Back from Carnival Magic July 9th, Never Again!

[TullMan]

Maybe I missed it but you forgot to bash the Muster Drill. Please come back and tell how miserable you were!

[ryano]

Hey look, it's a Cheerleader Convention.

 

Hey look it's a weak attempt at bashing the members here for disagreeing with a review full of hyperbole when you have nothing relevant to bring to the discussion.

 

Childish

Edited July 19, 2016 by ryano

[cruizinisthebest]

Hey look it's a weak attempt at bashing the members here for disagreeing with a review full of hyperbole when you have nothing relevant to bring to the discussion.

 

Childish

Once again, we agree.

 

Enough with the sympathy party to the OP who has vanished btw. They made numerous sweeping derogatory statements about the ship and crew that they then tried to walk back after being questioned for clarity. Similar sweeping complaints were made about the last ship they sailed. I find it ridiculous for any person sailing any ship then return from vacation, take to the computer, and fire off flaming thread titles and commence to blowing up the things you disliked followed by trashing the entire line.

 

I read other forums and this type of stuff happens on every single one of them. There was another review in this same thread about this same sailing that was well received and it wasn't all daisies and fireworks. So it's not about cheerleading.

 

People have a right to not enjoy a trip, and I see nothing wrong if someone reports back as much. A review doesn't need to be "balanced" but it should be fair- meaning free of sweeping condemnations of the entire crew, all of the food, the entire line itself, etc.

 

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[jimbo5544]

I still haven't seen the attacks people are talking about? Guess I need to have my eyes checked

 

Disagreements are not attacks

 

True, I think I was accused of being rude when I asked a question.

[declansdad]

Dear OP, I am sorry so many posters are being so rude. You are right about being allowed to express your opinion about the experience you had on your cruise. I have to agree with you about traveling on Carnival. I just sailed on the Sunshine from June 30th to July 4th and I also realized that I won’t ever go on another Carnival cruise again. I have been on 38 Princess cruises and have never been as disappointed as I was with Carnival. As you said the breakfast was very good in the MDR, but only mediocre the rest of the time. The buffet was the worst, very few choices and closed very early everyday. On Princess, whether it was one side or both sides there were many types of food choices and always seem to be open. Don’t even get me started on the Italian place in the back of the buffet, which was the worst Italian food I’ve ever had.

 

Our room stewardess was the best and very friendly, everyone else was just so-so. As far as the entertainment, it was a joke. I felt like the singers were there because they couldn’t get a job on a Princess ship. Thankfully the comedian was very good. I will definitely stick with Princess going forward. Please don’t feel too bad about what the others say, I understand they are defending their favorite cruise line. Good luck in the future.

 

 

38 cruises with one line; you wouldn't have a bias or anything would you.

[bar1068]

True, I think I was accused of being rude when I asked a question.

 

Anything short of complete, unquestioned support of a negative "review", is viewed as rude, attacking...or may favorite...cheerleading....imho.

[elliair]

Maybe I missed it but you forgot to bash the Muster Drill. Please come back and tell how miserable you were!

 

Yeah let's talk about that muster drill. Standing next to me were 2 women on their cell phones texting. Neither one of them paid attention. Then there's the screaming kid whose parents can't control him because he has a poopy diaper on. The guy behind me kept staggering because he was already drunk. Muster drills are soooo much fun!:eek:

[Twintowngirl]

Royal, Royal, Royal. We have sailed Royal and every cruise line had its good points and its bad points for us. We like Carnival. And we can afford more. That said, sorry you didn't like Carnival. More space for us. Bye, Felicia.

 

LOL, I love your comment! Good way to start my day with a good laugh!

 

I agree that there is good and bad with all of the lines. I have been very happy with Carnival over the years. It might not be as upscale as other lines but we always, always meet some great travelers while on board. There are also other people that we just shake our heads at. As far as the staff goes, I have never encountered any rudeness or slackers. The food can be iffy at the buffet and that is why I prefer the Dining Room especially for dinner.

 

I always laugh when we are on a shuttle with people going to different ships and they say something like, Carnival is the party ship. Well, who wants to go on a vacation and not have a party! I am almost 60 and love the fun atmosphere on Carnival...no old lady cruising for me...at least, not yet!

 

Hope the OP sticks with the line he/she is happy with.

