Lines on the Magic

[Badcat555]

We returned May 7th on the Magic and I have to say out of about 11 cruises I have been on this was the worst ship we had ever been on for service and lines. You would wait 20-30 minutes to get a burger and 45 minutes to get a slice if pizza. They never had any made up in advance. Nothing was organized on the ship. They had given our waiters in the dinning room so many tables we waited for ever to get our next course. One evening it was so bad we got up and left. We didn't get to know them either like we had in previous cruises. i don't want to discourage anyone but Carnival has made a lot of cuts and it isn't near a good as it use to be. And I say that sadly. I have 7 cruises with Carnival and I think its time to move on. Just my two cent...

 

 

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[ryano]

Wow! :eek: I also returned on May the 7th from Magic. My experience was TOTALLY different. Lines were definitely there, which is not something I was use to on Royal Caribbean BUT I never ever waited 20-30 minutes for a Guys burger or 45 minutes on pizza. More like 5-10 minutes at most. Even Guys BBQ which had the longest lines we witnessed went in about 10 minutes.

 

Our waiter in the MDR was the best ever and our service could not have been better. Service was outstanding in all aspects.

 

It was my best cruise yet. So good that we booked Magic again for next year. Its always amazing how the same cruise can be so different. I hope you find what you are looking for elsewhere but the cutbacks are real on ALL mass market cruise lines. The grass isnt always greener ;)

Edited June 1, 2016 by ryano

[Trumpster]

Did 10 days on the Magic before you and missed those lines. Didn't even really see them. The bbq line was long but moved quickly. Guys could be long

 

Sorry you had such a cruise. Glad I wasn't with you when I was hungry. :D

 

Also booked Magic for next year. Great ship and cruise.

[simkoreb]

And remember lines are always longer at prime times...I despise waiting in lines, so I always try to avoid the busiest times to eat because everyone is there trying to do the same thing. If you can hold off and eat a late breakfast and lunch, that's the way to do it. Just be flexible if possible. I know with kids this isn't always possible, but it works when it's just me and DH.

[Trumpster]

Also the YTD waiters were awesome and efficient. Meals took no time and because we didn't really get to know them, there was no wasted chit-chat. Except for elegant night, we were in and out in less than an hour and a half. Won't go back to set dining. And we were concerned.

[Florings]

Sorry you had unexpected wait times for your meals.

 

Sure glad to see the positive comments following the OP's post, though. Going on Magic next year and like seeing the positives....

[ryano]

Also the YTD waiters were awesome and efficient. Meals took no time and because we didn't really get to know them, there was no wasted chit-chat. Except for elegant night, we were in and out in less than an hour and a half. Won't go back to set dining. And we were concerned.

 

Agree with all of that too. ^^^^^^^^

[stevenr597]

Since Carnival started their program of cost cutting, there have been numerous reports of long lines, and areas of the ship being excessively crowded. The American Experience in the MDR, the absence of turn down service in ones cabin, and the use of less players in respect to the shows are other examples of cost cutting.

 

On the other side, costs for a Carnival Cruise's are about the cheapest one will find on any of the major cruise lines.

 

There is a definite trade-off.

 

If one wants a reasonably decent cruise for a low price, and does not mind waiting, and general decrease in service, Carnival is a great selection.

 

If one wants superior service, and more room on the ship, I would suggest either Princess or Celebrity.

 

At least there is a choice.

[ryano]

Since Carnival started their program of cost cutting, there have been numerous reports of long lines, and areas of the ship being excessively crowded. The American Experience in the MDR, the absence of turn down service in ones cabin, and the use of less players in respect to the shows are other examples of cost cutting.

 

On the other side, costs for a Carnival Cruise's are about the cheapest one will find on any of the major cruise lines.

 

There is a definite trade-off.

 

If one wants a reasonably decent cruise for a low price, and does not mind waiting, and general decrease in service, Carnival is a great selection.

 

If one wants superior service, and more room on the ship, I would suggest either Princess or Celebrity.

 

At least there is a choice.

 

LOL. There you are back again to remind us how there are other cruise lines like Cunard, Princess and Celebrity out there as if thats relevant to anything being discussed here :cool::p

 

The "American Experience" whatever that is, in the MDR, was fine. I dont get the big fuss about it and certainly dont need a tablecloth on my table to make me feel special. We had turn down service every single night without having to choose or ask. The lines moved rather quickly and service absolutely could not have been any better in all aspects.

 

Carnival Magic is a great ship with a great crew for an awesome price. I have absolutely zero desire to sail with the snoots on Cunard but Im sure if I dug around hard enough, I could find these same type of "cutback" complaints on Cunard, Princess or Celebrity forums too :D;)

Edited June 1, 2016 by ryano

[stevenr597]

LOL. There you are back again to remind us how there are other cruise lines like Cunard, Princess and Celebrity out there as if thats relevant to anything being discussed here :cool::p

 

The "American Experience" whatever that is, in the MDR, was fine. I dont get the big fuss about it and certainly dont need a tablecloth on my table to make me feel special. We had turn down service every single night without having to choose or ask. The lines moved rather quickly and service absolutely could not have been any better in all aspects.

 

Carnival Magic is a great ship with a great crew for an awesome price. I have absolutely zero desire to sail with the snoots on Cunard but Im sure if I dug around hard enough, I could find these same type of "cutback" complaints on Cunard, Princess or Celebrity forums too :D;)

 

Thanks for summing up my point exactly.

