wonder?

(I'm not even going to talk about passenger rudeness, because Carnival is not responsible for that unless you need the Security department).

[Bassic]

Sorry you had a bad cruise, I really am. I want to try the Magic sooner rather than later. But even with all that, you could have been at work, like me!;);)

 

Worst day cruising is still better than working! I am disappointed mainly in Carnival's lack of forthrightness regarding their problems and plans to change our itinerary. The situation wasn't handled in the manner that I have come to expect from Carnival. The way they did it, with their secretive manipulations, makes me think they work for the Gubmint! :eek:

 

I hope your Magic cruise turns out better than ours did, at least use my review as a guide, that's my intention- to help others.

 

btw- boat shoes will keep you from busting your rump on the pool deck. It IS pretty slick up there.

[Guest LoveMyBoxer]

No matter what cruise line or ship, I have yet to read a good Inaugural cruise review anywhere. These cruises is when they "try out and weed out" all the problems. Will never sail on one.

[GalvetrazIsland]

Please excuse me if I am intruding on any conversation, I'm new to CC and am trying to get the hang of this board...

 

Also, to the young man who wants to go on the Magic, a word of advice-

Bring Dramamine with you! This boat rocks worse than the Ecstasy! I don't know if it was the mechanical problems or what, but it got me feeling green. The Conquest never made me seasick like this one did. Ecstasy would if the seas were heavy, but it wasn't as bad, it seems to me. Maybe they'll get that ironed out too, who knows? I hope so, for your sake!

 

To the other person who said you were wondering when the "We're owed compensation" people were coming out, I spent nearly $4K on this cruise to smell sewage? Really? If you haven't smelled a sewer pipe in a while, go to your local treatment plant and breathe deep- then get back to me. LOL!!!

[Bassic]

 

the other person who said you were wondering when the "We're owed compensation" people were coming out, I spent nearly $4K on this cruise to smell sewage? Really? If you haven't smelled a sewer pipe in a while, go to your local treatment plant and breathe deep- then get back to me. LOL!!!

 

OK, that made me laugh! :D

[klmorg]

I appreciate hearing both the good & the bad. Sounds like some reasonable complaints, especially with such a brand new beautiful ship. It's nice to hear firsthand reports from those who were on it for an entire cruise.

[Bassic]

I really try to be fair- sure, I have some complaints, but I'm not looking for a free cruise. I just wanted to point out some very real observations. I did have some fun, just not as much as previous cruises. Not trying to be negative, but it is what it is.

[Bassic]

I also wonder if they have the ship under-staffed, and if so, what is the metric they use to determine optimal coverage?

[maenzoe]

I also just got off of this cruise, and I agree it could have been better. I agree with most of OP's observations.

The good:

The ships decor is much less gaudy than other Carnival ships I have sailed. The shows were much better than our last cruise on the Conquest, and you must arrive at least 15 minutes prior to showtime to get a seat. Our room, a cove balcony on deck 2, was great. I loved the location--it was very quite, and just one floor up to the theater or dining room. No problems with sewage smell or hot water for us.

 

The bad:

I was not impressed with the new menus in the dining room. Also as the OP already said, the portions were definitely smaller. We tried anytime dining for the first time, and it is not for us. After waiting in line for 20 minutes to get to the dining room door, we were informed it would be another 30 minutes before my husband and I could have a table for 2. Fortunately, Drago, the maitre'd offered to switch us to late dining from the next night on which worked really well for us. I think the assault that was mentioned actually occurred in the Southern Lights dining room between maitre'd Ken Byrne and a waiter. Service was slower in the dining room and our waiter said that Carnival had increased the number of people he was responsible for serving from 20 something to 40! It definitely slowed down service and didn't allow for the usual interactions between us and the wait staff.

 

I was also not happy about the port change, but I would never cancel my cruise for this reason. I was happy to get any refund from Carnival because I know they did not have to give us anything. I enjoyed a tour of Mayan Ruins the first day in Progreso, and stayed on the ship and enjoyed a day at the spa on the second day.

 

Overall, we had a good time and will cruise Carnival again.

[cruise_girl2002]

i know you are all bummed about the ports. but carnival doesn't owe you anything more. sorry. i cant wait to sail the magic in 2 weeks. unfortunetly things break down, cars, planes, and yes even boats or cruise ships. things happen. yelling at guest services (as some of those people were doing) isnt going to help. do they think they had anything with the thrusters not working? why yell at them? (its like when passengers yell at me because were delayed due to weather at their destination...NOT MY FAULT!!) sorry you had a bad cruise. hope your next one is better. but i still cant wait to sail this ship!

[Topo Gigio]

Hey guys there is another ship sailing out of galveston and it is called Mariner of the Seas and believe me you will have a BLAST!

[douglinc@msn.com]

We were on this same cruise & I agree with most of what I have read. I was not really upset about change to Progresso, I would have preferred to go to Costa Maya (we've never been there) but I understand that you can have mechanical problems.

 

I have to agree completely about the food and service, neither was up to Carnival standards. Service at our table (and several close to us) was very slow and most everyone was not happy about it. Most of the time our food was cold before they got it out to us. Looks to me like the waitstaff has too many tables to take care of now.

 

And YES, the outside decks are very slick when they get wet. I think they used the wrong material to the surfaces.

 

We only saw a few passengers that were pretty rude, but that's not Carnival's fault. You will find this on every cruise.

 

We did smell some sewage a few times, but we usually experience this on all the ships.

 

Yes, the ship did seem to rock quite a bit in pretty smooth seas, I think they probably weren't using the stabilizers.

 

It is a very beautiful ship, I hope they get their problems worked out pretty soon.

 

Doug

[Callisto]

Just want to make a quick comment...

 

The letter Carnival Magic sent those of us on the ship said it was compensation for not going to Costa Maya but when I asked Guest Services, I think he slipped up and told me that the credit was actually a TAX refund since Progresso is a cheaper port. Therefore, the $25 was NOT a compensation for not going to Costa Maya but a refund of the tax we already paid.

 

This is my understanding at least.

[jetskier]

Carnival management knew prior to embarkation that they would substitute Progresso for Costa Maya. I think they even knew ahead of time that they were going to stick us there for two days as well. Despite this, the only compensation we got was a $25 OBC. That stinks (literally). Progresso is a slum, and not yet ready to be a cruise destination. The beards must have some deal made with the Mexican government. We weren't even told that we were being diverted until hours after we sailed.

 

 

Last time I checked Costa Maya was also located in Mexico. I would venture to say it probably had more to do with Progreso being located closer to Cancun for the parts to be flown in.

 

Dave