 

Deb

[jimbo5544]

Hey look it's a weak attempt at bashing the members here for disagreeing with a review full of hyperbole when you have nothing relevant to bring to the discussion.

 

Childish

 

But consistent, always comes to the party with value added posts

[crusinpsychRN]

I've written reviews saying what a great time I had and had one or two negative things like tepid food in MDR and lousy excursion and got raked over the coals by the cheerleaders. I was told too bad the cruise was ruined and no fun was had. That's NOT what I said. Some people don't want ANY negatives pointed out.

[Jenhem31]

To confirm bed bugs, did you actually check the bed for them or assume they were there? We check every bed in every hotel and ship as soon as we get there as bed bugs are hitchhikers and will travel home with you. Hopefully they didn't get into your belongings.

[FrogFritter]

That's unfortunate you had a bad cruise with Carnival. I understand your hesitation to sail again because I took 1 Royal Caribbean cruise, hated it and never will again. Obviously every line isn't for everyone or there wouldn't be so many choices.

 

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Edited July 19, 2016 by FrogFritter

[elliair]

I've written reviews saying what a great time I had and had one or two negative things like tepid food in MDR and lousy excursion and got raked over the coals by the cheerleaders. I was told too bad the cruise was ruined and no fun was had. That's NOT what I said. Some people don't want ANY negatives pointed out.

 

It isn't like it's going to ruin their cruise if you point out the negatives. Heck I've been on enough cruises to write plenty of negative stuff. It isn't pointed at any individual here so I don't get the need to bash anyone for stating their experience. I'm looking forward to October, 2 new ships we've never been on. I'm up for some adventure regardless of what may happen between now and then--negative or positive it shouldn't hurt anyone here.:cool:

[simplelife]

I

 

 

 

 

 

Think

 

 

 

 

 

One of the beauties of cruising is that there are many different lines, each with its particular attributes, catering to different tastes and preferences

[Florings]

Sorry you didn't enjoy your cruise. If everyone liked the same things, there would be only one type of cruise line and not the many choices that abound.

 

Personally, I have never sailed other than Carnival - the wonderful service, good food, awesome ports of call, and nice down to earth people, and very good value....these are the reasons I continue to book with Carnival.

 

I would hope that you would have taken a moment to go to Guest Services to report the possibility of bed bugs. Something like that should be taken very seriously and given immediate attention. If you told your steward and nothing changed (next night still itching), it would have been best for you to report to Guest Services.

 

Never the less, the cruise is over, you didn't like it and back to Royal - where you will be happy.

 

Enjoy your next cruise!

[slyone14]

We normally cruise on Royal but decided to try Carnival, needless to say we will NEVER go on Carnival again!

 

To start the cruise off our shuttle couldn't enter the port other then driving around in circles because there was a security beach which was said to be a Bomb threat at first and even the bomb squad came out. After we could finally get into the terminal everyone was told to wait outside then we were guided up to another area were we had to wait for a couple hours until they secured the area, after this ordeal we were then told it wasn't a bomb but a can of something that was spraying in a suit case. Better safe then sorry. Once this was over then we could go inside and get ready to board the ship. In my opinion Port Canaveral is the best port there is.

So once on board we went to our cabin and put our other bag in and headed to eat at the buffet as we waited to leave the port.

 

1st issue Staff and lack of knowing anything when asked and lack of friendliness. This ship had the worst staff I have ever encountered on a cruise. They never smiled,spoke or new anything if you asked them a question. Some were even rude. The only staff member we encountered that was very friendly was our room guy, he was awesome all the time. Spoke to us by name and had a friendly attitude.

 

2nd issue Pools, For a ship that hold 4,500 people and only have 2 swimming pools is ridiculous and what makes it worse is that only 1 pool was ever open at a time. I was only able to enjoy the pool 1 day when in a port because it was not crowded.

 

3rd Issue FOOD, the food at breakfast was the best and made to order omelettes were awesome, best meal of the day everyday. Guy's Burger Joint,Blue Iguana & BBQ place also had great food as well as the 24 hr pizza. We ate all these places several times and they were really good.We also ate at the steak house on wed night for our 20th anniv and it was very good. Now for the buffet, the food was lousy in my opinion with the exception of the desserts and the sandwich bar that had pastrami and corned beef, in fact that is what I hate most the time after trying the other food 1st. I also enjoyed the ice cream machine daily. The buffet was not opened long enough if you wanted it and then only one side would be open at times and you would have to walk a long distance just to get food if you wanted it. Terrible buffet all around except breakfast.

