Just off the Magic

[sanmarcosman]

Sounds exhausting. Better luck next time!

[jerseyjjs]

Just got off the Splendor last week and the service was extremely slow there too. It rivaled the slow MDR we had on the Dream back in '09. Seems that the larger the ship (more people) the slower the service.....at least on Carnival. Service was much faster on the Miracle and Pride sailings I took last year. Guess in this instance, bigger is definitely not better.

[DebJ14]

I guess my brain just doesn't work that way. This same bad experience could happen on any cruise line. The OP has sailed on other lines 18 times and apparently had satisfactory experiences on those occasions as well as their 31 satisfactory Carnival cruises.

 

My 25th milestone cruise wasn't very good, it took most of the week to even get my milestone card and the OBC was never applied. But I still came back. I like the familiarity of Carnival and haven't found any reason to sail with anyone else. I guess if I started having problems on almost every cruise I would venture over to another line, but I don't really see that happening.

 

I spend a bit of time every month reading member reviews but only the 1 and 2 star reviews. Every cruise line has it's problems.

 

 

I do have to come back to say that the cruises on Carnival have been going downhill and this one was just the icing on the cake. Our Freedom cruise in May we had a rip in the gasket on the balcony door and were overcome with fumes when they were burning that cheap bunker fuel and putting out coal black smoke at 3am. The smoke was being sucked into the cabin. They didn't carry an extra gasket to repair the door and tried to fix it with scotch tape and a folded Fun Times.

We had 2 previous cruises on the Magic and had already decided never to sail on her when our DS and grandkids begged us to come along on this trip. We held our nose and did it for our kids. My DS had been on Carnival as a teen and again as a father and husband on the Ecstasy. He loved the previous cruises, but is also done with Carnival after the dining experience. He has also sailed NCL and Royal Caribbean and will be going back to those lines.

Not only was the wait staff incompetent, but I doubt the waiter said 3 words to us the entire cruise. Unfriendly was putting it mildly.

I also forgot to add that the constant announcements were a big annoyance. We'd had James Charlton on the Magic 2 times before and he did not announce nearly as much as James Dunn. The kicker was the announcements at 9:45PM that woke up the grandkids. I counted 8 long-winded announcements one sea day. DH was mad as it disrupted his naps every afternoon. James Dunn was invisible pretty much the whole cruise, except on the TV screen. He has now moved into 1st place as least favorite CD bumping Jen Baxter out of that spot.

[cruizinisthebest]

Can you hear the announcements inside your cabin on the Magic? I've only been on Fantasy class ships. There's no speaker in the cabin and you can barely hear it. I actually open the door when I hear them just so I can "hear them." Wow. Sounds like a helluva frustrating week.

[cruzeluver]

To the OP - how disappointing! And I have never understood the need for constant announcements. Do they think their customers cannot read?

[DebJ14]

I don't know what was up with the crying baby in the hallway. My children had their own cabin on our sailing last week, but we had connecting cabins. That's the only way I would do it at their age. And they didn't go from one room to the next using the exterior doors. It's hard to say. I know the connecting room door locks automatically. We put tape over the lock hole while we were cruising to make sure the kids could go from room to room. Unless one parent was out and the other in the shower and hard of hearing, I can't see any reason why they wouldn't hear the child crying and knocking. The shower is so close to the front door, even with the water running you should be able to hear. Especially your own child's voice. Why the 4-year old was even out of the cabin to begin with is puzzling. Who knows. They could have woke up from a nap and been confused or whatever. So many reasons. But that would have bothered me and ticked me off at the same time.

 

As for the teens in the hallway, that can happen on any cruise or in any hotel. We had no issue with kids last week, but on the first night there was an adult woman acting stupid knocking on people's doors around 2am. And she was most definitely grown! And likely drunk.

 

The room steward said they booked the cruise with one adult in each cabin and then switched when they got on board. OK for teens, but not small children.

 

The parents knew darn well that the kid was out in the hall screaming for his mother. Everyone heard him, but no one took action until DH got involved. The parents wouldn't open the door for Housekeeping for a long time either after DH got them involved.

 

We saw this Mom up at Camp Carnival dropping off her kids who were begging and crying that they wanted to stay with Mom. She told them they were going and that was that. The older child tried to negotiate for an hour claiming he had been a good boy and she told them they were staying the entire day, even when the staff member told the Mom that they would not be serving lunch that day. It was heartbreaking to watch. Their cabins were interior and did not connect.