 

Many individuals feel that the considering the price, Carnival provides an excellent package. Other individuals feel that they want something more in service, better food, less crowds, better shows etc. That is why, even Carnival Corporation offers different experiences on different ships.

 

Personally we have sailed on most of the major cruise lines, and we do like the variety. In any case, it does seem that you are a great Carnival customer. Continue to enjoy!!!

[Trumpster]

I certainly didn't receive superior service on Celebrity. It was good but certainly not worth a premium cost.

 

We had turn down service every night on the Magic.

 

The American Table in the MDR was fine, other than the loss of bitter & blanc

 

 

Only Cunard gave us superior service and at a superior price point. and if you listen to cunard supporters its terrible now...back in the old days...blah blah blah

 

Yes there are options. I'll take the price point and fun on Carnival vs some of the more "formal" (actually they aren't so much) lines we have travelled.

 

Would like to try Princess when we are older. :cool:

[gfountain1]

We've sailed RCI on their new, floating wal-mart ships and the only thing I found better was the amount of pools. The food may have been slightly better as well. For the price, Ill stick with Carnival.

[IPlayWithString]

The worst I've ever seen was on our last cruise on the Freedom. It didn't matter what time of day or night you went to the 24 hr pizza place, you were GOING to wait at least a half an hour or more for a single slice of pizza.

 

Guy's Burgers never seemed to have that issue, even during the lunch rush. I don't think I waited in line more than 5-10 min tops.

[RuthlessBoss]

We returned May 7th on the Magic and I have to say out of about 11 cruises I have been on this was the worst ship we had ever been on for service and lines. You would wait 20-30 minutes to get a burger and 45 minutes to get a slice if pizza. They never had any made up in advance. Nothing was organized on the ship. They had given our waiters in the dinning room so many tables we waited for ever to get our next course. One evening it was so bad we got up and left. We didn't get to know them either like we had in previous cruises. i don't want to discourage anyone but Carnival has made a lot of cuts and it isn't near a good as it use to be. And I say that sadly. I have 7 cruises with Carnival and I think its time to move on. Just my two cent...

 

 

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You must have wanted that burger and pizza real bad:D

[k2excursion]

I'm certainly not doubting the OPs experience at all, but I actually experienced very short lines on the Magic for all the food stations, even when I would eat at peak times. I was quite impressed by that, considering that our ship had nearly every single bed filled, with it being a Spring Break cruise. This has been very common of my 5 sailings on Dream class ships. The only exception being long waits for pizza on the Breeze in the late evenings, because pizza was the only option after 8:30pm. The longest waits I've had have been on my 2 smallest ships--Holiday & Celebration.

 

That said, some weeks can be worse than others. It could be up to chance, if the guests that week tend to eat a lot more than normal. I don't see how Carnival's cost-cutting would create longer lines at the food stations, unless people were standing & waiting because there was no food, due to having fewer staff to cook the food (and that part would be speculation). The MDR going slower makes sense, with waiters having to wait on more people.

[Retired_to_Cruise]

We were on the Magic the week of May 7th. They must have really changed something while it was in port on the 7th because we experienced nothing of what the original poster claimed was happening. The only issue with waiting on our cruise was the aft elevators during dinner time. Of course this is true on any Carnival ship that has the galley on deck 3 between the two dining rooms. On these ships the elevators cannot handle the load at that time of day. We have learned that it is easier to walk down the stairs before dinner and to walk up the stairs to deck 5 after dinner. One more elevator on each side of this bank of elevators would make this process so much more effective. Surprised Carnival has not done this on the Dream and Vista class ships after experiencing it on the Conquest class ships, but it hasn't been done.

 

Other than that, the Magic cruise was exceptional.

[TerReuv]

We returned May 7th on the Magic and I have to say out of about 11 cruises I have been on this was the worst ship we had ever been on for service and lines. You would wait 20-30 minutes to get a burger and 45 minutes to get a slice if pizza. They never had any made up in advance. Nothing was organized on the ship. They had given our waiters in the dinning room so many tables we waited for ever to get our next course. One evening it was so bad we got up and left. We didn't get to know them either like we had in previous cruises. i don't want to discourage anyone but Carnival has made a lot of cuts and it isn't near a good as it use to be. And I say that sadly. I have 7 cruises with Carnival and I think its time to move on. Just my two cent...

 

 

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Sorry you didn't have a good time. I have to say that I prefer to wait a short while for fresh food vs. having something that has been sitting under a heat lamp for a half an hour!

[ryano]

We've sailed RCI on their new, floating wal-mart ships and the only thing I found better was the amount of pools. The food may have been slightly better as well. For the price, Ill stick with Carnival.

 

I know its very subjective but to me, the food isnt any better on RCI than it is on Carnival. In fact, Carnival was much better overall with more included options. I do like the layout of the Windjammer better than Lido Marketplace though. There are no lines on RC.

[Badfinger]

Two cruises on the Magic when it was in Galveston. The longest lines I had to deal with were for the Mongolian Wok during the peak of the lunch rush. Probably only 18-20 people ahead of me, but being cook to order at 2-3 minutes per passenger, and two at a time, that put the wait over 20 minutes. Otherwise no food lines over 10 minutes the entire time.