 

4th issue, I believe Carnival Magic has bed bugs because every night when we went to bed and got under the sheets I was always really itchy like something was crawling on me but I couldn't see anything when we looked. On the last night I actually got bit by something and ended up sleeping on top of the covers so the ship is not very clean.

We stayed on the 11th deck in a spa room and had access to the spa which was great, very relaxing and enjoyable. We stayed in 11242 and it was quite noisy at times, kids running up and down the hallway,noise from deck above etc. We were still able to sleep, just a lot of noise.Room was nothing fancy, pretty plain and basic.

 

Entertainment was just ok, nothing special. We did enjoy a few dive in movies and Dr. E was great. The comedy shows were also very funny and we enjoyed them as well. Party's on deck were also ok, I overheard several elderly folks complaining about the type and sound of the music and about it being way to loud. The entertainment staff were friendly.

 

Sadly there was a medical emergency with a passenger suffering a heart attack and dying(At least thats what we were told by several crew members) which caused the itenerary to be changed and the Honduras port being skipped and went to key west fl instead. The ship was diverted near miami to get the ill patient medical care. My prayers are with the family.

 

So we went to Key West Fl, Belize, Cozumel & Costa Maya, We had already been to Cozumel but still enjoyed it as well as the other ports. Really liked Key West and would like to go back there. The ports were the best part of the cruise, other then that the cruise was pretty boring. No adult area other then if you want to nap in a hammock or chair and use a jacuzzi, that is Magic's "adult" area.

 

And to top it all off, my hubby got sick on thursday afternoon and was up all night puking his gut out, not sure if it was from the food or what caused this. I know he wasn't sea sick so the food may of been the issue. Not sure because i was fine the entire time.

 

After being on 3 Royal ships, there is NO comparison with Carnival. I would never go on another carnival ship nor would I ever recommend one to anyone I know. You really do get what you pay for and Royal is in a class all its own. My brother is a Carnival cruiser and he bragged to me about how good they are but now I know for myself, not worth bragging about.Anyway, this is my small review, Happy cruising!

 

I always enjoy reading post like these, they are indeed very entertaining. Why come onto a Carnival board and post this? What do you hope to happen honestly? OHhhh, I was thinking of going on a Carnival cruise in October, but darn now I wont because this person said it was horrible! I think I will do something else.

 

Second, while reading this I really sat down and thought, could I EVER have a bad cruise? Lol, heck no, ill take the worst cruise of my life over a week of stress at the office. Bad food? Okay no big deal, I don't honestly expect it to be 5 star Chef Ramsey food. Just feed me, im happy. Bad Service? Who really cares, ill get my drink and move on. I am not here to gain friends, I am on vacation. Staff doesn't want to smile at me? Okay, well, you work 7 days a week 15 hours a day or so and tell me if you would smile. About the bomb situation, I wont even touch that one, lol. Bed bugs, hmmm, I highly do doubt it, there are tons of ways you could have woken up itchy. Did you say something to them? Did you investigate it? Cause Heaven knows, I would have the first time I woke up itchy, JUST to make sure.

 

I mean come on, I am not bashing you at all. I am just saying you are on vacation. You are Not at the office, you are not working, you are not waiting in line at the DMV, you are not stuck in traffic trying to get home or having to use the bathroom. YOu are sitting on a beautiful ship, drinking a drink, traveling to wonderful destinations across the Caribbean. Ill trade places with you in a heart beat! A cruise is what you make of it and your attitude, stop sweating the petty stuff.

 

Finally, I meandered across the "Amazing Royal Cruise line" board and found just as many bad reviews about them. Which really leads me to say its not the cruise line honestly, its most likely the person.

 

Going on a cruise in 68 days, and I promise I wont complain! =)

[Sweet Dutch Girl]

I have come to the conclusion that it isn't Carnival "cheerleaders" that are annoying, since they seem to love their cruises and want to encourage others to give Carnival a try, but the people who come to a Carnival board, bash most everything, and then are upset if others come to Carnival's defense. Once someone uses the term "cheerleaders" disparagingly they, for me, become the ones I loose trust in.