 

We had side by side balcony cabins next to our son and his wife and kids. We arranged to get the balcony partition unlocked, and left the door to the balcony unlocked so the kids could come and go. They would come over after their showers and crawl in our bed to watch TV. They always ended up falling asleep in our bed. One of us stayed with them at all times unless they were check into Camp Carnival. No way were we leaving them alone in the cabin. I guess we just have a different view of parenting and grandparenting than alot of folks.

[DebJ14]

Can you hear the announcements inside your cabin on the Magic? I've only been on Fantasy class ships. There's no speaker in the cabin and you can barely hear it. I actually open the door when I hear them just so I can "hear them." Wow. Sounds like a helluva frustrating week.

 

Unfortunately, we heard every darn announcement in the cabin. There was no need to open the door to hear them as they were so loud.

 

Frustrating is putting it mildly.

[Cruiser from MS]

This sounds like my cruise on the Magic. I have not cruised as many times as you, but this was not my firs cruise. I cannot believe that Carnival does not take care of the loud kids late at night. Our neighbors were high school seniors celebrating graduation. Every night at 3:30 they would come back to their cabin making as much noise as possible. I had to call security on them several times for fighting. Finally, I got sick and tired of their noise and opened my door and told them to be quite. The adult in the group looked at me as if I was the one in the wrong. Then to make matters our cabin was so hot you could not sleep. Carnival said the temp was within the norms (72 to 74 degrees). This cruise was a total mess.

[TwinPrincessMermaids]

Deb OP,

 

I had a bad experience on my last CCL too, and not as bad as yours. My servers had no idea what GF meant so I suffered instead. (I DO mean suffered!) We never had water filled and could barely get fed before the next service.

 

I had a similar feeling the "I'm sick of this place" only I told my friend "I'm cruised OUT!" and she told me "You are CARNIVALED out!" She was right! 2 weeks later, my dad booked a Disney Cruise 3 day to surprise my mom for their anniversary. (Due to the fact the CCL ship we just had gotten off of 1.5 weeks prior had gotten stuck at the island for two weeks and this was after the Triumph happened, she was NOT going to get on a CCL ship and Dad knew it!)

 

Somehow I didn't know how I could make it work, but it was our whole family's first Disney cruise and I knew mom and dad would be devastated to go on it by themselves. Even though we had just gotten off of a cruise 5 weeks before, we made it happen. All of us kids surprised Mom & Dad on Disney property the night before, and we had the most UNBELIEVABLE cruise, and it was only 3 days!

 

That's what I really recommend to you. No one does service like Disney. The shows were amazing, the technology is amazing, their private island is unbelievable and the activities go on and on, and I just cannot say enough about it. I thought I was done with cruising too! (We were CCL Gold, no where near your level but it doesn't really matter with CCL anyway). You can get decent rates on DCL if you shop a bit for the timing. We are going in May and will pay the same for our DCL 4 Day as we did for our CCL 7 Day (which is FINE because Disney includes WAY more that the 3 extra CCL days are a complete waste!)

 

Especially if you know you like to cruise with the family and grandkids. CCL has cut back so much, and their poor staff can't communicate and is overworked and doesn't care to help anymore. I hope they can change their service since the ship was alright (I never really complain about a 'ship' but that's all they put their money into!)

 

I hope you can try out a 4 day and let me know what you think! Our next one is on the new massively overhauled dry dock and practically brand new DCL Magic, and it's getting all new kids clubs, restaurants, water slides, adult areas and staterooms, and atrium redesign. Its going to have Marvel Super Heros onboard and a SuperHero academy for the kids!

 

We are REALLY excited about cruising again with Disney! (Also I should note, we have NO kids! We just love the upscale family experience! And we are happy there is no casino and we can bring all our own beverages on board.!)

[TwinPrincessMermaids]

Unfortunately, we heard every darn announcement in the cabin. There was no need to open the door to hear them as they were so loud.

 

Frustrating is putting it mildly.