 

Had a bad cruise...OK live with it and move on to other lines and other vacations. Don't, purposefully, call out those who actual love the cruise line, love their vacations, and point out that their experiences were considerably different.

 

Sometimes I feel like I've wandered into the realm of political rhetoric on these boards. Wonder what the Donald would have to say about an opposition cruise line if he owned major stock in another brand? Much to scary to even contemplate.

[jimbo5544]

I have come to the conclusion that it isn't Carnival "cheerleaders" that are annoying, since they seem to love their cruises and want to encourage others to give Carnival a try, but the people who come to a Carnival board, bash most everything, and then are upset if others come to Carnival's defense. Once someone uses the term "cheerleaders" disparagingly they, for me, become the ones I loose trust in.

 

 

 

Had a bad cruise...OK live with it and move on to other lines and other vacations. Don't, purposefully, call out those who actual love the cruise line, love their vacations, and point out that their experiences were considerably different.

 

 

 

Sometimes I feel like I've wandered into the realm of political rhetoric on these boards. Wonder what the Donald would have to say about an opposition cruise line if he owned major stock in another brand? Much to scary to even contemplate.

 

 

Nice post. Spot on assessment

 

 

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[CalifGirl67]

You know its a darn shame that this site is made up of folks that can't handle if someone has a negative comment or review of something. I just experienced more issues on Magic.

 

Just because I love Royal doesn't mean all my cruises on Royal have been without any issues etc. In fact, the Pizza on carnival is a lot better,tastier then that on the RC ships I have been on that offered it. And NO the "adult" area on the Magic was nothing compared to that of a RC ship, in fact the Magic was lacking a lot to be desired. No pool to enjoy away from kids, area just seemed to be filled with hammocks,lounge chairs and in my opinion that area should have more.

 

Not "all" crew was rude so I guess I should of clarified "some" to be fair, but most of the time there attitude wasn't very good and when asked where the BBQ eatery was they couldn't tell us, Several times we were told "Oh I just got on this ship 3 weeks ago", thats not a good answer. At the very least they could of said "let me get someone who might know the answer" But.... they didn't

 

As for the Itchy issue, Yes I complained about that as well as the AC not cooling our room several days. NO I didn't use any products such as lotion that I don't normally use so that wasn't the problem.Was it "bed bugs" I have no idea as I have never encountered them b4, I just said it could of been but I don't know. All I know is that I itched every night and only when I got under the sheets and at no other time.

 

We started to eat in the MDR on the 2nd night and walked out about 20 mins into it because the service,food etc was terrible. In fact my hubby asked for Ice Tea and it took forever for them to even bring it to him.Needless to say we walked out and said no more MDR food.

As for the Buffet, we tried it several times and like I said in my 1st post ,the breakfast buffet and made to order omelettes was great, no issue with that at all and we ate the breakfast each morning. The other buffet food like others also mentioned was not that good so we ate at the eateries when open instead. In fact, RC Oasis buffet wasn't all that great either last year when we went, but on the Freedom the year b4 it was awesome. So you see its not just issues with carnival!

 

Dr E was great as I mentioned, comedy shows were also great, we didn't go to any other shows. Muster drill was like any other muster drill on other ships.

 

I am happy to read from others that the guy that had a heart attack didn't die, we were told he had died so thank goodness he is ok! And again I will state that the medical issue and the bomb threat scare "DOESN'T effect any part of my decision to NOT go on another carnival because we have no control of those issues.

 

And lastly, I didn't come on here for your sympathy or for any other reason other then to just simply post my thoughts on my cruise on the Magic. I will say that from now on I will NOT post anything in cruise critic ever again about my thoughts on a cruise whether good or bad because you people that flamed me are just to rude, and frankly its not worth my time. From the attitudes of people on this board, I would never recommend cruise critic to anyone again like I have in the past. I use to think this was a great site to learn about cruise ships,ports etc without all the "attitude" but I now see I was wrong. So with that being said I am done with this and my post, Buh Bye!

Edited July 19, 2016 by CalifGirl67
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[jimbo5544]

Happy cruising.

 

 

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[SMSACE6]

Califgirl67, I read your review a few times, and will not comment one way or another on it. Just want to say, that if you don't want any backlash to a review, you can always post it on the main review boards, where it is there to read only, and not to comment. Just in case you ever want to do another review of a cruise that you did not enjoy. Just an FYI.

[Cuervosar]

I love this place.