 

To add on to my suggestion for DCL, I was surprised on our first cruise with them. The CD came on just prior to the muster and gave an announcement. It was around 3pm. She informed everyone about the safety drill, mentioned some things about the activities. She said it was the last time they would hear an announcement in their stateroom for the duration of the cruise because they knew their would be lots of sleeping little ones and if they needed to hear the announcement, to come out to the hallway. I thought that was cute!

 

Also the Wave phones they give to each stateroom (2 per room) have a texting and calling option but they are ALWAYS set to VIBRATE so that no sleeping babies or youngsters get woken up or no dinners or shows are interrupted.

 

Great job DC!

[halos]

James Dunn was invisible pretty much the whole cruise, except on the TV screen. He has now moved into 1st place as least favorite CD bumping Jen Baxter out of that spot.

Whoa. :eek: Didn't think that was even possible.

[brooklynfc]

I cruised with a P/D member one time and when I had printed off our luggage tags I didn't see the VIP on our tags (b/c of her status) and I mentioned it to her, but she didn't seemed concerned, so I didn't press it.

 

When we tried to get into the VIP area on the ship the day of boarding they wouldn't let us b/c we weren't on the list. She showed them her past P/D cards she had and they took us to the front of the regular boarding area. Then they printed our cards, but gave her a gold card instead of silver and she made them reprint it. When we got on board we went to the GS desk and they said she wasn't on the list for P/D status and that its a land based system that gives them a list and that is how they know how many gifts to order and etc. It took most of the cruise to get her most of her perks.

 

I just wanted to share this, so that if you notice that your documents don't have your level on them or markings........take care of it before you board. A lot of their processes take place off the ship.

[cjnwildfire]

The room steward said they booked the cruise with one adult in each cabin and then switched when they got on board. OK for teens, but not small children.

 

The parents knew darn well that the kid was out in the hall screaming for his mother. Everyone heard him, but no one took action until DH got involved. The parents wouldn't open the door for Housekeeping for a long time either after DH got them involved.

 

We saw this Mom up at Camp Carnival dropping off her kids who were begging and crying that they wanted to stay with Mom. She told them they were going and that was that. The older child tried to negotiate for an hour claiming he had been a good boy and she told them they were staying the entire day, even when the staff member told the Mom that they would not be serving lunch that day. It was heartbreaking to watch. Their cabins were interior and did not connect.

 

We had side by side balcony cabins next to our son and his wife and kids. We arranged to get the balcony partition unlocked, and left the door to the balcony unlocked so the kids could come and go. They would come over after their showers and crawl in our bed to watch TV. They always ended up falling asleep in our bed. One of us stayed with them at all times unless they were check into Camp Carnival. No way were we leaving them alone in the cabin. I guess we just have a different view of parenting and grandparenting than alot of folks.

No Ma'am, we will be doing the same thing (except the 12 year old), an adult will be with our 2 youngest at all times they are not in camp carnival!:mad:

[bborgeson]

Whoa. :eek: Didn't think that was even possible.

 

I saw him and 6'3" all over the ship.

[bplazo]

We did a celebrity cruise last April and only saw a handful of children so it was just heaven.

 

Maybe your dining experience was a little slow because so many in your group had a special diet. Make it rough on your dining staff.

[halos]

. I guess we just have a different view of parenting and grandparenting than alot of folks.

 

I imagine (and hope) that your idea of parenting isn't different, but more the norm.

 

We saw this Mom up at Camp Carnival dropping off her kids who were begging and crying that they wanted to stay with Mom. She told them they were going and that was that. The older child tried to negotiate for an hour claiming he had been a good boy and she told them they were staying the entire day, even when the staff member told the Mom that they would not be serving lunch that day. It was heartbreaking to watch. Their cabins were interior and did not connect.

 

 

 

 

I find this heart breaking.

[aggieastrosfan]

Unfortunately, we heard every darn announcement in the cabin. There was no need to open the door to hear them as they were so loud.

 

Frustrating is putting it mildly.

 

Yep. Never had to open our door, either, in our cabin. Never heard the announcements so loud! DH was trying to take a nap a couple of days and it bothered him as well.

 

 

Meredith

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD

[DebJ14]

I cruised with a P/D member one time and when I had printed off our luggage tags I didn't see the VIP on our tags (b/c of her status) and I mentioned it to her, but she didn't seemed concerned, so I didn't press it.

 

When we tried to get into the VIP area on the ship the day of boarding they wouldn't let us b/c we weren't on the list. She showed them her past P/D cards she had and they took us to the front of the regular boarding area. Then they printed our cards, but gave her a gold card instead of silver and she made them reprint it. When we got on board we went to the GS desk and they said she wasn't on the list for P/D status and that its a land based system that gives them a list and that is how they know how many gifts to order and etc. It took most of the cruise to get her most of her perks.

 

I just wanted to share this, so that if you notice that your documents don't have your level on them or markings........take care of it before you board. A lot of their processes take place off the ship.

 

I received my Diamond card on the pier with no problems. It was once I was onboard that the confusion reigned. Let's see - a call from Cucina del Capitano that since I was Diamond did I want to make a reservation. A call from Guest Services Manager at the end of the cruise asking how my Diamond experience was. Clearly some got the message and some didn't.

[DebJ14]

I imagine (and hope) that your idea of parenting isn't different, but more the norm.

 

 

 

I find this heart breaking.

 

Yes, it was heart breaking. Using Camp Carnival as a punishment is wrong on so many levels.

[DebJ14]

We did a celebrity cruise last April and only saw a handful of children so it was just heaven.

 

Maybe your dining experience was a little slow because so many in your group had a special diet. Make it rough on your dining staff.

 

When you have a special diet the hostess takes the order the night before and sends it to the kitchen, so the waiter is relieved of that task. On every other cruise we have been on the food has been sitting at the wait station ready to serve when we arrive in the dining room. We have always been served promptly and been among the first out of the dining room. Having a special diet actually makes it easier on the waiter.

[bplazo]

When you have a special diet the hostess takes the order the night before and sends it to the kitchen, so the waiter is relieved of that task. On every other cruise we have been on the food has been sitting at the wait station ready to serve when we arrive in the dining room. We have always been served promptly and been among the first out of the dining room. Having a special diet actually makes it easier on the waiter.

 

That makes sense then. I have been a server and sometimes having to make a lot of changes can be very time consuming.

[The Mister]

Nevermind

[DebJ14]

That makes sense then. I have been a server and sometimes having to make a lot of changes can be very time consuming.

 

Therein lies the problem when you have a food allergy - you can't make changes on the cruise.

 

Since the hostess screwed up every order we had to make do with what came and trade among ourselves since we knew it was impossible to order something made GF at the last minute. For example -for the last night I ordered Mahi Mahi for DH and chicken breast for me. We both were served Prime Rib. DH traded with our son who actually ordered the Flat Iron but got the fish. I ended up just eating the baked potato since no one would trade with me.

We played musical meals the entire cruise and sometimes someone didn't get a chair. That matters when you are GF because you just can't run out and get a GF snack on a cruise ship.

[DebJ14]

I imagine (and hope) that your idea of parenting isn't different, but more the norm.

 

 

Unfortunately, from what I saw on this ship with the numbers of kids on the loose with no supervision at all hours of the day and night we were the odd balls watching our kids all the time.

DH and I took the grandkids to Cherry on the Top for a treat and there were unsupervised kids who knew our kids from Camp Carnival (so we knew they were the same age) eating candy out of the bins. Cecelia, the lady who worked in there, had her hands full trying to supervise the kids, take special orders and run the register.

[rebel7254]

Sounds terrible. Hope you find greener pastures with RCCL. I know my parents absolutely loved the Oasis and Allure....they have been on 11 Carnival cruises and said they just can't compare. DW and I have decided that we'd like to try one of those out on our next cruise, but it was beyond our budget this time. We have a 15 month old and already had a trip with the in-laws planned for first week of September, but in late June I got a flier from Carnival in the mail about VIFP promotions. In 2010 we put $100 for a certificate that expires in 2015....we're hoping to get pregnant again within the next 12 months or so and hopefully a new house. If we didn't go before the end of this year, then there's a big chance that we wouldn't be able to go again before the certificate expired. The entire trip including flights should ring in at less than $2k, which is a lot less than we've ever spent in the past.

 

We've generally had good experiences with Carnival, and even though there were a few things we liked better about Princess when we tried it in 2011, we decided that we prefer Carnival overall. However, as I said, based on the testimonials from my parents about the the RCCL Oasis and Allure, unless we just can't afford it we're going to try one of those out.