 

Ok, right out of the gate, I'm an ass and a snob. But you have to read these "reviews" with a grain of salt. The grammar is usually a tip off.

 

There is an art to traveling. You need to be open to and accept the unexpected and treat those who are there to "serve" you as if they are your long lost best friend.

 

I have three goals when traveling; see something new, learn something new, and meet interesting people. Hopefully the people we meet find us interesting as well.

 

I also take very specific steps when we plan trips. No trip less than 10 days. This keeps the drunks and the kids away. 14 to 16 days is our sweet spot. We travel less often but enjoy it more.

 

We always spend most of our dinners in the mean dining room and request tables for six or eight. This seems to be the best odds for great conversation without too much pressure on any one party to carry the load. As couples opt out for specialty nights, there are still enough others around for a fun dinner.

 

Guess what? Fun conversation seems somehow to keep the crappy food away. Must be magic.

 

For the life of me I can't figure out the people who pay so much money for a cruise and go in looking for trouble or those that spend the majority of their evening meals in the buffet. What a waste.

 

Honestly I can't imagine what some people expect when they board. Just remember that the crew you encounter has most likely been working in excess of seven days in a row with horrendous hours and yet they still do their best. I know I couldn't do it and I make sure they know I appreciate their effort.

 

Never had a bad trip.

[quickrate]

I love this place.

 

Ok, right out of the gate, I'm an ass and a snob. But you have to read these "reviews" with a grain of salt. The grammar is usually a tip off.

 

There is an art to traveling. You need to be open to and accept the unexpected and treat those who are there to "serve" you as if they are your long lost best friend.

 

I have three goals when traveling; see something new, learn something new, and meet interesting people. Hopefully the people we meet find us interesting as well.

 

I also take very specific steps when we plan trips. No trip less than 10 days. This keeps the drunks and the kids away. 14 to 16 days is our sweet spot. We travel less often but enjoy it more.

 

We always spend most of our dinners in the mean dining room and request tables for six or eight. This seems to be the best odds for great conversation without too much pressure on any one party to carry the load. As couples opt out for specialty nights, there are still enough others around for a fun dinner.

 

Guess what? Fun conversation seems somehow to keep the crappy food away. Must be magic.

 

For the life of me I can't figure out the people who pay so much money for a cruise and go in looking for trouble or those that spend the majority of their evening meals in the buffet. What a waste.

 

Honestly I can't imagine what some people expect when they board. Just remember that the crew you encounter has most likely been working in excess of seven days in a row with horrendous hours and yet they still do their best. I know I couldn't do it and I make sure they know I appreciate their effort.

 

Never had a bad trip.

I so love your attitude and you reflect everything my husband and i feel about cruising .

Pat

[TullMan]

I love this place.

 

Ok, right out of the gate, I'm an ass and a snob. But you have to read these "reviews" with a grain of salt. The grammar is usually a tip off.

 

There is an art to traveling. You need to be open to and accept the unexpected and treat those who are there to "serve" you as if they are your long lost best friend.

 

I have three goals when traveling; see something new, learn something new, and meet interesting people. Hopefully the people we meet find us interesting as well.

 

I also take very specific steps when we plan trips. No trip less than 10 days. This keeps the drunks and the kids away. 14 to 16 days is our sweet spot. We travel less often but enjoy it more.

 

We always spend most of our dinners in the mean dining room and request tables for six or eight. This seems to be the best odds for great conversation without too much pressure on any one party to carry the load. As couples opt out for specialty nights, there are still enough others around for a fun dinner.

 

Guess what? Fun conversation seems somehow to keep the crappy food away. Must be magic.

 

For the life of me I can't figure out the people who pay so much money for a cruise and go in looking for trouble or those that spend the majority of their evening meals in the buffet. What a waste.

 

Honestly I can't imagine what some people expect when they board. Just remember that the crew you encounter has most likely been working in excess of seven days in a row with horrendous hours and yet they still do their best. I know I couldn't do it and I make sure they know I appreciate their effort.

 

Never had a bad trip.

 

Same here. Nice sig line, BTW. I had to chuckle. I have had a few goodies too. Real ones! The hurricanes were fun. The fire, not so much.

[E&B]

Don't understand these kind of reviews. If you're going to tear apart a cruise

Iine, why do it in a forum of people who love said cruise line and expect them not to contradict you?

 

 

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